november 07d

It's good to meet with friends

I met two friends recently who had spent most of their lives in Australia. One of them (Robert Cochrane - some of you will know the family) was back in the UK with his wife for a visit after leaving Holytown at the age of 13 with his Mum, Dad and younger sister. The other was a neighbour who I have only known for a short time.

I had the real pleasure of meeting Robert and his wife for only a couple of hours last week. His wife had never been to Scotland before and despite it being a beautiful autumn day by our standards, she was feeling the cold a little bit, but enjoying the experience nevertheless. We all blethered solidly for the limited time we had to spare stopping only to sip some coffee and to catch breath. I was shown photographs of them with their two beautiful daughters at various locations throughout Australia. Robert pointed out that the last time he was home was 27 years ago but I honestly couldn't recall this last meeting which was strange because other things we spoke about had happened over 40 years ago and they were still vivid in both our memories.

A few things stood out for me during this meeting; firstly, we had no problem recognising each other despite the time that had elapsed, secondly, it wasn't like meeting a stranger despite the time that had passed and thirdly, if anyone was passing, I'm sure they would have thought that this was just some people that met every week. There was no awkwardness whatsoever.

In contrast to this, I attended the morning service at another Church recently and most certainly felt like a stranger. Out of a congregation of around 100, one person managed a hesitant 'good morning'; the only contact after that was a few brief glances. Although it may be considered unfair to compare these two situations, I think there is an important lesson to be learned for us all at this time when through the COSY initiative, one of our main aims is to see more folks joining our congregation in Holytown Church. In the first situation outlined previously, friends (not relatives) meet after a lot of years have passed, over a coffee in a relaxed atmosphere of warmth and friendship. In the second situation, I was joining in worship with brothers and sisters in Christ. Can anyone give me a legitimate explanation why the second meeting should be any less relaxed and friendly than the first?

This phenomenon has been raised in these articles before but I believe it to be so important that it must be mentioned again. Each of us individually has the responsibility of making any new folks attending this Church or any of the organisations feel that they are in a loving and caring environment. No one should feel like a stranger in any Church that is true to the teachings of the Lord.

I can put the soapbox away for the second story.

Harry is retired now but spent around 30 years living in Western Australia and working as a joiner. I was fascinated when he related tales of his 3 children in swimming while he sat on nearby rocks and kept an eye out for sharks. He used to cycle competitively and kept to the minor roads. Frequently, he related, he would come across a snake in the middle of the road. When I asked him what he did in these situations, he told me he would check out the size of the snake to see if he was within its strike radius, consider how fast it could move and make a guess to whether it was poisonous or non-poisonous. I smiled when he told me that after taking into account all of these things, he always jumped on his bike and went back the way he'd come. He spoke of a beautiful little blue octopus which, if it bit you gave you about 40 minutes to live.

Next came the tales of spiders. There were little ones that could possibly kill you and really massive ones that although scary looking, were harmless to humans. He said that two of these big ones lived in his house and that the children were so used to them, they gave them names. Just think, two spiders called George and Cathy!

I'll not repeat what he told me about flies in the outback in case you're eating when reading this. He told me he used to lie in bed at night and listen to various unknown pairs of feet running around his loft. I also asked Robert about this aspect of Australia and he told me you just get used to keeping an eye out for these creatures and avoiding them. Mmmmm!!!!

A passage of Scripture came to mind when preparing this article from the book of Isaiah in one of the chapters prophesying the coming of Jesus and what he will eventually achieve.

Isaiah Chapter 11, verses 6-9

'The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the falling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the Lion shall eat straw like the ox. The suckling child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.'