Since I often grump about my lot I thought I should tell you about some good things....
Billy Elliot... At Church every now and then we have "Movies with meaning". We show a movie and then have a brief discussion about it afterward. Last night we watched "Billy Elliot". It was probably the fourth time I have seen the movie and I loved it to bits. Billy lives in a coal mining town in England and grows to love ballet, which is a choice not approved of, for a boy, in this tough mining community. His dead mum had left him a letter saying, "Always be yourself." It's a great story... He describes his feeling when he's dancing as "... Sorta feels good. . Sorta stiff and that, but once I get going... then I like, forget everything. And ... sorta disappear...... I've got this fire in my body. I'm just there. Flyin' like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity." ... I am so lucky because just sometimes in my work I feel like that. Facilitating the chaplains' training day, leading a funeral, playing soccer with "excluded" people, sometimes leading a service, being "with" people in life ... sometimes its "like electricity".... but other times...what a mixed up guy I am???
Race Horses... One of the guys watching the film with us was an ex- firefighter who I have had reason to keep in touch with, and who is getting more and more involved in our church life. He trains race horses. He is so keen to take me out to experience the horses and his love of horses. Next week we hope to make a date. So nice to be wanted.
Confession.... Quite some time ago on an evening when my wife and I were away from the Drop-in centre, we had a vacuum cleaner stolen from the church on the drop-in night. We had no idea who it was. There is a man who is now a regular at the drop-in who I have spent quite a bit of time with lately. He called at the church over lunch hour and asked for me. I was unavailable so he took my wife aside. He told her that it was him who had stolen the vacuum, he was deeply sorry, could he return it and would we forgive him. He asked if I would call at his place later that day and pick it up. I did, and spent time talking with him in the car coming back to town. His last words were, "Do you forgive me?" "Amen" I replied. I thought it was a very brave thing to do to own up to it. It is all a part of him sorting his life out. My heart was warmed.
In tune donation... With Habitat for Humanity we are building a house with a Maori family with ten children. They are simply nice people, who are involved on a voluntary basis, supporting women's refuge. The mum, Christine, had been talking with us and caught up on the fact that we run a drop-in centre. They get excess food donated for the refuge from time to time. Out of the blue at 6p.m. tonight there was a bang on my outside office door. Here was Christine with a great stack of food, extra to their needs, "for youse guys and your drop-in". It was such a boost, not just because of the value of the gift, but the sense of them being "in tune" with what we do...a sense of being partners together in caring in our community. Loved it.
Lord, help me "count my blessings".... Amen to that.
Photo: Christine building her house.
No comments:
Post a Comment