Ascension : New From The Grotto - Thought Of The Week
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 26.11.2009 (Article Archived on 10.12.2009)

With Advent season just around the corner (hard to believe, I know!) it has as always, made me start thinking about Christmas.

With Advent season just around the corner (hard to believe, I know!) it has as always, made me start thinking about Christmas.  It will be another Christmas for me on Ascension, away from my family.  But it is okay, for several reasons.  The first is that we celebrated Christmas when I was home in September; we exchanged presents, had the traditional Christmas dinner, even had a decorated tree!  Secondly, I enjoy Christmas on Ascension, where despite the busy social calendar, it is still a quieter, calmer season.  And the Ascension environment is much more like that of where the original Christmas took place.  And most importantly, my family and loved ones are always in each others hearts, so even when we are apart physically for major occasions, we are still together.

We always hear that Christmas is for the children, which in many ways is very true.  We do all we can, sometimes too much, to make sure that the little ones enjoy the Holiday season.  But it really takes so little to make children happy.

Last week I did the Junior Dew Pond Run with some little folks.  I’ve decided that after three Dew Pond Runs (well, okay, walks!), this is much more my speed.  I can actually say I enjoyed this one!  While Tamar ran on ahead with the other girls, I was helped up the mountain by two three year olds, Joseph and Abigail.  We didn’t hurry; we just took our time.  Along the way, we chatted on about a wide variety of topics, from the crocodile in the Dew Pond (that came back to haunt us!), to the Fairy Terns flying overhead, to the names of the ramps, and even to the smallest of bugs that we had to stop to observe along the way.

I’ve said it before – hiking with children gives you a whole new perspective.  They are so much closer to the ground, and see so many things that we might otherwise miss!  It’s good to take a step back, or a look down, and see what we might not otherwise see.  I don’t recall ever noticing the tiny bugs before.  The rats and rabbits, no problem!

The kids did wonderfully well on their adventure.  Although the littlest one Joseph, decided when Mum and Dad met us on the Dew Pond Path on their return from the summit that it was time to turn back, it was amazing that he walked that far without a word of complaint.  I think everyone was very impressed.  The next littlest Dew Pond walker Abigail also surprised everyone when she walked every step of the way to the Pond. 

This past Sunday, a number of children participated in the annual beach cleanup.  Their enthusiasm and energy is a joy to behold.  Long after the rest of us “big” people were relaxing at the barbecue, they were still running around the beach, daring themselves to get close enough to the blow-hole to get soaked!  Which a great many did.

All this reminds us that maybe we should try to reconnect with the child that still lives within us.  The joy, wonderment, enthusiasm, energy and curiosity about the world we live in has faded for so many of us.   Maybe we have to stay closer to the ground, and not look forward and into the future so much.  Look at the little things and recall how much they intrigued us as a child.  Spend some time examining the bugs and birds and flowers and waves on the beach. 

We should take another lesson from the younger ones in our lives, and remember how to use our imagination.  Not always to the extent of a child, I should add.  Sometimes a child’s imagination can be scary when it makes something very real.  Remember the Crocodile in the Dew Pond?  Well, it seems a little lady took everyone’s talk of it very seriously, and got rather upset when we told her to stick her fingers in the Pond to mark the end of the race!  We had to take her around to the other side of the pond and show her that the croc was just a toy! 

So, as Advent season approaches, let us remember to look down and around us, as much as we look up and forward.  May we all look towards our Lord, our faith and our blessings with the wonderment of a child.  It will truly be a season to enjoy if we do.

God bless us all as we approach the season of Advent.