As the COVID-19 has plagued Australia and the world since the beginning of the year, the running of the ADRA shop in Mitcham has had its ups and downs. Restrictions closed the shop temporarily back in March but we re-opened in May when they were eased and people began to venture out and about.

Then compulsory masks were introduced, again restricting people venturing outdoors and creating a limited clientele at the shop.  At the time of writing, Stage 4 restrictions have just been announced and the shop is closed again. The year 2020 will definitely be a year I would rather forget but having said that, despite of all the uncertainties worldwide, glimmers of hope,
compassion and love can be found day to day where we least expect them.
I have just experienced evidence of God’s goodness, where childhood memories were ignited here in the shop, and resulted in a domino effect one could not have imagined.  It was pure Divine intervention.

Approximately two weeks ago, during a busy morning, a middle aged man whose thick beard and weathered attire suggested his need for some warm clothing for the cold days ahead, came into the shop.  He became intrigued by some war memorabilia we had displayed at the shop, something he was passionate about.   We spoke for a while, then he moved further into the store, to the book section.  He later came to the counter, placing a deposit for the memorabilia he so desperately wanted, and left.

Shortly after, a well dressed elderly lady approached the counter and said “I would like to pay for what that gentleman who just left the shop, had put aside.”  I was moved by her compassionate and kind gesture.  Not every day does one come across someone so generous yet humble at the same time.  I told her there was a $50 outstanding balance to pay however she continued by asking that an additional $50 shop credit voucher be issued for him as well!

As I was writing up the credit note I asked her whether I could include her full name however she only wanted to be known as Cassie. “You are a beautiful and generous person,” I told her.  “May you be blessed.”

“I have always been so blessed and I wish to bless others,” she replied.

Today the gentleman came into the shop to collect his lay-by.  I told him what had happened a fortnight ago, after he had left the shop.  He was overwhelmed with emotion, unable to believe nor understand this display of kindness from an anonymous person.  I told him that something special must have happened that day in our shop and asked whether he knew the lady.  Suddenly, his eyes welling up with tears, he recalled how he had been looking at a book that triggered memories of a very dark time in his childhood and that this lady had comforted him as he felt so hopeless and depressed.  I asked him if he could show me the book, and reluctantly he agreed.  Together we found it, a Little Golden Book called Scuffy the Tugboat.  It is a story of a tugboat that drifts far away to the ocean and is overwhelmed by the sheer size of things around him, until it is finally rescued and finds contentment.

Finding the book again, he told me how he was abandoned as a child and endured severe abuse at various foster homes most of his younger life.  The memories causes him fresh distress and i assured him that God loves him and had found a way to bring him and the anonymous lady together at just the right time to help each other.

Genuinely touched, he decided to ‘pay it forward’, giving the $50 shop voucher to his next door neighbour whose daughter is disabled and would need it more than he did.

Tonight, as I googled the story of Scuffy,  I can understand and relate to how this man was feeling – how as a little boy he was adrift and overwhelmed.  People from all walks of life come through our ADRA shops in search of physical things.  But there are also people God brings to us who are searching for more – for acceptance, compassion and love.  They too, are adrift in the dark unknown oceans of this world.  And we can be there bring them comfort and peace.  Whether it be through our hard working volunteers at ADRA or that one consumer who just ‘happened’ to be there at the right time to show the love of Jesus through her generosity.

As Manager at the ADRA Op Shop in Mitcham, this is what it is all about for me, and what brings me fulfilment and joy each day.  May we all become that shining light in someone’s life as we encounter people who are desperately in search of love.

Marina Wirenski