The Rural Voice, 1980-12, Page 17GUEST COLUMN
Hustle, bustle a n d ...joy!
BY REVEREND WILENA BROWN
VARNA
Christmas is a 'comin'.
The goose is getting fat;
Please to put a penny
In the old man's hat.
The old nursery rhyme speaks to our
lives just now. The preparation of
Christmas and the need to give gifts
begin to absorb us.
We are hustled in the twentieth
century sense of the word - sucked into a
system toward an end we have not
chosen. The appeal of advertising and the
things themselves beguile us. We
overflow with affectionate good wishes
and somehow believe that we can be
extravagant without pain.
We feel sorry for people who are not
caught in the bustle: people without -
family; people Who grimly refuse to
"make a fuss" and miss the celebration;
people who have no choice because their
belongs to:
Barry and Joanne
Ballantyne,
R.R. 3 S tra tfo rd
interest is in food for survival not for
feasting.
For most of us in this much blessed
area of the world our problem is trying to
keep a waistline rather than a roof over
our heads. We do not know the struggle
of our Depression era relatives who had
to fight to have a chicken and a
homemade toy. Even I can remember
when an orange was a precious treat at
the toe of my Christmas stocking. What
pleasure! The stockings were for when
we first got up.Wehad to wait to unload
the tree until all the chores were done.
What speedy and efficiency showed at
our home on Christmas morning!
Hustle and bustle - the style of a
Canadian Christmas. Love gets ex-
pressed in activities and things. Warm
feelings, sparkling eyes, a sense of
wonder surround us.
In the year that Christ was born some
things were the same. Mary and Joseph
had to get ready for a hard journey over
rough and dangerous territory to be
counted for a tax roll. They were hustled
by the Roman government to a place and
a time they would never have chosen.
When they arrived, the whole of
Bethlehem was one great bustle, with all
the future tax -payers competing for
lodging and food. Then the moment of
crisis came - a baby was born in all that
confusion. The anxious parents were
glad to have the shelter of a stable cave.
Hustle and bustle, yes, but more, so
much more! The shepherds got the
message - there's a baby in Bethlehem
who isn't what he seems to be, "glory to
God...your Saviour is born." They left
their flocks to see this wonderful gift. The
Magi from the east followed the star.
Shepherds and Magi knew the wonder
of finding a new centre of faith. JOY
broke through -and hope! It is that
coming, that awesome reality of the
Divine reaching to us, that Christmas is
all about.
Hustle and bustle, yes, but let's not
forget the JOY - the sheer wonder of the
gift given for us all.
T. B. ALLEN LTD.
Feed and
SHUR GAIN
Fertilizer
CoII .... 482-3363 523-9606 523-4414
ALLBORO FARMS
have all requirements for • Elevating
• Drying and Storing your Corn
Caii .... 523-4470
Londesboro, Ontario
1
THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1980 P(i. 15