God’s on a Milk Carton

Larry Vaughan works in the mental health field in the US:

“Maggie” was raped by her father. Mom got custody and abused her repeatedly and severely. She was then removed to a foster care facility where she was again abused by the foster dad. By the time she got to me she was a shell. A collection of bruises and trauma. One big bucket of pain. The hospital was getting ready to discharge her into another foster home. She knew I worked in a long-term program for kids with drug problems. Maggie asked me if she could come over and work our program. At least it would give her another month away from danger. Problem was, she didn’t use drugs. Ever. That’s amazing to me given her set of circumstances. If I had been her I would have grabbed that crack pipe, and quick! I told her that she was not appropriate for our program. What she asked me next caught me off guard. She asked, “How many days in a row would I need to be drunk in order to stay in your program?” That was two years ago and I haven’t heard from her since.

So for Maggie, God’s on a milk carton. M.I.A., A.W.O.L. Have you seen what’s going on in our world? Are you closing your eyes to the carnage? Maggie is one person I met on one day. This planet is seriously messed up. I’m not talking “Al Gore” messed up. It’s a pandemic of tragedy.

The research tells me another story. Extensive research has been done in the area of religion and spirituality. The conclusions are consistent and reliable. People who are spiritually healthy (practicing regular disciplines, connected to a faith community) are physically, mentally, and socially healthier than those who have no spiritual connection. Across the board, spiritually integrated people have happier lives, less mental illness (or recover from mental illness faster), and experience positive outcomes in treatment for addictions and trauma. I can send you the research if you like. Peer reviewed scholarly articles are not exactly “blog” friendly. By the way, just because you practice spiritual disciplines doesn’t automatically make you spiritually healthy. Some of the sickest, meanest, evilest (a new word), heinous, lowdown, dirty, nefarious and contemptible people I have ever met were “practicing” and “connected.” I should know; I’m one of them.

In my work I encourage my clients to pursue spiritual hygiene much like they would physical hygiene. Pay attention to the spiritual. Clean the spiritual body. But that’s about as far as I can go. Not because of institutional restraints. But because I’m confused.

I didn’t always feel this way. I used to be very confident about all things spiritual. A few years after my grass-stained conversion I figured almost everything out. I knew where God was and what he was up to and what he was thinking and saying. I had all the answers. Turns out this was little more than reverse plagiarism. I was giving you what I believed and putting God’s name in the byline. Now I have no earthly idea where God is and what he is up to. Maybe I need to find me an air conditioner.

God of compassion, if anyone comes to your alter troubled in spirit, depressed and apprehensive, expecting to go away as he came, with the same haunting heaviness of heart; if anyone is deeply wounded of soul, hardly daring to hope that anything can afford him the relief he seeks, so surprised by the ill that life can do that he is half afraid to pray; God, surprise him by the graciousness of your help, and enable him to take from your bounty as ungrudgingly as you give, that he may leave his sorrow and take a song away.”