Community Update
Coming to school. Getting credits. Graduating. These are the most obvious goals of teachers and administrators. At the Crossing, things aren’t much different on the surface. We encourage our students to have a high attendance rate. When they become discouraged, we push them to keep going and let them know we believe in them. Until the day they have the diploma, we’re walking with them toward that end. However, there’s more than meets the eye. Deep transformation is happening. Students are learning to hope… Kim, a student here in Fort Wayne, sits quiet and by herself most of the time. Among the staff we would express slight concern, but weren’t alarmed until Kim was gone for a few days. We later found out that she had been sent to Parkview Behavioral Health after experiencing suicidal ideation and serious self-harming. All of this had been ruminating unbeknownst to our staff. It’s amazing to me how simple kindness and attention can initiate transformation. Knowing that what we saw with Kim was the tip of the iceberg, we as a staff thought it best to approach her with additional attention. I took Kim aside. I asked her to tell me her story. She cried. I’m not sure why she cried or what she was thinking about, but as we began to talk about her life and what she feels, we also talked about how life can get better. Kim likes to read. She wants to work with kids. As she was sharing these simple details, she looked up briefly and I saw it. Beneath the surface we allow our eyes to glance over, she wanted to hope. She told me she didn’t want to think about suicide. She doesn’t want to hurt herself. She doesn’t want to forget that God loves her. Though it may not happen quickly, transformation often starts with hope. It is ignited by basic questions, eye contact, and attention. Kim reminds me, and reminds us, that beneath the credits that are important, and the coming victory of graduation, there is a heart being transformed… and the potential for hope. *Kim’s name was changed for confidentiality and out of respect for her story.]]>