Can I trust you?

Andrew Collins  |  Features  |  pastoral care
Date posted:  1 Sep 2021
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Can I trust you?

TRUST: two-year-old baby Melokuhle is thrown to safety by her mother (Naledi Manyoni) during a recent fire in Durban. Both mother and baby were fine

After years of hiding from her problems, Kim finally pressed send on an email to her pastoral team.

Early traumas, committed by those she looked up to, long buried and suppressed, were now reappearing, leading to panic, depressed feelings and tormenting thoughts. She had to share this with someone. But who could she talk to? Who would listen? Who would understand? Would she just be blamed? Who could she trust? Reaching out for help felt like a huge risk.

‘Can I trust you?’ is perhaps the question on the mind of anyone seeking help from another. Like Kim, we hesitate to share the most delicate areas of our lives. We are exposing ourselves to scrutiny, to questions, to assessment, to judgment. We are bringing the heaviest burdens, and the most private struggles, into the light of day. Will I be safe?

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