PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

August 31, 2022

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For many years Diane and I have subscribed to Reader’s Digest Select Editions.  For some time we got both the fiction and non-faction offerings.  Now we just receive the fiction.  While there are some selections I might have read on my own, the vast majority I would never have read if they were not included in a Select Edition.  The selection, Let It Snow, in the current Selected Edition falls into this latter category.    If I had not read it, I would never have discovered the following illustration which is the focus of this week’s musings.

Christina Antonioni is owner of a shop located on Straight Wharf in Nantucket.  She goes to see her landlord, Oscar Bittlesman, who has sent a notice to Christina and her fellow shop owners on the Wharf that their rent will be raised ten percent in February.  The increase would very likely put all of them out of business.  Complicating the situation Oscar’s granddaughter, Wink, has become close to Christina and helps out at her shop several hours in the afternoon.

When Christina and Mr. Bittlesman met Wink is invited by her grandfather to stay to hear what Christina has to say.  As their conversation reaches its climax Bittlesman says, “I don’t want your friendship.  I want your money.”  To which his granddaughter responds: “You have money.  You don’t have any friends.  You need friends.”

To find the twists and turns that Nancy Thayer takes to bring Let It Snow to a conclusion you will have to read the book.  In the meantime, here are some clues that might help you anticipate where you might go However, it is no accident that Oscar Bittlesman is referred to several times as scrooge; the story takes place at Christmas; a small child leads them; and friends, family and community play an important part.

Wink could have found support for her comments to her grandfather in the Book of Ecclesiastes.  In chapter five we find: “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth with gain.  This is also vanity.  When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?” (Ec. 5:10, 11)  The Hebrew word that is usually translated “vanity” actually means “a breath.”  All of us would agree that the last breath we took was important.  Nevertheless it was fleeting, of transitory value.  Money and wealth have their place.  However, as Jesus points out in the Sermon on the Mount they can be destroyed and ruined by the forces of this world.

In chapter four of Ecclesiastes the author mentions something that does have lasting value.  “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?  And though one might prevail against another; two will withstand one.  A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ec. 4:9-12)

Monday night at about 6:00 P.M. Diane and I were sitting at our kitchen table. All at once a storm erupted and lasted for about ten minutes.  The front affected people over a large area.  While we did not get our electricity turned back on until Tuesday afternoon, some went more than a week without power.  Destruction was wide spread.  The mini storm was a reminder that our lives can be changed in an instance as a result of unforeseen circumstances.

During times of unexpected disaster, families, friends, communities and sometimes even strangers come together.  We see this coming together during the current pandemic.  Neighbor has looked out for neighbor.  New ways have been developed to support one another.   While it might be nice to have a little more money, all of us could use a few more friends.