May 2000 Volume 81 Number 5 "serving the protectors"
SA Police Chaplains
By David Marr

Life’s a Beach

I can’t say it was fun moving into our new home at the beach, but I was excited. I know certain events in life rate highly on the anxiety scale. Moving house is one of them.

Though all was OK’d by the builder, tasks still needed completion, and frustration over some matters was increasing. Our moving in just prior to Christmas didn’t help either.

To top it all off, my wife was given a pup for Christmas. He soon made his presence known by chewing everything at ground level, stealing any shoe he found - and by his deposits and stains on our new carpets. My daughter said it was a payback from the marks I’d left on her carpet while living with her.

Arriving home to be faced with boxes to unpack, cleaning up after the dog, renewing items lost as well as meeting out-of-hours work and family commitments began to tell on our coping resources.

I was chatting on the phone to my plumber mate, Gus, the other day. “A change is as good as a holiday” he said. “By now, a man like you should be on top of things and getting into your new area.”

With this in mind, my wife, the pup and I went walking on the beach one evening recently. It was cool there in the light breeze and when the dog wanted to rest we sat on the clean white sand and watched the sun disappear over the horizon. We appreciated the sheer beauty of the reddened sky, vividly reflected in the soporific ocean. It was the stuff romance is made from. The dog broke the spell and reminded us that home was up the street and there were dishes to be done.

As we retraced our steps along the shoreline, I wondered if Jesus liked the beach. Did he have time to sit and appreciate the beauty of life and relationships, or did he simply have to continue sorting out people’s hurts and troubles? I remember he seemed to like hanging around boats and the seafront - and he felt an affinity with the work of fishermen.

When he was hassled and oppressed he liked to find a quiet place near the water to be with his friends or to do a spot of fishing. No doubt some of these times were when he felt most relaxed and at peace.

I don’t know about being on top of things, but my wife and I are beginning to find the beach a great place to live and that I am discovering new aspects to life and starting to feel refreshed. The truth is that all of us periodically need to find some quiet place where sanity is restored. It is different for us all, of course. Some need a place for disengagement and perhaps a good book, or time for reflection. Others may find benefit in a new challenge, study, or something to generate regrowth in the old grey matter.

The truth is many of us have investment in our past and activities of the present, and sometimes become locked into the security we find there. There may be nothing wrong in that and we may benefit from these experiences. On the other hand, it may produce a complacency and laziness of mind that means we don’t extend ourselves or discover many of our personal gifts or develop our abilities.

Jesus spoke of the person who hid his talents in the sand. Some vocational experts declare some of us fail to develop personal abilities because we don’t look to face new challenges or extend ourselves. Gus told me that when he knocks off he only looks to relax in his shed with a few of the “boys” and watch the footy. I told him I thought a walk on the beach wouldn’t do him any harm either. The change might present a new challenge and generate new opportunities.

I’m off to the jetty with the pup. Life’s a beach. Hoping you are the same.

Welfare Section 58	David Marr	8364 3567
	Senior Police Chaplain.
Academy 8	Mark Thomas	8296 9616
Adelaide: Angas Street 158	Bruce Grindlay	8295 2220
Adelaide: Hindley Street 62	Bruce Grindlay	8295 2220
Adelaide Hills Division 54	Adrian Stephens	8398 2510
	Office:	8398 2517
Berri 212	Vacant
Ceduna 214	Bob Borgas	086 253 503
Christies Beach 20	Vacant
Clare 202	Michael Dutschke	088 423 681
Communications 172	David Hand	8295 6992
Elizabeth 52	Stephen Brooks	041 884 0739
Far North 210	John Folkman	08 8672 5011
Focus 21	Richard Lawton	08 8362 4936
Gawler 52	Brian Tscharke	085 222 288
Glenelg 22	Malcolm Thomas	8377 0772
Henley Beach 18	Brenton Daulby	8443 8286
Holden Hill 44	Rod Dyson	8365 1170
Kadina 71	Vacant
Kingston 208
Mount Gambier 208	Brian Ashworth (w)	087 231 353
	(h)	087 252 537
Murray Bridge 200	Malcolm Bottrill	085 325 536
Naracoorte 208	Bruce Cliff	8737 2457
		0417 811 702
Norwood 60	Lynton Wade	8362 2227
		0418 831 703
Nuriootpa 204	Andy Kowald	085 621 011
Plympton 14	Ian Dempsey	8210 8108
Port Adelaide 6	Jeff Oake	8341 5930
Port Pirie 206	Steve Ardill	8632 3977
Prosecution Services 176	Vacant
Port Augusta PS 210	Vacant
Port Lincoln 214	Vacant
Salisbury 53	Vacant
South East	Terry Natt	8571 1114
Sturt 12	Chris Beal	8278 9578
Tea Tree Gully 48	Bob George	8395 9363
Thebarton Barracks 32	Joe Grealy	8338 3225
Transit Division	Wayne Shepherd	8443 4895
Unley 28	Max Bowers	8272 8324
Whyalla 218	John Dunkley	0886 452 500

PASAweb   Index & Search   Top of Page   Comments   Email to Editor

The Police Journal Online is an official publication of the Police Association of South Australia and is published monthly. Editors of kindred publications can seek permission from the Editor to re-publish any Police Journal Online article. Copyright 1999  The Police Association of South Australia sustance