On a Tuesday morning, as I was coming into the OIM office, my coworker and I were informed that there was a young man waiting in line for our door outreach who was extremely upset. When we got outside, we met a young man named Brody who was in his early 20s. Immediately you could see the tears running down his face and there was no light in his eyes.
We invited him in for coffee and as we sat across from him at a table, through many tears, Brody shared with us that he had just left an abusive relationship that he had been in for many years. Brody shared many heartbreaking details about the relationship that I will keep private
Brody shared with us that before he met his ex-boyfriend, he used to come to OIM all the time and always remembered it being a warm and welcoming place and that is why this was the first place he knew he had to come to after leaving his ex. As the hours passed, we could see that Brody was feeling more hopeful about his future and wanting to get help.
For the next week, Brody would show up at our office every day to see us and always put smiles on our faces. He wanted to join our work skills program and told us about all the ways that he was finding help.
Then one day, I was told by a staff member that Brody had called to let us know that he had gone back to his previous relationship. My heart immediately sank and my mind was filled with so many questions.
It’s been over a month now since I’ve seen Brody. My mind starts to wonder what I could’ve done better, but I remind myself that we showed him that OIM is still the same safe and welcoming place that he had experienced. We showed him love and acceptance. All I can do is pray and trust that God cares for Brody way more than I do or any staff member here. I remind myself over and over that there is no one too far gone that God can’t reach. No one. I am believing and praying that someday we will see Brody knock at our front door here at OIM and I invite anyone who reads this post to do so as well.
~Marissa – Youth Program Assistant
