MOMENTS OF GRACE
God’s restoring grace
By David Woodbury
During the year I said farewell to a very gracious lady, Una
Park, who in many ways modelled grace. Una and her husband George came into our
lives a few months into our first appointment in the southern Sydney suburb of
Campbelltown. A few months into our ministry I received a phone call from a
colleague officer who was serving in a regional city. He and encountered a man
who was desperately in need of help and had referred him back to me since lived
in Campbelltown.
Late in the day a knock came on my office door was situated
in the back of the quarter’s garage. When I opened the door I was confronted
with a dishevelled, broken shell of a man, riddled by guilt and remorse. I
invited him in and we sat down in my makeshift office while he poured out his
tale of alcoholism and domestic violence. He told me his wife would not have
him back and we spoke for quite some time about his spiritual disease, for that
is what alcoholism is, a disease of the human spirit, and I explained to him
The Salvation Army’s bridge program.
At a crucial moment the intercom which I had set up between
the office and the house began buzzing and I finally responded to my wife;
“Sorry I’m can’t speak to you now”. After a few more attempts she gave up and
sent out our second son, Shayne, to fetch me. By this time I thought I ought to
be obedient and excused myself and went in to see what she wanted.
She had the dinner on the way and felt led to invite this
man for dinner and had already warned the children that there would be less on
their plates. I was somewhat surprised since Jeanette was the daughter of
officers and has experienced some unsavoury episodes with inebriated people. So
George Park stayed for dinner. By this time the effects of his drinking had
worn off and he was a perfect gentleman and as time went by forged a strong
bond with Michael, our eldest son
Following dinner I took George into the William Booth
Institute in Sydney which runs The Salvation Army’s bridge program. He was
admitted and here he found not only a relationship with God, but a redeemed and
restored life. George went on to become a uniformed Salvationists and local
officer in the Campbelltown Corps and a few years ago was promoted to glory
from that spiritual home under the Army flag. Redeemed, restored and a child of
God.
The following morning I took George’s car back to his house
in St Johns Road Campbelltown and knocked on the door. The door was opened by a
lady, obviously bearing the symptoms of a difficult encounter. I explained who
I was and what was happening with George and I was here to return the keys to
the car. With all the graciousness which I came to know in Una Park, she
invited in did that very English thing, offered me a cup of tea. As we sat
together I explained to her how the Bridge Program worked and that she would
not be able to have any contact with George for the next three weeks.
Concerned that she may feel very lonely and insecure I asked
her permission to have someone visit her once a week, to which she agreed, and
in due course Lyn Hussein visited her faithfully every week. As I was leaving
she walked to the door with her thanking me for help, but adding in a very
gracious but firm voice, “Thank you Captain. But I won’t be coming to your
church!” Famous last words; God has great sense of humour.
As I got to know Una the one characteristic that seemed to
stand out to above all her other great attributes, was her graciousness, and of
course we know that graciousness has its root in the word grace. Actually it
original meaning is "filled with God's grace," I strongly
suspect it was this graciousness, this ability to be a channel of God’s grace
that was one of the dynamics that helped her husband George through his
recovery. Una also became a uniformed Salvationist and local officer in the
Campbelltown Corps and just a few months ago she too was promoted to glory
under the Army flag, a redeemed, restored, gracious child of God.
There is a sense of unworthy humility when God allows you to
be part of his plan for restorative grace in the lives of others and when I
think of George and Una Park this song from the Gaither Vocal Band keeps coming
to mind. Please click or paste the link to listen to it.
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