Recently, I’ve been in a group with a few friends discussing what wholeness and restoration look like in real life. In the Discipling for Development strategy offered by the Navigators, restoration is important in four key areas: with self, others, God, and creation.
When I think about the applications to Family Promise, there are numerous options. We are all seeking restoration to a full, whole life.
It is easy to see material needs when we offer help to our guest families, but this also causes us to look at our own needs for restoration.
As we look deeper into life, it turns out that we all have brokenness in some parts. Could it be that it’s just easier to hide it for some of us?
Restoration in Four Key Areas
Perhaps we have run out of relationships and support networks, so we are seeking to reconcile, restore, and rebuild those.
Or you may have a broken relationship with your self, if you don’t believe you can accomplish goals or have skills to contribute to the world.
In relation to creation, you might have a difficult time caring about waste or the environment or caring for animals.
Relating with God is a hard one for many of us too. This is an area where we often learn from and with guest families more than we can teach.
We all Need Restoration
We all need restoration. That’s why Jesus came — to bring us back to God and to each other.
And in the face of so much brokenness in our world, we can each do some part of restoration work — in our relationships, our community, within ourselves, and in our world.
What is your part today?
Katy Penner is our Board Secretary and Communications Team chair. She is also a Marketing and Content Strategist. You can reach her at pr@familypromisewichita.org.
Family Promise of Greater Wichita unites hearts and hands to provide compassionate hospitality and empower homeless families with children to achieve sustainable independence. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
