He was the first to ever extend us a welcome in Mt Druitt, knocking on our door, welcoming us to the neighbourhood and inviting me over. He reassured me not to be afraid about living in our place, after all, the murder had occurred in the other house, not ours. I’ve never really been able to trust his reassurances since that first one.

We traded small talk over the next few weeks, he loved NRL and in particular the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Amidst the banter, I shared about our faith in Jesus. Mid conversation, he paused, looked at me intently, and told me never to mention that

God S*&t around him again. We’ve remained really close over that time.

“The cost of our friendship is not people’s souls”

I have also grown to love this man. We often joke that he has a Heart of Gold, with the Mouth of a Sewer. Family is never mentioned.

It seizes him up in pain occasionally, especially in his drunken moments or around significant moments in the calendar – a birthday, or Christmas, and he will isolate.

At a routine hospital day procedure I agreed for him to put me down as the next of kin – a decision I would soon regret. 3 short months later, he took a bad turn, and ended up in ICU, his life hanging by a thread. “Oh, and by the way Mr. Owen, we have you as the next of kin”, the doctor looked over the rim of glasses at me.

A day later he rallied temporarily, came out of unconsciousness, and looked me straight in the eyes. His eyes were full of fear – “don’t leave me, please” he pleaded, “I’m terrified of dying alone”. Then he collapsed again, into a two week induced coma from which he almost didn’t wake. Many of you prayed for him.

I desperately reached out to family, and found the one daughter he professed to still loving one night in a drunken stupor a few years back. She rushed to his bedside, for a beautiful bedside reunion. He sobbed deeply, in his coma.

Since his miraculous recovery, he is a different man. This was borne out recently in a conversation where he confessed, “Look, I don’t hate God, I was making that up, I do believe in God, I was just upset with Him”. Look, he is still about a million miles from being a professing follower of Jesus, however, whilst we are still working on that, the fascinating thing is this: He has a little more joy in his life, a skerrick more patience, increased kindness, goodness and love. As for gentleness, well he still is pretty much a dismal failure in that category.

Yet, isn’t this evidence that the Spirit is at work in his life? I certainly think so. Do you?

Galatians 5:22-23 “For the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against such thing there is no law.”

Kshama, Hope, Amy, Christine and Kiera at Uncle Roy's 80th birthday