Leave it to a child to make everything better, at least for a little while. It's been a rough few days. We had to end the internship of our deaconess because of an ethics violation, and it's just been bad all around. Some information was shared that shouldn't have been, and it caused the students to have to choose "sides" when there wasn't any sides to choose from. It's been difficult for them to comprehend the seriousness and the consequences of that trust violation. There've been meetings upon meetings, and I don't think I have any more tears to shed. It breaks my heart that so many people are hurting, that a ministry I care about is damaged, and that we are losing a terrific person because of an unintentional mistake.

This last meeting tonight, with the congregation, was easier. One, I stayed dry-eyed, and two, the permanent congregation are all professionals and understand that certain lines can't be crossed. The students, as much as I dislike playing the experience card, don't have the maturity yet to understand. Unfortunately, this will cause them to gain that experience.

Since I had been part of most of the discussions already, and this meeting was just informing the permanent congregation of what had happened, my attention wandered. I started playing with 1-year-old Kaetah and 4-year-old Ella, and their smiles were just what I needed. When it was finally time to leave, Ella gave me a big hug and a kiss, and I thanked her for playing with me. There's nothing like the complete uncomplexity of a child's affection help heal the soul.