The Other Side of the Fence

Dear Inner Circle,

Last week we said goodbye to a member of our staff who was retiring. We all crammed into our cafe at Kings Cross. Speeches flowed, and he was showered with love, hugs, and cake. Tears were shed as so many spoke to say farewell. We were caught up in the moment. Gratitude was everywhere and the depth of love and affection could be seen, touched, smelt and felt. There was as much emotion and love in the room as when we celebrated Graham Long’s retirement from the CEO role. David was a member of our facilities cleaning team who will be missed deeply. I love that this is the kind of place where everyone is important and their contributions are recognised and celebrated.

We often discover lessons through life’s contradictions, like learning how to really live through facing death. This week, I was invited to have a coffee with a man whose eyes captivated me with kindness. As we sipped our drinks he thanked me for the warm welcome he receives when he comes to Wayside and told me of the life he once had. He once possessed everything he could ever want, yet only focused on what he didn’t have. In his feverish pursuit for more of what didn’t satisfy him, he worked till his family left. He then worked harder and faster. It finally took losing it all for him to see the real. He was moving way too fast to see what he had so in due course, he lost it all through suffering a breakdown. He wasn’t telling me a tale of woe, he was sharing the kind of wisdom that only comes through suffering. Nothing can be loved at high speed, love only happens to the rhythm of a heartbeat. I walked away thanking him for the lesson. [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=”1298″ 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”]A boy and girl grew up a few kilometres from each other in South Africa. One was raised to hate the other, not for who she was but for the colour of her skin. They are both adults now and she got to hear his story from the other side of the fence at a Wayside corporate volunteering day last week. He was leading the day and talked openly about the ways hate had poisoned him and how unconditional love had transformed him. She held in her heart the vilification, name-calling, physical and emotional damage, and “couldn’t pee in a toilet because of my colour” pain. As the volunteering day went on, everywhere she looked she could see Wayside’s vision of ‘Love over Hate’ on walls and t-shirts and could see its truth being lived out around her. Her heart soared as she felt what she described as ‘healing’ occurring. When he invited her to draw a raffle ticket as part of the Community Lunch she couldn’t remain silent and spoke of how deeply honoured and respected she was by who he now is. His deep courage and willingness to face his own pain and sadness had helped her heal. I’ll leave the final words to her “What ‘Love over Hate’ does, what Rob does, is give us a new legacy, a new platform to stand on”.

There wasn’t a dry eye during lunch.

Thanks for being a wonderful Inner Circle,

Jon

Jon Owen
Pastor & CEO
Wayside Chapel