I was reminded the other day about how much there is to love in this life. Once a week I volunteer for a couple of hours at the Immigrant Centre, helping in an English class. This particular day the regular teacher was away and the substitute decided to teach on Canadian seasons. The exercise was to go around the class and ask different people questions. My favourite question to ask the students that day was if they liked winter. Some of them said no obviously, as most of them come from much warmer climates, but the answer of one of the students struck me deep. After the exercise was finished the teacher started telling the class how much she disliked winter. She went on for a few minutes about how the biting cold and the piles of snow made her life miserable, and one students in the class, face filled with surprise, looked her deep in the eyes, and said in broken English, "But teacher, there is so much to love." She went on to explain how she loved taking her children to go sledding, and skating, and playing in the snow. This one, she has traded life in a tropical climate for Canadian extremes and still she finds all there is to love.
You and I? Do we find all there is to love. Do we see the ground beneath us and the heavens above us and give thanks for the earth that surrounds us? For the snow the crunches, the sunshine of spring, and the hope of warmer days ahead? Or do we look at ourselves and see a life that we hadn't planned on, a life that was supposed to look so much different. Plans that failed, promises broken, tragedy, things beyond our control, loneliness, brokenness, and the list goes on. Because in reality those things are probably present in every single one of our lives. We all have battles to fight. We are all restless and wanting something more. So we can choose, we can choose to either dwell on the biting cold, or look around and see tall there is to love.
That student? The one that found so much to love in winter? She has left a home she knew to start a life unknown here. I can bet that starting over in a new culture where she spoke very little English has not been an easy transition. But still, she thrives. She comes to class with a sparkle in her eye, because in the midst of all the mire of everyday life, she finds all there is to love.
You and I? Do we find all there is to love. Do we see the ground beneath us and the heavens above us and give thanks for the earth that surrounds us? For the snow the crunches, the sunshine of spring, and the hope of warmer days ahead? Or do we look at ourselves and see a life that we hadn't planned on, a life that was supposed to look so much different. Plans that failed, promises broken, tragedy, things beyond our control, loneliness, brokenness, and the list goes on. Because in reality those things are probably present in every single one of our lives. We all have battles to fight. We are all restless and wanting something more. So we can choose, we can choose to either dwell on the biting cold, or look around and see tall there is to love.
That student? The one that found so much to love in winter? She has left a home she knew to start a life unknown here. I can bet that starting over in a new culture where she spoke very little English has not been an easy transition. But still, she thrives. She comes to class with a sparkle in her eye, because in the midst of all the mire of everyday life, she finds all there is to love.
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