Dear Inner Circle,
Exercise is bad for your health. A recent bicycle mishap led me to the emergency department of a local hospital, which is quite the environment for the injured. The chaos felt strangely familiar, encountering some colourful characters who reminded me of the love and resilience found among those by the Wayside.
I was in there mainly for a bruised ego, after showing off my new toy, a bicycle that I am now riding to and from home on advice from the cardiologist. A mishap in mounting it led to the fall at no speed whatsoever, but one of the pegs managed to skewer me, so no laughing for a few weeks as my ribs heal. Thankfully the internal bleeding means that the blood stayed where it is meant to be! (Please forgive that Dad-Joke!)
There was no need for the television on in our shared space, there was plenty of entertainment available — not in a morbid way thankfully. At one point there was an elderly woman who, after sitting quietly for a long while, stood up and commenced a running commentary on everyone in there. Thankfully everyone was so immersed in their own pain that they didn’t realise she was addressing them. I must confess this uninvited roast was making me laugh, which caused me great pain, so my face was moving rapidly between laughing and grimacing. When she had worked the front of the room, she then turned to fix her gaze on me and I froze like a deer in the headlights. Just as she was about to launch, one of our regulars at Wayside emerged. “Pastor! Good to see you here!” We drifted into conversation and discussed everything from world affairs to the “quality” of the instant coffee that we serve at our cafe.
Slowly, due to the delightful absence of distractions he went deeper and deeper into his story and eventually we fell into an embrace. Love hurts — even more so when the hug is tight with a cracked rib! The standup comedian shuffled over to us and shared her experience of being cared for by the Wayside, smiling warmly as she recalled the time. “They stood by me and helped me leave my home, when I finally told my father to stop hurting me.”
We shared a smile with her, and me and companion continued chatting, working out that we had been at university at the same time in the same course, so we began to wax lyrical about memories of a shared history, which deepened our friendship. “Thanks Rev, it is nice to talk about what we shared rather than what I’ve lost, and what is wrong.”
The elderly women, who we’d just shared a brief flicker of connection with, gave us a kind smile, walked off, beelined to the front desk to immediately make a complaint about the men interrupting her thinking. One minute you’re up, the next you’re down, such is the gift of life by the Wayside.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
PS. This Sunday I’m honoured to be speaking alongside some amazing people at Wayfinders: Ordinary People Changing the World at the Opera House in Sydney. I’ll be doing my best to keep my nerves under control alongside an inspiring lineup of speakers all aiming to answer the question, in a world filled with uncertainty, how do we find hope? In-person tickets are sold out but you can register for a free livestream here.
PPS: Please tell my mum that I am performing to a sold-out Opera House!
