The World in my Backyard

The Other Foot - my grandfather used to recite the phrase "I used to complain I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet".  As a child I would think this silly - of course everyone has feet!  It wasn't until I grew up that I learned that not everybody has feet, I realised then that there is always somebody who is worse off than I am.  I realise this now as I watch the news and see hundreds of desperate asylum seekers risking their lives as they flee their homelands.

Sure, we all tend to gripe at the apparent follies played out by parliamentary characters who sit perched on government thrones and mess with our existence; yet regardless of their sometimes ridiculous decisions, we enjoy a comparatively peaceful life.  Not ideal, but comparatively safe and fruitful.

But what if all that changed overnight with an overthrow of government by military madmen? 

What if, suddenly our law enforcement officers began to shoot people just because they were too slow in responding to a demand.  What if the government took away our rights to photograph government buildings or to own a camera?  How about if women were not allowed to work anymore and were forced to hide themselves from the public?  Or the rights of women and children that were so long and desperately fought for are suddenly revoked and had no rights at all?

Australia as we know it would be forever changed.  The oppression from militia would force any peace loving family to run for the hills - or the boats - or whatever other means of escape they had.

It is never too late to open our minds, hearts and arms to those of our brothers and sisters escaping to our borders.  Let us not greet them with snarls and hatred but rather as the Christian country that we profess to be.  Are we not ourselves people from another place?  Did our ancestors not come from somewhere else either by force or by whim?  As a Bible believing person, nobody was left in Australia after the flood until Noah's ark settled in Turkey and eventual migration led to the land being settled just a few thousand years ago.

Do we not all die and our mortal flesh return to the earth?  For a mere few years we journey here then we are but a memory to those who remain.  Can we not open our minds to encompass something bigger than ourselves?

From my stand point I see benefits from embracing global cultures.  When I was a child the most exotic foods we ate was a hamburger - now we have Mc Donalds, KFC and Pizza Huts not to mention Hungry Jacks, Burger King and Sizzlers to mention a few.  Like it or not, we all have a love/hate relationship with these American transnational fast food industries.  We never had these when I was growing up, I know anyone younger than 35 will find this hard to believe - a world where fast food was fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.

Today I can walk down through shops in most suburbs and find a smorgasbord of international cuisine.  The falafel, tabbouleh, chicken kebab, garlic prawns, Portuguese chicken, chicken skewers, chicken schnitzel, veal schnitzel, chicken or veal cordon bleu, veal marsala, haloumi, moussaka, minestrone, pizza, naan breads, kimchee, herbs and spices never heard of thirty years ago.  I have not even begun to mention the Polynesian delectables, thus the list goes on and on.

My point is, I am grateful for all those who came to Australia and brought with them their cultures, music, cuisine, clothing, decor and lives who have brightened up my experience of mortality. 

The time I spend here, the knowledge I gain, the experiences I have will make me a better person.  All that I witness, taste, feel and touch or that touches me goes with me throughout my eternal journey and I savour each moment.

Thank you Australia for allowing me to live in the world in my own backyard.  Once I complained I had no house, until I met a man who had no country.

Over the years I have found myself in awkward positions and if not for the kindness of others, I would have been destitute.  Surely we are all beggars,  surely we all rely on the kindness of others and the kindness of God, whoever we perceive God to be. One such kindness came from a man who lived by the motto "but for the grace of God, there go I".  I had never heard these words before this but have adopted them as my own motto.

Let us be slow to judge and quick to offer the same kindness that Christ offers  - remembering these words "But by the grace of God, there go I".