Month: May 2017

The Circus is a Strange Anniversary Date

The trained lions and tigers are unbelievable!

Every year when our anniversary rolls around, my husband and I look for something special to do together. A concert or play makes a nice evening out but there rarely seems to be anything going on when we want to celebrate.  This year that was the case as well, except that we noticed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus was in town at about that time.  We had also heard that the circus was ending its 146 year old run this season.   The original version began in 1871 and the two circuses merged in 1919 to form “The Greatest Show on Earth!”  While a circus is not really your typical formal anniversary date, we decided to go.

Thanks to Kathy Turner for sharing her circus photos with me.

The show lived up to its name. We enjoyed all the classic acts: trapeze artists, stunt clowns on stilts and animal acts including the marvelous big cats and dogs, kangaroos, and other exotic animals.  There were bikes and motorcycles and basketball on unicycles.  We watched horses with stunt riders and dozens of performers on ice skates.  A ringmaster narrated a story that wove the acts together and a live band played the background music.  It was energetic and fun entertainment.  Of course, the audience was entertaining too.  The arena was full of children and families.  Twirling wands and light toys buzzed and blinked all around us and the air was filled with the scents of popcorn and cotton candy.  We had traded the romantic for something rollicking!

The circus makes you smile.

As we left the show, we talked about the demise of the circus. The circus is great fun so why was it closing?  My husband thought that the costs had pretty much put a show like this out of business.  In the early days, the circus would arrive in town and spread out its tent in a vacant field.  The crew and performers worked for room and board and maybe little else.  Now, high-cost facilities have to be rented and staff have workers’ rights for wages.  I also thought that the public’s taste for entertainment had evolved.  With film’s special effects and technological advances, it is harder for a live performance to amaze its audience.

I’ve written about change before. It is inevitable and it reaches into every aspect of life.  Recently, my church has faced a lot of change. Our pastor of over 35 years, has announced a transition toward retirement.  Many church staff have also moved on.  The service and worship formats are different.  Familiar songs and styles are gone.  It is hard to adjust to so many changes.  I miss the people and the ways to which I was accustomed. As I process these shifts, I remind myself of two important things.  The first is that, again, change is inevitable and it can be good.  People are changing and the church adapts to continually reach its audience.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) An aged out congregation will one day become an empty sanctuary. The second reminder is that the Gospel does not change.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  The hope of the cross is eternal; that message will never change.

“The Greatest Show on Earth” closes down this weekend in New York. Despite its fame and popularity, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is ending.  The world changes rapidly but God and His Word are unchanging.

Who Runs Across Your Path – Episode Three

I write this final episode of my series “Who Runs Across Your Path” with a sense of sadness. The story ends unexpectedly.

A couple of summers ago my husband and I were attending our church’s Independence Day and military appreciation service. We had a guest with us and the auditorium was packed.  We were seated in a section different from our usual spot.  Amid the patriotic music and special features, I noticed a woman sitting a few seats away.  She was alone.  Her attire suggested to me that she was not American-born.  As the service progressed, the woman remained on my mind.  I wondered if she had a family or any connections within our church.  Maybe she was just visiting that Sunday.  Towards the end of the hour, I realized my husband and I would be rushing out with the crowd; we were taking our guest to lunch.  I got one of my teacher business cards out of my purse and jotted down my phone number and email.  I added a note that went something like, “If you need any help, please give me a call.”  As the postlude, “Stars and Stripes Forever” began, we hurried out and I handed the woman my note.

Two weeks later I had an email in my Inbox; subject line: My Angel.  (See blog post “Once, Twice, Three Times an Angel”  09/29/16).  It was the woman from church.  She wrote that she had been praying for some help.  My offer was divine intervention for her!  Through email, we made plans to meet at church in a few Sundays.  Our first visit went very well.  She was easy to talk to and there was plenty for us to find out.  I had offered to help and her ‘need’ was to embark on a jewelry creation she envisioned.  I have no experience in jewelry-making so I knew I was not that answer for her.  We did, however, chat over her ideas and how she might accomplish them.

Fatima’s daughter shared this picture of her with me.

 

We continued to meet on Sundays. Her name was Fatima.  She worked as a nanny and had been living in the area for about 20 years.  She had first come to the States with Indian diplomats providing childcare.  Fatima had been widowed very young and diplomatic employment was a good way to support her young child.  She left a little daughter in India with her mother to make a living for them.  As the years went on, she nannied for different families.  Now, her immigration status was undocumented but good work for her back in India was scarce.  Nannying had allowed Fatima to provide well for her daughter, who was now grown and practicing law in India.  There was a strange way in which I was getting to know Fatima’s daughter at this time too.  When I would email Fatima to plan to meet or check in on her, I was actually emailing her daughter.  Her daughter would read the email to her mom on the phone and Fatima would tell her how to reply to me!

Then a season of great difficulty beset Fatima. The children she cared for outgrew the need for a nanny.  The family tried to assist her with finding a new job but in a changing world of more daycares and increased focus on immigrant status, nothing materialized.  She had occasional babysitting jobs but little else.  Local relatives did not give help.  I connected Fatima with an immigration lawyer at church but there were few options.  I still saw her at church where we talked and prayed.  At one point she was hired as a live-in for a family but they were cruel and overworked her and refused to give her food.  Fatima suffered again.  How could I help this soul who just ‘ran across my path’?  We offered to bring her to our home for a weekend.  I gave her grocery money.  Sitting with her, talking and listening did the most good I think. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity.”  She was encouraged and not alone; she kept her faith.

Eventually a promising live-in nanny position came up. She moved in with a kind family.  They treated her well and she loved caring for their young children.  They began to teach her computer skills which she enjoyed.  She had scheduled days off for rest, during which she told me she loved to read the Bible.  My friend was now in a safe and hopeful place.  Her new dream was to save up enough money to return to India and live with her adult daughter.

Things turned out unexpectedly. I got an email from Fatima’s daughter telling me she had died.  Fatima became ill and her employing family took her for medical treatment but she passed away a short time later at their home. I think years of hardship had weakened her small frame and Fatima’s body could fight no longer.  The daughter immediately filed paperwork for a visa to come to the US.  About 10 days later she arrived in the States and stayed with local family.  Fatima’s present and former employing families shared much information about Fatima’s life and work with her daughter.  The daughter also visited church and met Fatima’s friends.  She gathered her mother’s things, completed paperwork, and received her mother’s ashes.

I met Fatima’s daughter and her cousin for coffee. She looked like her mother and I recognized the smile and laugh.  We talked lightly; I did not know how much her mother had divulged about her past hardships. I offered my condolences to a daughter who had barely been with her mother.  But Fatima had greatly loved and sustained her only child from afar.

Who runs across your path? A lot of people do.  We can’t touch them all but when God prompts you to reach out, do it!  Through it, God uses you, He teaches you, and He blesses you.   Amen.