Too Much Baggage: A Story in Ministry

by Sister Liz Sjoberg, D.C.

I work in the overnight emergency program at Marygrove, an agency in St. Louis that serves abused, neglected and homeless children and teens. The kids we see in our program are ones experiencing a major crisis, such so that they cannot live in their family home or foster home anymore. Their stories are heartbreaking and dark.

They come with a lot of baggage and we try to be a place where they can just lay it down, even if it's only for a few days or a couple weeks. I see Christ in them: Jesus who had to flee to Egypt, Jesus who had "nowhere to lay his head," Jesus whose friends left him all alone. This is the suffering Christ. And he walks through our doors at Marygrove every day.

One of the girls at Marygrove shared poems she wrote about her experiences. We'll be sharing three of them over the next couple of weeks. Please keep Marygrove and the children we serve in your prayers.

Too Much Baggage

Home to home, family to family
no one knows how much it emotionally damages me.

Every family admits they don't want me
I just wish I was what everyone wanted me to be.
I drive myself away from everyone
every family ends up saying, "I'm just done."

I ruin everything I have going for me, and in the future I'll finally see
it's always my fault, it's always me.

I cannot change, this fact is true
I'll just ruin more lives with the things I do.

Everyone has baggage but mine must be too heavy
I'll just have to grow used to the fact that no one wants me.