Scratch the Surface

A couple days ago I went to visit a family in the neighbourhood that I’m in. They live across the street from Oppenheimer Park. This park has a bad reputation in Vancouver for being a haven for drug dealers and users. However, one of the goals of the families that live closest to the playgrounds is to create a safe environment for their children to play.

That evening myself and Lane, the father of the family I was visiting, decided to play on the basketball court with two of the younger boys of the community after supper. After about a half-hour of us just shooting baskets three guys in their twenties came over with a basketball. Lane suggested that we play basketball against them. To be honest I was a bit scared. These guys looked to be pretty tough customers in an area of town that is known for gangs and violent crimes, but I thought to myself maybe I need to let go of that fear and see who these guys really are. We played for about forty-five minutes, and in that time I realized that these guys were a lot of fun and really good natured.

But what struck me deepest was my initial apprehension. In discovering my vocation are there times when I don’t look beyond the outside appearance of a person or situation? Are there times when I could have born good fruit out of a situation but didn’t stick around long enough to see it develop?

I hope that as I continue to grow I will be able to be steadfast in situations instead of turning away when more can be learned.

-Br. David MacPhee OMI

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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