I was reading an article in the Washington Post that compiled nurse interviews from ICU and ER units in hospitals across the country. The quote that jumped out at me was “there is no room left, essentially, and I think that’s really what people don’t understand.”

These nurses all spoke about how we on the outside don’t get it, don’t understand. These nurses are experiencing the worst of it. “It’s hard for us, to convey that to the public because they don’t seem to want to take our words for it. But please do take our word for it. Take our word for it.”

Where else have you heard the phrase, “there is no room?” You’re right! It’s in the Christmas story, Luke chapter 2 when Mary started her labor and she and Joseph had to find shelter immediately. They were desperate! We find ourselves desperate for shelter, security, and safety as well during this season where Christmas and COVID collide.

Are we guilty of refusing to take the testimonial of others? Do we “get it?” Are we negating another’s lived experience? Do we invalidate a person by acting out our miss-guided convictions that “there is no room” for a divergent lived experience, a different lived truth from our own?

I pray that I have a listening ear and an accommodating heart when witnessing someone’s testimony. I want to habitually include, have room for, and shelter a weary soul, no matter their journey, origin, and destination.

How will I find room in my heart to accept another’s point of view as valid?