Dear Inner Circle,
Walking to the train this week I heard some shouting and realised the Melbourne Cup race was on, so I hastily ducked inside to watch it. It was a strange continuation of ritual started by my father, who despite never drinking or gambling or being much of a fan of horse racing, would religiously make us stop what we were doing on Melbourne Cup day and sit us down to watch it with him. Sitting in that pub connected me with my old man in some small way.
Then someone lightly punched me in the arm, teasing, “You can’t be here Rev! You’re being naughty!”
After the gentle ribbing, we I fell into conversation as this familiar face and I had a few years of catching up to do. Since we first met, she has been housed and is now celebrating two years of sobriety. Why celebrate in a pub? “Well Rev, I am good, but I am not perfect, a girl’s gotta keep a few vices. You know?” As we looked back on how far she has come, she spoke of the love she received at Wayside as pivotal in turning her story around, from the volunteer who remembered her name and favourite soap, to the one who knew exactly how she liked her toast (lightly spread Vegemite) and tea (strong & black).
She fondly recalled all the beautiful volunteers who took the time to love her in all her glorious particularity, her uniqueness. I was reminded in that moment of the phrase, ‘we can’t all do great things, but each of us can do small things with great love.’
I witnessed this love yesterday in a spectacular dance as an extremely distressed young man was gently brought back into the calm of his own breath through the embrace of one of our op shop volunteers. This young man was in a highly agitated state, and with pants that didn’t fit, he was accidentally exposing more than most would like in public. Unflinching, the angel vollie gently wove a belt through the eyelets, not once recoiling, ensuring that he was all done up, his dignity once again restored. “Thanks for listening to me, thanks for hearing me, thanks for believing in me,” he kept saying over and over again, as if it were a mantra.
If where you stand determines what we see, then what we see is merely a reflection of who we are. Show me one who sees others through the eyes of judgmentalism, and I’ll show you someone who deeply mistrusts themselves. Show me someone who sees the other through the eyes of grace, and I’ll show you someone who knows how to be at peace within themselves.
If we believe in anything around here, it is in a thing called love, flowing abundantly as a gift into other people’s lives, bringing a little light where it is sorely needed.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
PS. Preparations are already well under way here for our annual Christmas Day Street Party. The arriving festive season brings joy to many, but it can also cast a long shadow of loneliness for people living by the Wayside. If you’d like to help bring a little light into Wayside visitors’ lives this Christmas, we’d love your support.
