Dear Inner Circle,
Dare I say it? There’s only 34 days until Christmas. As the years go by, time really isn’t constant, it rolls downhill gathering momentum. Family plans are being made, unmade and re-made, and many of us frantically ask ourselves the question, “Will I make it through this Christmas?”
It’s the same question that many people who come to Wayside ask, yet from a different place. “Will I be invited? Will I be allowed to see my kids?” There can be so much pain at this time of year, and we see a steady increase in people and in the stress they come with as we count down the days to Christmas. This is seasonal and cyclical and shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the last few days have been as tough as we ever see it. For people who are lonely and struggling with demons, the Christmas season is the hardest time of the year. It’s a season of despair. It’s a season of overdose, and of psychosis. All week our people in the frontline have stood beside those who’ve completely lost their composure, often copping the brunt of their pain through abusive language that they know is misguided sadness. Standing beside people in these moments is an act of real love – not love defined by feelings, but love that will pay any price and bear any humiliation. It is an image of love that sees more in someone than any of the facts presented in the moment.
This morning, I was beckoned by a man with a wizened old face surrounding arresting, sparkling eyes. Before a word was spoken, I knew an important announcement was about to be made. “I’m a changed man,” he proclaimed without any indication about the change. “I haven’t had a smoke in three days but I had a dream, and it was all about you.”
I was all ears. “In my dream you walked up to me and gave me a packet of cigarettes and now, here you are!” His smile grew wider, “It’s like a miracle!” Well, sometimes I’m called an angel of deliverance and sometimes, as in this situation this morning, I’m more like an angel of disappointment. The offer of love and presence is a severe disappointment to someone who only wants cigarettes. Every Christmas the Wayside message is about presence, not presents.
As if to immediately reinforce this thought, two very excited elders in our community ran up to me also wanting to share some news, “Take a pic of us Rev! It’s our birthday!” We managed a little more than that, grabbing a cake and some candles and enjoying lunch together, where we soon fell into a quiet yarn. They are brother and sister well into their 50s but have only known each other for a few years. They share a birthday two years apart but were removed from their parents as newborns. This year will be the first time they celebrate Christmas together. The smiles on their faces today were made all the more profound with the unspoken grief in their hearts. They cannot wait to join our Christmas Day Street Party where they plan to dance but, “We’ll probably just sit on the side and have a smoke instead, my head and hip don’t agree on me dancing, but nothing can ruin this for us!”
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
