HOSTS OF THE WORLD

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith from a place of winter For the Years of WINTER

 

 

Some time back, Helen and I attended an event that involved a large number of people from her past. As we talked about who might be there, and how we would recognize them, she named a certain woman and said, “Now Gayle’s been in love with you for a long time, so you need to pay some attention to her.” [1] 

 
This was disturbing on several levels, including the fact that Helen knew Gayle had been in love with me for a long time, and I didn’t. 
 
The rule of our thumbs is that I notice people and Helen notices wall colors and window treatments.
 
Rules of thumb are useful, but they are not scientific, so they are not always accurate. In this instance Helen noticed the person, and I didn’t. And occasionally I notice walls and window treatments. One thing I have noticed about window treatments is that no matter how recently a window was cured, it gets sick again very soon and needs another treatment.
 
Gayle wasn’t there, so it was an exhausting day for me. I had to talk to EVERY woman present, just in case someone else had been in love with me but ignored all those years.
 
It’s not remarkable that some random woman was in love with me; I’m used to that. [2] It IS remarkable that Helen wasn’t jealous or resentful of Gayle; she was concerned about her. She didn’t want her to feel left out.
 
We old people have been around long enough that we are now the hosts of the world, not the guests. We’re responsible for seeing that everyone is included at the party. Pay attention to those younger people. Help them to feel at home. One of them may be in love with you.
 
John Robert McFarland
 
1] Gayle is not her real name, of course.
 
2] Bazinga!
 
The “place of winter” mentioned in the title line is Iron Mountain, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where life is defined by winter even in the summer!
 
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{I also write the fictional “Periwinkle Chronicles” blog. One needs a rather strange sense of humor to enjoy it, but occasionally it is slightly funny. It is at http://periwinklechronicles.blogspot.com/}
 
I tweet, occasionally, @yooper1721.
 
I have nothing to do with those double under-linings Blogger puts into the body of these posts, randomly, it seems, to lead you to advertisements, and I wish they would stop that.