Sunday at Craig’s Table
By: Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson
I have spent today at Craig’s Table. There is always something to do that I simply run out of time to achieve during the week. On Sunday I can simply take as much time as needed, there are no phone calls, no meetings, there is just the garden the chickens and the space to attend to whatever needs to be focussed on.
But there is something else that is always at Craig’s Table; there is peace. Today I sat at the lunch table and sipped a cup of tea. I closed my eyes and I remembered everyone of the participants who have come in and sat at the same table. I remember wanting to tell each of them that they had so much hope and ability just waiting for each of them to claim, I remember the concern in their eyes and the way they walked and sat- their body language screaming concerns for the unknown, then just a few weeks into their schedule, the way they held themselves had changed, the smile reached their eyes and the laughter filled the rooms.
I can know what each of the participants will find, and I can know how each of them will grow in confidence and stature and ability; what I am not able to predict is how long each new person will take to “get there”
Last week a professional came in to work with as many of the participants as possible in order to assist them to move back into open employment.
As I sat at the lunch table today, I remembered each of them who were in the training room. Once more they were taking another massive step forward, they tried and tested the ground under their feet and found it to be as solid as it gets. They spoke of moving on to further study, or starting their own business or applying for jobs that they now know that they can do. There was no room for uncertainty or shame because they have a workplace injury, their aim to move into the next stage of their lives supported by their peers and by Craig’s Table was all that they needed.
I thought also of the new participants who arrived during last week, the cycle all but ended for some was starting for others. The strength that is Craig’s Table was like a baton was being handed from one group to another.
As I sat there today; I could see the empty rubbish bin where each participant is invited to leave their fears and shattered dreams so that the weight of the past does not continue to be carried forward. I thought of the time that one person actually wrote everything down and then we had a small burial service as each of the damaged thoughts and dreams went into the next realm sent with love and gratitude for the lessons that were gained.
I heard once more a participant say that he was ready for a real job to match his preinjury qualifications and all that he needed to be able to do in order to gain the employment he now knew that he could expect.
Again; I heard and felt the excitement when one of the participants gained employment and the encouragement when one of the participants didn’t gain employment. The strength within the collective has to be felt to be understood, each reliant on the others to support to celebrate to commiserate, to tease and to defend.
As I sat there, I wondered how the new participants would feel when they discovered that their group would fast become their own personal backdrop of support? I know what is in store for each of them, and as with them, I am eager for their journey to begin.
I have tried countless times to put into words the feeling of belonging that each participant will gain, the acceptance of who each of them are and how little importance is placed on the workplace injury that they each have. I have tried to find ways to explain the outbursts of laughter and the arms that will wrap around each of them when tears fall. I have tried to explain how they will lean on the fence around the hen yard and talk to the hens about what they need to say. I have thought about trying to explain how each part of Craig’s Table was created just for them so that they could slow done feel the peace and gain the courage that was lost along their journey.
Before I knew it my cup of tea had gone, and it was time to do the tasks that were patiently waiting for me to attend to them.
The coming week is now just hours away with all the challenges that will arrive with each day, for me it is time to prepare dinner, I still have one major report to review before I stop for the night. I really a Blessed to have the ability to sit at Craig’s Table, to be the bridge that allows so much more to arrive. If you are ever in the vicinity and the gate is open, come in and have a cup of tea (or coffee) with me.
Yours in service
Rosemary
Rosemary
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