08/09/2026
“I sat on the park bench in the shade, but my Hazara neighbour, Sarah, put me to shame. After running, she waved to me while walking laps of the park’s perimeter with her friend, calling out that she was working on her postpartum belly. A rag-tag group of Hazara kids played on the playground. Later, the ladies offered me cardamom tea from their sealed plastic teapots and dainty desserts.
There was something beautiful in the way that the Hazara ladies did life together: simple exercises, cups of tea at the park, and sharing childcare. Life didn’t seem compartmentalised, like driving to a coffee shop to see a friend and then driving in a different direction to a gym class. I know they have had many other problems, but I suspect the park ladies didn’t experience the same loneliness when their babies were born.”
Rebecca Marie is headlining Issue 26 of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner with Defining Word: Community. Also in this issue, Mariah Hlatywayo, I Come Before the Great I Am, plus live shows by Tenielle Neda, opportunities for emerging visual artists 3.8 Baysie Cafe | Breakfast + Lunch | Bayswater Perth and women’s ministry training Trinity Theological College plus our Annual Survey!
Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner brings Christian women in WA together through honest stories. Sign up for encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from March-November. It’s all free 💛
