Everybody Deserves Grace

No two days look the same for Lillie..

Some days she's helping someone in crisis. Some days she's talking with someone who's just passing through town. Some days are calm, and some are anything but.

When I asked what she loves most about her work, she didn't talk about programs, resources, or outcomes.

She talked about a smile.

"A lot of people forget about the humanity in this world," she told me.

Her favorite moments are often the smallest ones. A conversation. A connection. Knowing someone walked away feeling a little more seen than they did before.

The more we talked, the more I kept coming back to something she said: everybody deserves grace.

Not some people.

Everybody.

She told me that one of the biggest things her work has taught her is that she has far more in common with the people she serves than she would have guessed at first. The longer she spends getting to know people, the less those surface-level differences seem to matter.

When she talks about Salt Lake City, she talks about compassion. She sees a city that genuinely tries to lift people up. A city with resources, kindness, and people who care about their neighbors.

Talking with Lily made me think about how easy it is to decide who someone is before we've actually talked to them.

And how often we're wrong.

Maybe that's what stuck with me most. Not the work she does, but the way she sees people.

With patience.

With respect.

With grace.