‘It has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.’
A Prairie Home Companion was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by American humourist and author, Garrison Keillor. It aired live on American Public Radio from 1974 to 2016 (I had the privilege of going to one such broadcast in St Paul, Minnesota back in 1985). The above words introduced the host’s closing monologue about the fictional Lake Wobegon: ‘the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve.’ ‘Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.’
Reminiscent of our own Alan Bennett, Keillor’s astute and witty observations of humankind wove together stories of the town’s imaginary inhabitants with a touch of the surreal and absurd. In some respects, like Bennett, he’s an unconscious influence on the stories of my own imaginary town, Eastwood Minster.
For us in the Frost household it’s been ‘one of those weeks’ rather than a quiet one. Before it began I was suitcase-packed, ready for six days dog grandparenting for Peggy, our daughter’s canine friend. Looking forward to protected time to focus on writing and enjoy different surroundings as well as seeing Rachel and Peg of course.
But then, everything changed… and every day since has been spent either at the doctor’s surgery (dressings for an infection) or at various veterinary settings for Daisy the Vicarage Dog. Jane had to cancel her week’s appointments and commitments so she could go off to be with the other pooch while I held the fort on antibiotics and cocker spaniel duty. Decisions to be made and worry to be countered. In addition, other extended family hospital appointments topped and tailed this, as Lemony Snicket would say, ‘unfortunate series of events’.
Life’s like that, isn’t it?
I imagine that at some point (if not more than once) you have had ‘one of those weeks’ (or shorter or longer…). Those times when everything changes.
It reminds me of the disciples crossing the lake when a storm blows up. (Mark 4:36-41) There they are, ready to take a journey they’ve done dozens of times. It’s a familiar routine. It’s comfortable – so much so, that Jesus falls asleep. But then, everything changed…
During the last few weeks I’ve often reflected on the words: look for God, and God will make himself known.
So often in times of difficulty (and easier moments for that matter) we can wonder where God is… but does that natural ‘desperation’ also in some way look to ‘blame’ God for what’s happening? Do we only focus on God’s apparent absence?
And yet, while the ‘fault’ may not be ours either (after all, much of life’s events simply just ‘happen’) in such times how much do we deliberately look for God and signs of God’s presence?
In the last week, God has made himself known through the way particular events took place at particular times – and how, had they not, things would have been even more difficult (there were therefore a series of fortunate events too). In the midst of natural worry, God also made himself known through the presence of peace and wisdom to make decisions and not least, the superb care received from healthcare and veterinary specialists.
We may not have the ‘luxury’ of the physical presence of Jesus as our boat is tossed in the storm but if we look for that presence, if we look for God, God will make himself known.
Further reflections on the calming of the storms of life can be found in Finding Stability in Times of Change.
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