Tuesday, December 25, 2007

A Box of Chocolates

This Saturday we are hosting, along with our next-door neighbours, a 'Cul-de-sac Christmas' open house in our home for those who live in and around us. My neighbour and I travelled house-to-house the other week with tins of goodies and an invitation to welcome the neighbours. I was reminded how many there are who are lonely and experiencing illness....several would have loved us to stay much longer and visit. I have asked myself... just how difficult is this to take a little time on a weekend to visit in a willing neighbour's home? Not very. And yet it is so appreciated by the lonely! My mind went back as it does every year to my favorite little story I have shared in previous blogs....favorite because it's a true story....and it is a poignant reminder that you never know who sits behind a door in your neighbourhood who is just waiting for someone to care enough to share some time with them. Below is that short story. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

He lived across the street from us, sometimes peering out from behind the curtain of his window, sometimes observing the neighbourhood activity from the front porch. Stan kept to himself – not unfriendly, but nevertheless aloof. He was elderly and He lived alone. No cars ever seemed to enter his driveway.

As Christmas was nearing, my husband and I took some Christmas goodies to Stan’s next-door neighbour – an elderly lady whom we hadn’t seen since the weather turned cold. She was overjoyed at our visit. We learned she was nursing her brother who was sick, “dying of cancer”, she whispered, as if to not let him hear from the next room where he lay in a bed. She spoke of deep faith in God and how He gives strength to the weary.

She also spoke of Stan and how she prayed for him. I felt uplifted and thankful she knew the Christ whose birth we celebrated. We could not know as we left her home that in a few short years I would stand by her hospital bed as she would die of the same disease as her brother.

The week grew busier as Christmas approached, but I could not glance at Stan’s house without feeling we must visit him as well. Christmas Eve arrived, and as this was a year b.k. (before kids), we did not have the same bustling activity that we have known since then. Though the fire was cozy, and home was comfortable, we bundled up and made the trek across the street.

There was a dim light in the window and the sound of the television from behind the door. The shuffle of slippered feet followed the doorbell. Stan opened the door and his face lit up as he looked at his young neighbours standing with goodies in hand, wanting to visit him on Christmas Eve. He welcomed us almost with disbelief.

I do not remember if his home had any Christmas decorations or gifts, but I do recall how sad I felt that Stan wore a shirt and tie, dressed up as if expecting company but no one had come. He told us he had a grown son, but the two of them had not spoken in years. The bitterness was evident in Stan’s voice as he abruptly stated his son 'does not come home for Christmas'. He talked and we listened as time slipped by. He thanked us with tears in his eyes as we left, and how thankful we were that we had crossed the street to see him, and perhaps given him the only gift he would receive for Christmas. A short time out of our life had meant the world to him. Stan did not live to see another Christmas.......

Years later, I still think of Stan especially on Christmas Eve. Travelling with our children to Grandma and Grandpa's house that’s always filled with laughter, food, and gifts, Stan has become my reminder. As we drive down city streets, my eyes wander to windows which are darkened, lit only by the flickering light of a television. I wonder what heartaches lie in that household, and if someone sits alone at Christmas and throughout the year, wishing someone would bring some light, some hope, into their world.
Stan reminds me that I’m as busy as the town of Bethlehem was, when a Saviour quietly arrived on the scene… too busy doing nothing of importance to notice the only thing that matters. Christ was so willing to step into our world in spite of an unfathomable sacrifice on his part. Yet shamefully, I am often too busy to step outside my world into someone else’s, even though the sacrifice is miniscule and the reward so rich.

.........We heard a faint knock on our door the Christmas morning after we visited Stan. There stood Stan shivering in the cold, almost breathless, cheeks red, and eyes glistening. He stretched out his withered, trembling hands to offer us a box of chocolates which he had obviously bought that morning at the variety store down the block. “Merry Christmas”, he said, clasping our hands. “God bless you. Thank you so much!”.

A simple box of chocolates….but Stan could not know that years later his gift to us has been of more infinite worth than any others we have received!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Basket case

Imagine filling a school bus full of non-perishable food. Then picture doing it about 8-9 more times. Then try unloading these buses of all of the food and sorting it!

I've discovered I live in a very caring community! My husband and I had fun this evening, as we did last week, with many other people helping sort food for the Christmas baskets for needy families within our community. There have been busloads and ambulance loads full of food donations - schools, businesses, and groups provided so very much. I've never seen so much generosity in one place. We formed assembly lines to empty the bags and boxes, group the food, then pack into boxes ready to be distributed to the food bank and to Christmas baskets. I only wish I was available to actually deliver those baskets to families, but it will be done during daytime hours when I am working. I would love to see their faces and know the joy of helping a family in need.

Yes the Christmas spirit is in full swing. But I must remind myself at this season....what about the other 11 months of the year? People still struggle and are needy....at any time. The workers and donations are few at other times of the year.

Note to self: Ask myself monthly, "Am I finding opportunities regularly to donate time to individuals in need, the food bank, and other community endeavours? If not....why not??"

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Cool!













The first light snowfall just doesn't cut it. Doggy snow angels are difficult when the leaves didn't get raked and there's barely enough snow to roll in!


















Ahhhh. That's more like it!

















Mmmm. Delicious. Bring on winter!!

Editor's note: The opinions expressed in the preceding article are not necessarily those of the producer, and in fact the preceding poor quality pictures were taken by the wimpy producer through a frosty pane from the warmth of the kitchen.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Storms





This picture is deceiving. The chipmunk is actually looking over the edge at one of the most spectacular views in the world (and he has very good balance!). I took his picture on a mountain in Jasper, Alberta on a day I will never forget. It was a beautiful, warm summer vacation day in Jasper and our family set out to travel on "Canada's longest and highest aerial tramway".







From the upper station...complete with restaurant, gift shop, washrooms....(untouched nature!)... you overlook 6 mountain ranges as far as your eyes can see, glacial-fed lakes, and the Athabasca River - impossible to take it all in with a basic digital camera!









Incredible views. No mountain climbing apparatus required!







At 2277 metres above sea level you become aware of how barren it is....there are suddenly no trees....even the shrubs disappear. All that remains are rocks and beautiful tiny alpine plants. We decided to walk to the summit of Whistler's Mountain - perhaps a 30 minute trek, plus stops to catch our breath as the air got thinner. My son really wanted to say he had stood on the top of a mountain, and of course we wanted to see the scenery from the other side.



Though the sun was shining and it was relatively warm, I noticed a black cloud over another mountain range.



We continued, stopping to take in the views, when we realized that black cloud was quickly advancing. We hoped it would pass by us.




We were a little over halfway to our destination when suddenly the warm summer weather changed instantly to a freezing windstorm! The darkness settled in as the cloud descended over us. The wind howled with such force we had to hang onto each other to keep ourselves upright as a mixture of hail, sleet, and freezing rain beat down on us. I instinctively crouched over my daughter trying to cover her with my light jacket as she shivered on a boulder. I suddenly realized just how bleak it was on that mountain without any protection from the elements, unless of course you were a chipmunk or marmot who can dive into a rocky crevass. Suddenly, a blinding flash of too-close lightning cracked the air, followed immediately by a DEAFENING boom of thunder that reverberated over and over again throughout the mountain ranges. Screaming and PANIC!!!People began to run down the mountain towards the station. I looked up at those whose sillouettes were barely visible at the very top of the mountain and I feared for their safety. I wondered how you get medical help up there fast enough for someone struck by lightning. At that point, I was glad we hadn't made it to the top. People went slipping and sliding by us with flip-flops and sandals on their feet. (I'm sure they were specially made 'hiking' flip-flops...). You could easily spot the seasoned mountain climbers. They were the ones in hiking boots who had pulled protective gear from their backpacks...ready for any weather they would face on the side of a mountain. It's one thing to be on the ground and frightened in a lightning storm. But I have never felt so vulnerable in a storm as that day....to be at such a height that you were actually 'in' the cloud next to the lightning...and having absolutely no shelter close by....it was a terrifying moment.




Why DO storms have to happen anyways? I understand the need for rain...but why the ferocious storms that knock the wind out of you and terrify you? I don't have an answer. But I know the rain falls on the good and the bad....sometimes bad stuff happens to good people.

My mind goes to that story of Jesus....sleeping in the bottom of the boat in the middle of the storm, while his buddies were terrified and wondering why he didn't care. I'm thinking he shook his head at them as he got up and spoke to the wind and the waves to calm down. And they did. (Wow). He was disappointed in them for not just trusting him. I want to be like the seasoned mountain climbers, prepared as best they could, and not surprised at the storms. I want that kind of peace that trusts....no matter how bad the storm that's swirling around me....even if I die in the storm.....a peace that can't be understood is available for those who trust...in the One who speaks to storms and they stop when he wants them to.

"...soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” The Bible (New Living Translation) Mark 4:37-41






"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

The Bible (New Living Translation) Philippians 4: 6-7