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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