His ways are not our ways
Welcome rain failed to dampen Singing Under the Stars.
Men gather round the bbq, enjoying a chat in the rain.
Christmas with heartz
I had planned a balmy Christmas Eve, singing carols as we sat on the hill gazing into the stable where Mary and Joseph cradled the little baby Jesus in a soft warm light surrounded by hay.
The Chicken Feed star was above the stable and the evening sky was lit up by God’s stars. It was going to be a perfect evening with all the locals invited to a barby and then carols, Singing Under the Stars!
Well, as I ran to the house with my umbrella, I said to the Lord: 'it is not Satan who makes it rain, it is you. This is your plan. You must have a reason for the rain coming just as everyone arrived with their chops and sausages!'
The locals were in good spirits. Rural people always welcome rain, even on their BBQs.
It became an intimate affair, snuggled together under an umbrella at the barby with the kids watching a Christmas DVD in the shed. The blokes stood next to the animal feed bins with the beer and potato salad. We all said that the rain would pass ... but it didn’t.
It began to bucket down. We had to push the life-size Mary and Joseph back, and put our deck chairs in the middle of the Nativity scene. The hay wall back drop came down and we used the bales to sit on, and sang carols as the rain beat down on the tin shed roof.
We sang about three or four sets of carols as the shifts of people drifted into the lit up stable. We had the families and children at the beginning, and as they left, some new ones arrived after having their meals at home.
Neighbours wandered up the driveway in the dark with flashing ear-rings and flashing wine glasses all ready to sit next to Joseph and Mary and retell the original Christmas story in song.
About fifty people came and went that Christmas Eve. It was the only night in about a week or two that it had rained.Even though it was not exactly what I had in mind, there was something extra special about being in the stable with Mary, Joseph and Jesus; about whom we were singing, rather than gazing in from the outside …
His ways are not our ways.
Meredith CampbellHeartz (Huon Project)