To the man who threw a bottle through our window:

We know what you did last night.

We have a message for people like you.

There’s no place in this world for you.

…but we wish there was.

Life is full of pain, sometimes.

And for some people, all the time.

And many of those people suffer alone, without a community to support them.

As we cleaned up shards of glass, we realized that you were probably as broken as the bottle.

But, like the bottle, you were probably whole once.

Sadly, life has a way of abandoning people — of breaking them, slowly.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

WE have a way of doing that to each other.

As we cleaned, I wondered if I’d passed you before on a street.

If I did, I wonder if I even noticed you.

Sadness is a hard thing to miss.

Unless you aren’t looking. Or looking away.

You see, I’m bad at being selfish.

But I wish I could meet you.

I want to know what was in your head last night.

Not to scold you for it.

But to thank you for it.

Because you reminded me of the world I pass by not seeing every day.

You reminded me that churches are supposed to filled with broken things.

You reminded me that it’s a cold world just outside our comfortable bubble.

Tonight, we’re having a community coffee hour at 6pm.

We’d love for you to join us.

You don’t have to confess or apologize.

The bill for that has already been paid.

We just want the chance to buy you a coffee and hear your story.

When you’re ready, we’re here.

Just look for the building with the reality-shaped hole in the window.