Rochelle Wainwright
Chaplain at Allowah & The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10) is the Bible verse that I often start my day with at Allowah and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. I have a poster of this verse in my office at Allowah, with the picture of a butterfly on a flower.
I love the stillness of mornings at Allowah before our young people are out and about for the day, and before my friend Sophie comes to greet me in my office. You may remember the story that I shared last year about my friend Sophie, and some of you were praying for Sophie with her recovery and rehabilitation from spinal surgery, praying that Sophie would be able to walk again as freely as she did and even better.
Well, our faithful God has answered your prayers, and Sophie is confidently walking around with less assistance every day, and finding so much joy in life. Sophie’s parents and the staff at Allowah are so relieved and thankful. This is all we ever want for our young people at Allowah, we want for our young people to thrive, enjoy life, make friends and achieve their full potential as our Allowah vision says.
While I am Sophie’s chaplain, I think friend is a word that Sophie would associate with me. When we have visits from the students from schools or church groups, I always introduce our visitors as friends, because that is how it feels when I see the smiling faces all around during these visits. As Sophie seeks me out at Allowah, looking to go for a walk together, I often reflect that to Sophie I am more of a chaplain friend.
I am Sophie’s Shell, I am Sophie’s friend.
I feel very thankful to be Sophie’s chaplain friend, enjoying early morning walks in the sensory garden where we can sing together song lyrics like, “God our Father made the trees to grow and grow and grow.” Our God who knows us all so intimately as Psalm 139 tells us, has even brought a family of brush/bush turkeys to nest on the other-side of our sensory garden fence in recent years, knowing that Sophie would love watching the turkey’s dig and scurry about. Sophie often walks to the fence to see what the brush turkeys are up to.
So, thank you to our Allowah friends and supporters who prayed for Sophie, and thank you to my supporters who prayerfully and financially support me to be Sophie’s chaplain friend.
