answers that will fix you right up? I was listened to that night. Listened to without judgement and without any sense of condescension. And when he talked, he spoke about his life and about how he saw the world and about how he understood God, but without ever giving me the sense that he expected me to agree. And then the weirdest thing. I did agree. It was like a pathway opened up for me and I knew I had to walk – no, run – down it and it would take me home. I know it sounds crazy, but that was the night I saw God for the first time and wasn’t scared. Not scared or ashamed or proud or confused. That was the night I first felt as if I belonged in this world and was wanted. Loved. Understood. There’s so much talk about the miracles he did. About the healings and exorcisms. But if you talk to most of the people who followed him in those days, they’ll simply talk about the way he made them feel welcome and wanted. I wonder if that’s not the greatest miracle of all. It was around midnight when I started the bike and rode back down though the hills. I woke mum and told her I was taking indefinite leave, packed a bag, slept for a couple of hours then rode back to the hills. They were just breaking camp. When he heard the bike he turned and walked over. “We’re heading to the Barossa. Don’t suppose you’ve got room for a passenger?” _____________ Suddenly having a huge family was weird. Weird but good. They always talk about the boys but there were plenty of women in the group. As always, we did a lot of the work, a lot of the practical stuff. I was one of the few who had any money so, along with a few others, we kept us in food and petrol and bail money. There was always someone the cops would pick up. 118
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