These thoughts are from The Salvation Army’s Whitby Pathway of Hope Case Worker and Family Outreach Coordinator, Meredith Chin.
It was a Monday, and it was raining; and not a normal rain, but the teeming soak everything kind of rain. I was sitting in the church lobby looking out into the rain when up rode a gentleman on his bike. Although he was wearing rain gear, it was clear that he had been riding for quite a while and he was soaked from head to toe. As he rode up to the front doors, I noticed him reading our Café Connection sign offering free coffee, tea and treats. Slowly, he dismounted his bike, shook himself off, and dejectedly walked into the church. As I welcomed him and brought him to where the coffee, tea and treats were, you could clearly tell that he was so tired, both physically and emotionally. As he was drinking his coffee we chatted; about mundane everyday things as well as about things that were really important in his life. All of a sudden, he looked at me with a look of both gratitude and hope and said, “you guys really are a port in the storm”. While there was a physical storm raging outside, I knew that this wasn’t the storm that he meant.
That one simple phrase got me thinking about how important our (not just us here, but Christians as a collective whole) responsibility is, and I was challenged.
We are called to reach out to others, be that glimmer of light in a dark and raging storm and provide a safe haven. It really does make all the difference in someone’s life. Just as I was challenged, I challenge you as well.
Let’s be that beacon of light, that port in the storm, that place of hope.
