"Andy we've missed you..."

We haven't seen Andy for months - the beginning of his story which was showing signs of encouragement (Andy...another grace starved life... ; Andy church and today) seemed to fizzle out.

It happens. People flow into your life and out again - but with Andy I was disappointed, there was something genuine about Andy. He never made it to our trip to Brighton in the summer that he was so excited about - we haven't seen him since. We presumed that he'd been re-housed, moved out or found himself back on the streets.

Just this week I was thinking about this dynamic that sees you involved - then not - with transient people as they pass through. Thinking about the feelings of a half finished job. Relationships half formed. I thought about Andy.

Andy came in today and brought a friend "see I told you they'd try to help" I heard him say as I wandered off to make up a food parcel for his mate. I returned and sat with them and chatted for a while "Andy we've missed you...", I was glad because the look in his face showed he believed me.

His scarred face broke into a smile - "I'll be back don't worry!"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play
Read more