The Bells on Christmas Day

“Ding, dong! Ding, dong!”

It was our first night in Germany and I was preparing to go to bed. It was quiet in the four story house where Bobby, Maria and the kids lived and it was approaching midnight. I was tired and jet-lagged. The cuckoo clock suddenly came alive with its song “Edelweiss.” This is similar to our clock and sits in the foyer up on the wall. It had just banged out 12 staccato hammer hits to announce it was midnight. I knew it was late and hurried into the bathroom to brush my teeth. In the quietness that followed, I heard a soft echo: twelve more dongs as if bells were ringing from somewhere outside the window.

I remember Bobby showing me the church that sat high up as if watching over Otterbach. “That must be where the bells are coming from,” I thought. From that point on, I listened for them at night when it was quiet. Besides ringing on the hour, they also rang on every quarter hour, too.

Two weeks later, we went for a walk on Christmas Eve. It was an unusually warm and sunny day. (No white Christmas here, this year, although it had flurried a few time since Bob and I arrived.) We walked about three miles all the way down a long trail that started at the “Rathouse” or town hall building. Little Bobby and Alexis went with us on their bikes weaving in and out and all around on the sidewalk. Alexis had trouble because she just learned how to ride and fell many times. I had to help her sometimes by walking with her as she held up her bike. We hiked past a flowing brook, streets, houses and hills all empty of anything but grass, the trees barren and the ponds stripped of all life except for the occasional sparrow. People came up to us occasionally jogging or walking too and we exchanged greetings with them.

On the way back, it was about a quarter to four and suddenly the church bells started ringing loudly. It went on constantly for about 10 minutes. Out of the houses of Otterbach, people started to stroll to church dressed in their best clothes. We waved at them and they waved back. They must’ve going to Christmas Eve services. On Christmas Day, the bells tolled loudly too several times to announce more services.

It reminded me of a long ago time when the church was the center of a community and all were expected to gather there and worship.

We made it back home safely knowing that God is in control no matter what the circumstances can be and He will take care of us no matter what. Now I think of His provision every time I hear them ring.

It also reminded me of this song: (Thank you, Phil Sarlo!)

Christmas Bells
 
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men." Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, goodwill to men!"
 
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Church bells of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Beal City (Moun...

A Cross and A Cantata

Our flight to Germany was uneventful and we arrived safely. We had the pleasure of viewing a beautiful sunset as my son, Bobby III and Alexis greeted us at the airport. We drove through the German countryside and enjoyed the last few rays of the day. By the time we got to Otterbach, it was dark and we were greeted by the rest of the family. After a few days of feeling sleepy and adjusting to the jet lag, we were busy looking for jobs on the internet, getting an international driver’s license and playing with the kids.

Much to my delight, a gentle snow greeted us that Tuesday morning after we arrived that coated everything in white.

We visited the little mission church of Rhineland Baptist on a Wednesday night. It was a few towns over so we had to take the autobahn to get to it.

 On the way there, Bobby said: “Mom, look out the window and look up.” I stared at the outline of the hills.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s Hilter’s tower where he spoke to the German people. “

“Where is it?” I asked scanning the hills once more.

“It’s there were the lighted cross is. They put a cross there during Christmas.” I saw that and it immediately the thought hit me that Hitler and his evil regime is long gone, but Christ still reigns and will rule over the world some day.

Finally, we arrived. The church looks like a warehouse with a large parking lot behind a chain link fence. Entering the building, we went into a good-sized auditorium. The ceilings were high and you could hear the rumble of trains every few minutes running next to the property. In spite of that, I greatly enjoyed the preaching of Brother “Woody” as he spoke on the Rapture to the congregation.

The weather warmed up the rest of the week and it rained a lot and washed the snow away. It has yet to snow any more.

I practice the cantata which will be performed on December 23^rd on my computer every day. I have to make up for lost time; Bobby gave it to me a few days before we came and I have to learn it by memory in two weeks.   

Will I be able to get the cantata memorized in time? I hope so. There are only four altos and four of each other section so its important that I learn my part.

I also hope it snows soon so it will be a white Christmas. Those weather forecasts were wrong about the fluffy, white stuff. It’s rained every day and it isn’t cold enough for snow.

And the name of the cantata is: “Maranatha! The Lord is come.” It’s about the first coming of Jesus and the second coming too. I can’t wait for Him to return. I’ve been waiting a long time but I still look forward to it any day.

In a moment of time, He’s coming,

King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,

Leading Heaven’s throng

In a joyful song,

Maranatha! The Lord is come.

Satan’s forces will be defeated,

Evermore we shall live with Him,

Free from sin and strife with eternal life,

Maranatha! The Lord is Come.

If He doesn’t come back, I wish all of you a Wonderful and Blessed Christmas!

Airport Terminal

Our flight was delayed two and one half hours so we’re sitting at the airport terminal with a bunch of Germans. One guy is really enjoying his music, actual CD’s, with his headset on and one girl is curled up on a chair and sleeping. Married couples sit chatting and one lady is looking at her computer tablet in spite of a large baby sleeping on her chest.

I said goodbye to everyone here in Florida over the past few weeks. It was an emotional experience. Now we wait a flight into the night to an unknown land.

I look over to a guy with a huge tattoo on his arm who looks exhausted and stares off into space. What lies ahead for us? Will we be disappointed? Only time alone can tell. I look at the huge Christmas tree that stands in the middle of the terminal and sweat it out in my hot clothes. How cold will it be there? Will we find jobs? Will we enjoy my grandchildren? They are all excited by our coming.

Little Robert proclaimed he wanted to do something special with “Papa”. What that is, he didn’t say. He just winked his eye and mysteriously replied: “Just wait.”

So I’m leaving the state of Florida. A place where I’ve lived for 46 years to go away – 5000 miles away…

The guy is still listening to his music; the girl got up from her nap and walks restlessly away. The couples look bored and Bob reads his Muscle car magazine. The guy with the tattoo fell asleep. The lady with the baby stares in to space…

So I try to have a attitude of faith; the only attitude that pleases God and look forward to whatever He has for me in the future as I start this new beginning.

A new beginning in a far away place: now I know how Abraham felt as God called him out of his comfort zone to a new land; the promised land of Canaan.

The baby woke up and she’s looking at me. Now, she looks away.

One more hour and we’re on board… Lord, help me to see your hand in everything. Help me to have an attitude of faith and belief in You. Help me, too to have the fruit of the Spirit. And believe all things.

In Jesus Name, Love, Laura

And the guy listening to music just smiled and waved to me. And I waved back.

Mom’s Tuesday Buffet

“Mom, the oven is cold!”

I had just walked in the door of her house and checked what was going on in her kitchen.

She didn’t hear me.

“Oh, I put all that stuff in the oven an hour ago and it should be warm now.”

I repeated the words louder. “Mom, the oven is cold and I’m going to turn it on!”

“It must be broken!”

“No, mom, it’s not turned on!” I yelled

I pushed the start button and it fired up. Meanwhile, three dogs run in from the front door and hover around my legs. Pablo, Bella and Bruno sniff around the oven looking for food and signaling my sister Lisa had arrived.

 

It was Tuesday night at mom’s house where the family gathers every week for a good meal and some fellowship. Maria’s daughter, Leslie, had brought us a plate of leftover turkey and gravy and we supplemented that with all the other fixings to make it like another Thanksgiving. I contributed the famous bread stuffing from my mom-in-law’s recipe.

 

I give Lisa a hug and we talk about many things. She looks like me except she has dark brown hair and mine is blonde.

 

“So are you ready for Germany, sis?”

“Yes,”I replied, “but it’s going to be cold.”

It’s been so warm here lately, in the 70’s and 80’s and I knew it was going to be a big adjustment.

She laughed and looked at me like I was crazy. “You are going to miss the warmth! You just wait! I remember when I lived in Washington, DC. It was so cold and this is even colder! I’ll never live where it was cold ever again!”

She made it sound like some sort of disease. I thought of the weather report I had read for the next two weeks of “snow and more snow” in Germany. Not too inviting.

“Well, I’ll be okay, I guess.” I replied sheepishly.

 

She laughed again and shook her head in disgust.

 

I thought about it and felt ashamed but that’s normal. I always feel guilty around her. Was it the Lord’s will for us? We have given up our home, our jobs, our possessions and lastly, the wonderful Florida weather.

 

But then I thought of my son, my daughter-in-law, our four grandchildren and most importantly the little mission church that awaited us.

 

My thoughts were interrupted as dinner was announced as ready. Lisa and I set the table and Bob, Tommy, mom and Maria gather around for the prayer of thanks. Lisa gets on Mom’s case for not wearing her hearing aide; we discover that the specks of white in our water glasses are pieces of frozen butter that somehow were buried into the ice tray and we stuff ourselves on the heavy comfort food fare.

 

But it’s all good. God’s will be done. No matter what my sister says, we will make it. The Lord will see us through. In five more days we leave; in less than a week we will be there.

 

 A brand new life. Then I remembered the words to that old Christmas song:

 

“And may all your Christmases be white…”

A Life Worth Giving

I noticed the kid was dressed in a Junior ROTC uniform and I remembered they had that every Wednesday. I was subbing in World History that day and he sat there beaming at his desk.

“Hello, Miss!” He exclaimed smiling a little too broadly.

“Hello, Chris. That’s your name, right?

“Right!”

“So what branch of the military do you want to be in?” I asked.

“The Army, Miss. But not just the regular Army: the Special Ops. I want to be a trained assassin.”

“A trained assassin?” I asked. “What’s involved with that?”

“Oh, Miss, listen! I want to be the one that goes right into the heat of battle and kills lots of bad guys.”

“You want to risk your life that way?” I was surprised at the goals of this 15 year old boy.

“Yes, Miss. Of course I do.”

“You don’t want a safer job behind the lines somewhere?”

“No, Miss. That’s why I’m signing up as soon as I’m outta high school. I want to blow up people.”

“Really??” I asked.

“Really. I want to get into a group of bad terrorists secretly and yell out: “Okay, you bad guys! In the name of the United States of America, you are done! And then I push a button and blow us all away.”

“You’d blow yourself away too?”

“Yes, Miss! Of course I would. It would be so cool.” He smile got even broader.

“That’s patriotic of you.” I said. I couldn’t help but be challenged by his youthful expression of exuberance. I could see he really loved his country.

I wondered then if I could do that too for Christ. Would I give Him my all and then go and prove it? Give up everything for Him even my physical existence?

We then studied our lessons about the Reformers and the Reformation and how they, too, gave it their all and some gave their very lives for the cause of Christ.

Jesus said that’s what was required of His disciples. This kid shamed me that day into thinking about it and he was right. What else was there to live for? Why would any of us want to live behind enemy lines instead of confronting the enemy? Why would any of us hold back from giving Our King our all?

I still read this Bible verse even now and my backbone straightens. I remember that we are but dust and everything we own is but dust. Do we want to continue living like cowards and sissies or do we want to do valiant deeds for the Kingdom; a Kingdom that would never end?

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Matt 10:39

Lord, thank you for this reminder and rebuke. Please give me the grace to live –and be ready to die- for You every day!

The Whippersnapper

(This is an excerpt from my book about two knights who are lost in the wilderness and meet a strange creature. It shows how the world thinks. Worldly people just believe in themselves. They don't need God. Or at least, that's what they always say. I've written in parable form the mechanics of what worldly people actually think when they reject God. This is sort of like Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.)


“He said his name was Mr. Whippersnapper or just Whippersnapper for short.

 

“It said it merely wanted to ask us some questions.

 

 “The monster’s smile seemed to grow as it starred at both of us and his whole body seemed to glow even brighter.

 

“The first question was something about who do we admire the most: the one person, living or dead that we looked up to as our hero.

 

"Then it said, ‘What about your saint?’

 

“We both agreed that St. Patrick Nubar, the warrior musician who is the hero of every Octamanian knight, was someone we looked up to. However, I mentioned he was dead now.

 

 “Then he said something real strange. He asked us about what we thought about the Good Shepherd.

 

“The mention of that name brought frowns to both of us.

 

“I spoke up now first and answered honestly. I said that we’ve been taught some about him but we had never actually met him.

 

“Smuff added that he didn’t know if the Good Shepherd really existed, although some people have said they had met him. He thought it was a bunch of tall tales and make-believe stories.

 

“Then, Smuff went on to talk more about St Patrick. He said something like:  ‘We know he ‘ears us! See this?’ He pulled a thin gold chain out of his shirt that had a small medal dangling on it. It was a charm and he told the Wippersnapper it was a small likeness of St Patrick which the Witch had given to him.

 

“The Whippersnapper seemed pleased with this answer. Then it said it had two more questions for us and they were very important ones. One was: why we prayed to anyone or had faith in anybody. Why couldn’t we have faith in ourselves? Did we really need a saint or god to inspire us? Couldn’t we do great things without Delon (or God)?

 

“It was more than two questions, so we thought about them for a few minutes.

 

“’Belief in yourself? What’s that?’ I asked him back.

 

“He went on to say that we didn’t have to have faith in anybody but ourselves; not even St. Patrick or Delon or the Good Shepherd.  Before he let us go, he wanted a promise from us to do a favor for him. He wanted to always be our friend. He said he wanted both of us to help Lord Loving write something about the twenty laws of funkyjunk. I think he said ‘twenty’…and I had no clue what funkyjunk was.

 

“So, we both nodded our heads. I was tired, wet and cold and suddenly got the urge to go home and sleep in my own bed.

 

“He was really happy that we would go along with him.  And, he wanted us to tell everyone the same message – to believe in themselves. ‘It’s foolish to believe any other way.’ is the exact quote. The creature was noddin’ and its smile was real broad but deep down inside, but I still didn’t trust it.”

 

from the book The Land of Efacia by Laura Bentz