Collaboration

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.                                                 Ephesians 4:16

I heard that word a hundred times this morning.

I was in a strategic planning meeting this morning for a non-profit community agency which serves sexually abused children. This agency provides mental health services and clinical assessments for those abused children, and as such, works with law enforcement agencies and the courts to secure justice and healing for families and children.

It was so gratifying to see these different parts of our social service safety net work together for the benefit of hurting families and children. The program I saw at play was based upon collaboration for the sake of helping the most vulnerable members of society. The crucial element of the collaboration was humility.

That virtue was not directly mentioned, but it became clear to me that without the humility of each system to say that they alone did not have the answer to the problem, allowed them to use one another’s strengths and expertise for the benefit of those who needed help.  

What a beautiful way to make a community a little bit safer for families and children!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the virtue of humility to work in the best interest of your children.