Dear Inner Circle,
When I first met my wife Lisa her flat didn’t contain anything valuable other than her guests. Her place was always a safe haven, full of kids running around in a constant state of chaos and laughter, delighting in being chased around, fed meals and being put to bed with stories, cuddles and songs – all the kinds of things that a kid should be experiencing because that’s what a childhood should be like. She was in the middle of it, giving everything she could. There was also usually a mum in her spare room – sleeping soundly as she enjoyed her first easy night’s sleep in a long while. I remember once coming in and having to raise my voice to ask Lisa a question so that I could be heard amongst the noise, which brought everything to a sudden, uneasy silence. Two kids dived under the couch and another ran out of the building at high speed before we knew what was happening. Our hearts broke as we realised that for these kids a raised adult voice was a signal to disappear or brace themselves for what was coming next. Our greatest contributions often come when new possibilities aren’t lectured about but simply lived out, showing another way, and that love has nothing to do with someone ending up bruised.[vc_row columns_on_tablet=”keep” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column h_text_align=”left” h_text_align_mobile=”left” v_align=”v-align-middle” use_background=”” width=”1/1″][tm_image image_id=”1267″ link_image=”none” textarea_html_bkg_color=”#ffffff” caption_type=””][/tm_image][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row columns_on_tablet=”keep” padding_top=”50″ padding_bottom=”50″][vc_column h_text_align=”left” h_text_align_mobile=”left” v_align=”v-align-middle” use_background=”” width=”1/1″][tm_textblock textarea_html_bkg_color=”#ffffff”]Everyone who walks into Wayside is somebody’s son or daughter and we work hard to treat them just like we would our own, as an honoured guest welcomed as if it were our own home. The other morning a young fella invited me to share a hot cup of Milo with him, his shout. He ordered two Milos, “made like mum isn’t watching please!” One of our volunteers gave him a wink and smile as he piled more than a few spoonfuls into our cups.
Last night I received a message informing me that someone connected to Wayside had suffered a tragic loss in his family. At Wayside when people are hit by incomprehensible grief we don’t try to offer any answers, but our presence and support. I immediately got in touch to send our love and enquire as to whether there was anything we could do. His response was swift and beautiful. ”The best way you can support us is to continue to keep doing what you are doing, to promise me that you will be there for others the way our family is here for us now. That’s what my sister would have wanted, for more good to be done in the world, because when I look back at her life, it’s the small acts of kindness that make the biggest difference in the end.”
To keep doing what we do at Wayside, is a promise I make on behalf of all of us.
Thanks for being a part of our Inner Circle,
Jon
Jon Owen
Pastor & CEO
Wayside Chapel
