Life and Faith Story – Pink carnation

Life and Faith Story – Pink carnation. Carnations are a symbol of love, affection and devotion. The pink carnation is a well-recognised Mother’s Day flower, symbolising a mother’s love, affection and gratitude.  

What was life like for you as young person?  

Growing up in country New South Wales, Pink Carnation remembers enjoying the simple pleasures of life in a village. Extended family, including uncles, aunts, cousin and grandparents were close by. Life was about relationships and community.  

She remembers the women of the community coming to help her grandmother preserve the fruit that grew in abundance in the family orchard.  

“There was a sense of freedom and security. It was the most idyllic upbringing, running through fields and swimming in creeks without a care”, she reflects.  

“We didn’t have electricity until I was twelve, so we relied on tank water, lanterns, open fires and field stoves and we lived totally off the land without chemicals and preservatives.  

“It was wonderful because we were always having family get-togethers, and you learned so much about relationships. It was a very relational time.”  

Being the first grandchild, and with three Aunts, young Pink Carnation was doted on by women who relished passing on traditional skills. By the age of four, she had learned to knit and embroider and operate her Nanna’s plug-in telephone exchange.  

Her idyllic life was uprooted when the family relocated when she was 12 and just starting high school.   

“It was a big change. Leaving my friends, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins was very traumatic for me.”  

When did you begin to think of yourself as a Christian? What was that like for you?  

Growing up there was always a “God awareness” Pink Carnation says, even as a little girl. In her early life, before the move, the Minister would visit the area once a month as there was no ‘church’ as such in the country.   

When her father went into sawmilling and built a home ‘in town’ they attended the Anglican Church and Pink Carnation fell in love with Sunday school.  

“I remember one Saturday, learning to ride a bike and flying down a hill before crashing over the handlebars and spraining my ankle but I would not miss Sunday school the next day,” she says.  

“I can still remember the scripture verses I was given and reading a verse on Palm Sunday as a little girl. I was so proud!”  

“When we moved, I felt I lost a little bit of ground as we moved away from the church I loved so much.”  

How has your life journey been shaped by your life ‘in Christ’?  

Pink Carnation married her high-school sweetheart at a time when permission from the church was required if you were under the age of 21. It was not initially given.  

With her fiancée away with the ADF, she was forced to take extraordinary steps, alone and in the face of opposition, to have her first child and marry the man she loved.  

She says she knew God was there for her as she fought to determine her own future. It took all her courage, faith and determination but she won both her parent’s approval, and the permission and support of the local Anglican Minister.  

The young couple began married life and were soon ready to welcome a second baby, but Pink Carnation went into early labour and almost died during the difficult delivery.  

“I was so close to death that I remember watching from the ceiling as my baby was being delivered,” she says.  

“I can still see the nurse with the red hair who was working on me as she kept bringing me back into my body,”   

“I really believe she was praying for me and that’s why I survived.  

“But my beautiful little baby boy died just two days later.”   

In the throes of grief, Pink Carnation turned to God and began searching for deeper connection. It was around this time that she started having vivid dreams in which she saw and heard God, sometimes in an image and voice she later found described in Bible passages she had not yet read.  

“From then on, I just went forward with God and couldn’t get enough of the word of God. I was just so hungry for it, and I really believe God has been with me every step of the way.”  

The next baby, a little girl, was also born premature but this one survived despite weighing just over 2 pounds! Pink Carnation’s family was completed with the addition of a healthy baby boy a few years later.  

What is it like to be part of a faith community?  

Pink Carnation’s experience during the mid-1970s to early 1990’s with a charismatic movement in Sydney showed her what a faith community should not be.  

“Like many thousands of others, we were captivated by this charismatic leader who kept us under his control through strict rules and judgement,” she says.  

“It was especially bad for women, and it had quite an impact on my family and my son.  

“Your insecurities were used against you to make you feel shame. It was soul-crushing.  

“Fortunately, we had some friends who like us, had a strong foundation in traditional churches and could see the difference so when things started going pear-shaped, we were able to get out.”  

The difference was highlighted when Pink Carnation was diagnosed with a serious illness a few years ago, before coming to Robina. While undergoing treatment, she learned that people were praying for her because they were connected to someone she knew.  

“That came from being part of a faith community. To have that love and support from people who may not even know you is very special,” she says.  

Throughout her life Pink Carnation has attended many churches as she and her husband and family moved around for work before retiring to the Gold Coast.  

“When I first walked into Robina Anglican, I felt a great sense of peace,” she says.  

“Here we have a community that lifts you up and where your strengths and gifts are nurtured so that we can support and help each other.”  

How would you encourage people who are finding their way in life and faith in our changing world?  

Pink Carnation has turned to God through the trials and tribulations of life, but she knows it is not that easy for everyone.  

Throughout her personal and professional life, she has worked with and helped women who have been depressed or downtrodden to regain and build self-esteem, self-worth and confidence.  

“I think hope is lacking today,” she says.  

“You can give someone so much hope through listening to them, giving encouragement and helping them set and achieve goals, even the smallest goals!”  

“I think of it as ‘gifting back into life’.”  

“Whether young or old, people just want to be heard without judgement and to be loved and accepted for who they are. God sends us friends to show us love.”  

With deep gratitude to Pink Carnation for sharing her life and faith story as a gift of encouragement for us all,   

Di.