There are times in our lives when we experience things we didn’t expect or things we didn’t even want to encounter – when a sudden accident fills our normal life with pain and sorrow, when a good relationship with friends and family suddenly deteriorates and becomes difficult to recover, when you are made redundant from a job you were working hard for, when your children wander off in school, when you suddenly lose your health due to cancer or other illness, when a loved one or friend dies…
However, although the same incidents/accidents may happen to us, our response to them will be different. Some people struggle in those difficult times and sink deeper into the darkness while others use them as an opportunity to mature and build a better life. If we say that there is a stimulus on one side of our life and a reaction on the other, then there is an element of choice in the middle. What and how we choose to live our lives can make us happy or unhappy. Of course, this choice is up to each individual. You make your own choices and take responsibility for those choices.
However, other members of this society share the responsibility to help those struggling in life make healthy choices for a better, happier, and healthier life. We show them empathy, connection, and solidarity. When you see someone’s struggles, it’s important to empathize with them, and connect them with help so that they can feel they are not alone.
Our church started a new ministry initiative – HANDS AND FEET which provides fresh fruit and veggies at no cost to those who are experiencing financial stress in our local community each Thursday from 10.30am to 11.30am. We want to share empathy with what is happening in our community, stand in solidarity, and help each other get through the tough times together. If you would like to join us in this valuable work, please visit our church.
Please register for more information about Hands and Feet at Cherrybrook, call/text on 0493 707 912.
Rev Peter Chung
Cherrybrook Uniting Church
