Peace like a river
Most people I know in Ireland are building bridges. They’re crossing the huge gap between church and community. They’re creating new openings through old barriers. They’re making the impossible finally possible.
A highlight of my latest trip to the green isle was to visit a Sunday lunch for people on the fringes of church and society. So there I was, eating alongside Dave, who has an extremely low view of himself, and Mike, who has serious social challenges. Mike just cannot cope with crowds, big time. He can, as he put it, ‘fly off the handle’. Those are not their real names, because I want to protect their dignity.
It was an honour and a privilege to sit there, listening to their stories of suffering - as well as sharing lots of laughs with them. Their deep pain may be expressed in drink or anger, but those are merely the symptoms of a core issue. People like Dave and Mike need to feel they have value. Like all of us, they need to know they have worth.
If someone values us, that can make the world of difference. I have seen how true that simple statement really is. I pray that Dave and Mike will discover, bit by bit, how much God values them. I asked them to pray for me, too. For we are all in need. (Photo: Derry’s new ‘Peace Bridge’, taken by Clive Price)
