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Rooms - Not just ours, but our concern for all others as well.
We can likely recall an occasion when we had to make room for someone in an already crowded room. Sometimes we think about seeking or creating space for something in a place or on some object such as a table, or even for a new or creative concept in our minds, and at other times we think of a specific space that has a floor, walls, and a ceiling. We are generally pleased when we can make room for whatever purposes we have, or when we find a room when we need one.
Whenever we think about making room, or having access to rooms, we are almost always concerned about locations where we can do what we want for ourselves or for others. Having space, even in our minds, is a welcome option with many positive connotations. At a time when many people have diminishing possibilities of finding room for themselves in a society where they find it difficult to live a peaceful and productive life, we can help them and ourselves by exercising our imaginations together with our values.
Envisaging how we might make room or even identifying appropriate spaces for those presently in need, causes us to make room in our minds and hearts for some deeply satisfying realizations. Even if we do not arrive at some specific plan of action, we can make ourselves more aware of the ongoing requisites of people who are not far from us in terms of distance, and surely close to us in having the same desire as us for a safe place of their own. This is not a futile exercise, as if only clear practical solutions would justify our reflections. We, and people without homes or safe places, become more realistically fellow members of God’s family when we consciously admit that their needs are the same as ours and that we want for them the same basic gifts that we have.
Many more people than those without homes lack places where they are safe or can find room for themselves in their local community. We know that very many people are in places where violence is an immediate threat or are in some kind of communal facility where they have no room of their own, or even if they do have an assigned space, have no way to make room for themselves in the human setting around them. When we imagine their suffering and how it might be alleviated in keeping with our values, we grow in compassion. Even though we may not think of a practical solution that we could bring about, our compassion unites us with those who seek room for themselves and only good arises from that.
Our desire to make room for all has come to us from the heart of God and aligns us with God’s intention for the entire human family.
Last Updated 2/14/2026