Recently I shared the story about Dusty. The young man that I encountered while we were serving a meal to the homeless a few months back.
I brought him to detox. He was incredibly sincere in his desire to get sober.
I thought I'd never see him again and my hope was that there would be a changed life
I saw Dusty the other night. He was not sober. He was destraught. He remembered what I had done for him and he was embarrased by his relapse.
I gave Dusty a huge hug and told him that it was OK. That he was loved whether he was sober or not. I told him he was always welcome to sit at the table and break bread with our tribe. That this was his tribe too.
In that moment, all Dusty really needed was to feel loved and valued without seeing even a trace of disappointment in my face, my voice, my body language.
Life is messy. We fall. We fail. Loving someone like Dusty is even messier. But I believe that whether Dusty ever gets sober or not, he deserves love.
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