Tears For Joy and Grief

[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”]

Dear Inner Circle,

A young man could see that I was trying to leave last night even though there were plenty of people who were determined to have a few minutes with me before I took off. The fellow made a loud announcement about how I was being called away to something urgent (he had no idea where I was going) and put his arm around me to assist my exit onto Hughes Street.

He decided to walk with me to the corner, to fill me in on some news he was keen to share. We turned the corner and began the walk up towards the fountain and he kept walking with me. I said, “I thought you were just coming to the corner”. “Yeah,” he said, “Didn’t you see those coppers?” There were two policemen walking on the other side of the road. My mate said to me, “If you change direction in the sight of cops, they just think something is wrong and they follow you wherever you go.” You can have this tip for free – don’t change direction when in the sight of cops.[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=”236″ 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”]Twenty years ago, I helped a woman find a spot in a refuge. She was fleeing from a history of domestic violence. I remember this so well because the woman, who was softly spoken and seemed to exude kindness, only spoke Polish. She had a four-year-old son who spoke fluent English and Polish. All our communication happened through this little boy. Speaking to the distraught mother through the skill of her little boy caused me to be in awe of the child before me. At just four years old, you could see the goodness in this little kid. I’ve lost touch with the family but have heard indirectly that the mother had settled well, that she was a good manager of money and had found a comfortable house and made friends with many neighbours. I had heard that the boy had grown into a fine man who continued to show the same care for his mum. This was a fine young man, who had developed an addiction. It meant he never had money, even though he was always in work. He never stole from anyone and endlessly supported friends who “borrowed” from him. Yesterday I conducted his funeral with his broken-hearted Mum at my side. Mum’s English is fine now although no language could convey her grief. If as a society, we put the same effort into helping people with addictions that we invest into catching and punishing them, this story might have had a happier ending.

This morning a big burley bloke stopped me. “Rev, you have to help me. I’ve won three million dollars.” I said, “Mate, if you’ve got three million dollars, you need to help me.” “Yeah,” he said, “I’ll give you a hundred thousand once you help me.” The longer we talked, the faster the man spoke until I really couldn’t detect words. I managed to gather that his phone had given him a message that he’d won millions, but his phone had since died. It hadn’t run out of battery, it had died. I told him that such a thing was beyond my technical skills, but it was clear that it was his mind that had shut down more than his phone. Not long after this I saw Una, our Community Services Manager, head his way and I was once again grateful for the consummate skill of Una and her team.

Last week in chapel, we were singing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen when a rather large man waltzed (literally danced) in through the middle of our group, holding a single rose. He did a spin at the altar and planted his rose in the middle of a native Australian floral arrangement that happened to be in place. For a big man, he made a fine job of getting right up on one toe and spinning before he danced his way out of the building again. No-one batted an eye lid. I love this place.

Thanks for being part of our inner circle,

Graham

Rev Graham Long AM
CEO & Pastor
The Wayside Chapel

[tm_content_button margin_bottom=”30″ margin_bottom_mobile=”30″ display_inline=”false” link_to=”page” scroll_offset=”0″ button_label=”Sign up here” link_url=”#” link_target=”” modal_target=”” button_size=”large” border_style=”” icon_alignment=”left” icon_id=”” bkg_color=”#fff” bkg_color_hover=”#ff4556″ border_color=”#232323″ border_color_hover=”#ff4556″ label_color=”#232323″ label_color_hover=”#fff” drop_shadow=”false” el_id=”” el_class=””]