Ascension : Homily - 24 January 2010
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 28.01.2010 (Article Archived on 11.02.2010)

This past week my family followed my daughter Maggie and her husband Aaron’s trip across Canada on Facebook. They have moved over 3,000 miles to a town in northern Alberta to start a new life. Maggie has taken a job as a nurse in the hospital there and Aaron is continuing his studies.

They join Aaron’s two sisters there.  Carly has lived there for a few years, and Christy moved out there a few months ago after the tragic loss of her husband and children.  They are an extremely close family and they want to be together.  They draw strength from each other, and it has helped them cope with the tragedy that befell them almost a year ago now.  It is indeed a new start and I wish them all the best.

Maggie and Aaron posted pictures and updates on their six day journey across Canada.  As her mother, especially since they were traveling in the dark days of winter, I was worried about their safety on the journey.  There were many prayers following them as they traveled.  Having the photos and notes to assure us that all was well was a godsend to the family.  We all joked that we were along for the ride!

The pictures ranged from the funny (signs showing the names of towns they passed through included St. Louis de Ha!-Ha!, Quebec and Wawa, Ontario) to the scary (eight lanes of highways through Montreal), and the beautiful (the northern lakes of Ontario) to the boring (the endless flatness of the Canadian Prairies in Manitoba and Saskatchewan).  There were even pictures of their little dog Finny, safe and warm in the only little spot in the back of the car not packed to the roof!  All these kept us in touch with them, made us smile, made us commiserate, and helped ease the sadness of knowing they now live so far away. 

Their journey made me think about the changes that we go through as we journey through this life that God has given us.  As well, my cousins are dealing with the impending death of their mother, my Aunt Pat.  Having been on that particular journey with my father, my heart aches for them.  She has lived a long life, but it doesn’t matter how old our parent is, how much they are suffering, or how old we are, it is still heartbreaking to lose them, and realize that we are now the “oldest” generation.  They lost their father when they were very young, so this is especially poignant. 

Life is a constantly changing entity.  We might continue on the same path for many years, but changes are always occurring around us.  We learn new things, have new adventures, love, lose loved ones, and we keep moving forward.  Sometimes life brings us great joy, and sometimes great sadness.  No one is immune.  It happens to all of us. 

The question is all about how we are going to deal with the ever changing universe around us.  How are we going to deal with the triumphs and the tragedies?  Are we going to set ourselves apart from life, in order to try to avoid getting hurt?  Or are we going to go out and take part in this world and find the happiness despite the pain?  Maggie and Aaron are moving on from a sadness so great it threatened their very sanity, to a place that will be better for them.  The loss of Jason and little Hannah and Jack will always be a part of who they are, and their memories will always be honoured, but they are determined to have as happy a life as they can.  The family will work on this together and support one another.  I’m certain that their lives will continue to be shadowed by sadness, but they will survive.  They have already come so far in the past year.

Maggie and Aaron are a lesson to me.  As a parent, I always felt that I am supposed to be the teacher, but watching all of my children navigate through some pretty difficult times, I have learned much from them.  It has shown me that we can all learn things from unexpected people, and in unforeseen places.  We have to be open to the lessons around us. 

So, this week, let’s all take a few moments to examine how we are living our lives.  Are we enjoying life’s adventures, or just putting in our time on Earth without really enjoying it?  God gave us this life; He wants us to put it to good use.  We all need to look after each other, but we can’t truly take care of others unless we also take care of ourselves.  So enjoy this life, and share the joy.

May God bless all those who deal with trials everyday.  And may God bless each and every one of us.