Hope Heals.

I have been listening to Katherine Wolf’s podcast, The Good Hard Story, for quite a while now, and through that, learned of the organization she and husband Jay founded called Hope Heals.  If you are unfamiliar with Katherine’s story, she had a massive stroke at 26, and, against all odds, survived.  She is now living as a person experiencing disability.  In their own journey of grief and sorrow, Katherine and Jay were led to help others learn that living with a challenge, whether visible or invisible, does not mean that you cannot experience joy and have a full life at the same time.  They are living this good, hard story every single day. 

My daughter Shelby & I volunteered this past weekend at a Hope Heals Retreat in Georgia.  Camp and Retreat are unlike any camp experience you have seen before, I guarantee it. 

“Our story of disability is hard but good. We’ve been able to flourish within these constraints because of the spiritual resources and communal support we were given. Sadly, our story is the exception, not the norm. Most individuals and families affected by disability are struggling to live in a world not made for them...isolated, lonely, despairing. The Hope Heals Camp community believes hope and hardship can co-exist for every person with a broken brain, body, or heart.”

We didn’t know what to expect.  Both of us are more than happy to stay in our comfortable bubble...you probably are too.  But I felt the "nudge" that this was something we needed to be a part of.  So, we drove the 11 hours from PA to GA. 

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We first made a stop in Atlanta to visit Mend Coffee & Goods, the coffee shop Katherine & Jay have opened that is an accessibility-first coffee shop and mission-driven marketplace.  It is beautiful.

Mend offers dignified employment to people of all abilities, and it is designed to be totally accessible to those living with a disability.  What a sacred space. (And the bathroom is beautiful, by the way….the green tile, gorgeous.)

We then made our way to retreat.  It’s hard to put into words the experience we had there.  When we arrived, the registration table was sitting in front of a huge banner that said, “You were meant to be here!”.  Ya’ll, (I can say that now because I’m officially southern after 3 days), everything was so special. 

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Shelby and I were assigned to the Hospitality Team.  Perfect!  We were with an amazing group of women, led by the AMAZING Mary.  We set up rooms, then tore them down…tables, chairs…that kind of thing.  We made spaces welcoming and inviting for those using them.  We made coffee, manned s’more stations, packed gift bags for campers and volunteers, helped prepare communion for worship, welcome the families to the Talent Show (so special) and had THE MOST amazing fellowship doing all of it.  These women are next level.  The Holy Spirit is moving in this place, and it is humbling and so inspiring.

Our days began and ended with a devotion and worship.  One of our devotions was based on this passage from the apostle Paul:

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:1-11 ESV

This was modeled so beautifully during our short time there…in so many ways.  It was a tangible vision of what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. 

Please…take time to learn about and support this ministry in any way you are able.  Donate, support Mend Coffee by ordering online, get Katherine’s book, Treasures In the Dark….it is so beautiful.  Pray for them, volunteer at camp or retreat, tell someone you know about this….especially someone that is or has a family member experiencing disability.  They need to know about Hope Heals, and so do you.

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