Tonight, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Wawa, while enroute back to Manitoba, and I'm watching a tv channel from Newfoundland and Labrador ... How's that for a Canadian moment?
Earlier today I stopped in Sault Ste. Marie and had a brief visit with my cousin Steve and his kids ... While I was there, Steve gave me a photo from the Sault Ste Marie paper of our fire ... How slow a newsday was it in Sault Ste Marie the week of February 12th ???
As I looked at the picture I was reminded of that cold day back in February when we stood on the street and watch the building the folks of Minnedosa United Church have called home for 105 years ... I remembered the moment when the tears finally came and I sat in a snow bank and watched the fire consume the building ...
Looking at the picture reminded me of the harsh beginning of 2006 ... then I thought about the building that for over 106 years has housed the congregation that in time became Centennial United Church in Stratford ... On December 31st 2006, they will bid that building good bye for the last time ... and they will disband ... and another Sanctuary space will vanish from my life ...
2006 has been a year of losses and transition and struggle for me ... it has had its downs and its ups ... and I am NOT the same person I started the year as ... And tonight sitting in Wawa reminds me of a moment almost 15 years ago when I was asked by the United Church of Canada if I wanted to be settled in Bella Coola BC or Wawa Ontario ... I chose Bella Coola ... I also remember one day driving down the Yellowhead Highway and passing the town of Minnedosa ... we looked down the valley and mused that one day we should come back for a visit ...
Sometimes, we simply do NOT know what life has in store ... and we do not know where our choices will lead us ... but it is when we look back, that we can see where our choices and the happenings in our lives have made a difference ...
Life is fluid, dynamic and always changing ... and perhaps that's the only certainty there is ... and all we can do is simply enjoy the ride ...
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