Now I know why artists paint pink water.
We have just arrived home from visiting family in Sydney and I am reminded of the Hope that is to be found at my father-in-law's home. Ron created a wonderful legacy for his family and the generations to come in a secure and stable home environment. His kind, considerate nature will influence his family for many years to come. After he passed away just over a year ago I was wandering around his beautiful estate, and these words came to mind... 'we are only stewards of this land for a short time, we think we own it... but we don't... we are just here to look after it for a while'. Many such sentences echo in my mind of Ron's wisdom.
During this visit as I wandered around Ron's property I felt sad to see his land going back to weeds, after he nurtured it so carefully. He would have been most distressed to see it so neglected. Dead fronds from the Tree Ferns, hung wearily - this was one of the many things Ron liked to keep clear in the garden. I imagined him telling me to 'get them down'. I could feel his presence so strongly there that I wanted to stay and look after the land for him... to help continue loving the place as he once had. Ron was a great steward of not only the land but also of the people in his life. I truly understand stewardship now because of him. Ron looked after and maintained his property very well, but most of all he cared for his family at a very deep level.
Driving home today I was listening to a radio program on the ABC. The speaker, a former psychoanalyst told how hard it can be for men to stay in a family... their genes tell them to leave... I believe it takes a strong man to stay in a family that their hearts have to tell them to stay. Well Ron was a stayer... he stayed with his family... guided them like the soldier he once was. He never left his post even when the going got tough. In all our lives things can be tough and Christmas can be very tough on many. Families can be a source of great comfort or great despair or both. Separation or loss of family members can really hit hard at Christmas.
But I believe that even if we are separated from family or have lost someone special that those people also have left us a gift. People like Ron remind me of the gift of Hope... Hope for the future, Hope for family... Hope for a good life for friends. Hope for the earth. Hope doesn't desert us... Hope is what can keep us going when the track can seem overgrown. Maybe this is the message for me this Christmas... the track at Ron's is still there... his wisdom is still in my heart and mind, even though the track through his garden is overgrown... "Be a good steward of the land you live on... the land in your community... look after it... look after the people around you."
What do you Hope for this Christmas?
