November 2024 Newsletter

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Trying To Fill That Void

Joshua was faced with a situation in which he felt inadequate and undeserving of success. A lack of self-esteem kept him from appearing before a panel of interviewers. He had already worked at the same place for a year through a temporary employment agency. It was more of a formalization to a great position. Yet, it would have been an evaluation of his worthiness.

All of the rejection in life from childhood on rushed back. He was overwhelmed, panicked, then escaped by being a no-show to the interview. He felt empty inside, then binged in unrestrained drinking, eating, and shopping. Joshua said, “I was trying to fill that void, to get over that failure:’ It was a setback that left him jobless and homeless.

He felt helpless, yet had another decision to make. Joshua said, “I didn’t feel like going down to the river, because it’s a bad place. I went to the Mission to get my life back on track:’ He knew that “filling that void” inside would require regaining housing and employment. Still, he had both, when things had gone wrong. Indeed even then, there was a void.

Joshua said, “I have to pray all day long, or the tempter comes and tells me I am a failure, when I know that I am a child of God. For anybody down and out that comes in here, don’t think this is the end. You put your trust in God. This is a place of hope:’ Joshua now has a good full-time job with benefits, a car, and is renting a room in our transitional housing program. He is growing stronger in confidence and faith.