If and when I get to Heaven, I’d like to meet Jesus and ask him one question.

I imagine it going something like this: I know you helped a lot of people and everywhere you went you were being asked to perform some sort of a miracle. Did it ever wear you out, did you feel overwhelmed, frustrated? 

I already know the answer.

He did, because the New Testament tells us that he would go off to a quiet place to pray, to collect his thoughts and put it all into perspective. 

Helping the helpless and giving hope to the hopeless is demanding and exhausting. Just ask anyone who works for one of our nonprofits like OlyCAP, Bayside Housing and Services, or COAST, just to name a few. 

And they do it, trying not to be judgmental, and only asking the questions necessary to provide the much needed services.  Jesus was like that. He didn’t tell the beggar to get up and get a job. He didn’t ask the demon-possessed girl if she was off her meds. He restored sight to the blind, cured the leper, made the lame walk, and healed the sick, no questions asked, and no strings attached. He didn’t ask if he healed this or cured that, would he see them in synagogue on Saturday? 

He just did it, and yet he received pushback from those in authority and the self-righteous.  

You see, that is an almost natural reaction when someone feels threatened or the status quo is questioned.

I understand that. It’s a fear of the unknown, as in what’s going to happen to my neighborhood if “these” people are allowed to move in?  

I know, my church, Community United Methodist Church in Port Hadlock, asked the same questions when we took a leap of faith and agreed to host Peter’s Place, Jefferson County’s first tiny home village, literally right in our own backyard.

Well, I’m here to tell you that we are over eight months in, and we haven’t had one single problem with any of our new neighbors.  

In fact, we’ve gotten to know them as people.

We open our mission rooms on Saturday mornings so they and others can come in and pick out clothing, food, bedding and other needed items.

We know them by name, and they know us, and sometimes they just drop in to visit, not needing anything other than human contact with people they think are “normal.”

If they only knew! During this time, we’ve watched several move on, transitioning to permanent housing. We’re sorry to see them go but are also excited to meet our newest neighbor.

All I ask is that you not let your fear or misgivings get the best of you. Educate yourself by taking the time to talk to someone in the know, someone who knows these individuals and will take the time to address your concerns so you, too, can treat others as you would want to be treated.

(Previously the elected prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County, Scott Rosekrans is now the pastor at Community United Methodist Church in Port Hadlock, just beginning his sixth year.)