A CANADIAN CONNECTION
Ina felt as gloomy as the weather on this icy winter's day in Calgary. The snow lay thick already and she imagined that other people were happily skiing or building snowmen. Unlike Ina, who was all alone. These days, she chose to stay home on Saturdays and clean her apartment. Ina sighed, tears close to the surface. He had left her and chosen another. Gone. She turned away from the window: away from the falling snow and opened a drawer. She would declutter her books. She felt as though she could throw everything away. Then she saw it: between the romance novels: her grandmother's diary. Almost reverently, Ina held it in her hands. Perhaps she was meant to find it today. Curling up like a child in her easy chair, she began to read:
25 November 1975
"Dear Jesus, Yes, that sounds right. Not 'dear diary.' A diary can't help me, but You can. Oh, I hope so, I do hope so Jesus. You are the only One who can help me; the only One Who really sees me. Of course, Jim is here, and I love him dearly. You know Lord, it was for Jim that I traveled all the way from South Africa to this strange, icy place. And I don't want to complain, dear Lord. I am so blessed. I have Jim, yet I feel so alone. I feel invisible in this city, like a single orange flower in a field full of yellow daisies. Now I feel like crying as I think about my home on the West Coast of South Africa. Oh, Jesus, I miss my family so much. And my language, Afrikaans. Jim has been such a sweetheart. He's learning to speak it. And I'm always writing letters to mom and the others back home. Oh Lord, I am terribly alone! When I go shopping, I feel like the poor ugly duckling. I'm sorry Lord, I know that there are many kind people. Also, Jim's family and friends. Oh Lord, will You please send me a friend? I am so lonely Lord. Amen."
Ina was transfixed by her grandmother's words. She turned the page:
26 November 1975
"Dear Jesus, Oh Lord, I am so thankful, and sorry. I complained horribly and had such a pity-party. And then You spoke so lovingly and gently in my heart: "Johanna, am I not enough?" Then I cried and said, yes Lord, You are enough. Even if I never obtain a friend, You are enough. You will always be enough. You are everything to me. I love You. Amen."
Ina sat quietly, the diary open on her lap. The snow continued to fall softly, but this time it spoke of comfort; of blessing. Almost as though the Lord Jesus and her grandmother were reaching out to encourage her. To remind her. Then she remembered. She remembered her grandmother's strong, solid faith. How she managed to keep her language alive with Grandpa Jim's support. Proof of this lay in the fact that Ina was able to read Johanna's diary. Ina couldn't imagine how difficult it must have been for her grandmother. She'd moved across the sea to begin married life in a strange land. But, she’d managed, with God's constant help and support. Eventually, she did acquire a good friend, as well as several more at the little church she and Grandpa Jim called home. Ina stroked the old diary softly. Then she smiled for the first time in ages and opened her heart wide to Jesus.
The End.
Comments
Post a Comment