David Wenham

I do not hold him up as the perfect man.  Like me he is floored but giving it his best shot.  Lately the saying “every sinner and a future and every saint has a past” has meant heaps to me.
I watched Anh paint and interview Australian Actor David Wenham.  He was Diver Dan in Sea Change.  I was really glad I saw it, and learned a bit about David I did not know.
His family were poor, but his mum loved to read and loved people.  She had a job that saw her interacting with many Greeks in the community.  So she went and learned Greek so she could converse with the people she saw, and have them feel comfortable.
His dad had nothing but one day two guys from the Wayside chapel in Sydney knocked on his door and gave the family food and provided for their needs.  The dad was so touched he joined St Vincent De Paul and spent his life helping where he could.
What blew me away was how he said his dad died unexpectedly (while David was in the US).  At the end of the funeral the Alleluia chorus was played as it was one of his dad’s favourites.  He decided to get away with his mum and sister.  They hired a car and turned on the radio.  The first song heard was the Alleluia chorus.  They arrived at the place they were staying.  Playing over the sound system was the Alleluia chorus.  Weird but interesting to me.
One of the things that really got me was when Anh asked David “what advice would you give?”  He said, “live life with purpose.”
It was very obvious that the biggest impression made on him was not the wealth or fame a successful acting career brings, but how much better it is giving than getting.  He was thankful for what he had, but it was the giving he found most rewarding.
To me that is very much a living with purpose thing.  I am very thankful for many things, but it is the living with purpose thing I find most fulfilling.  Perhaps that is why David’s story meant a lot to me.