On Christmas Day, my mother (Meg) came over to the farm to have lunch with Anthony, Ming and me. Well, actually she brought lunch! You see we always have Christmas Eve at my mother’s place and she puts on a FEAST, so I figured I could cheat this year and not bother with my own feast and just feast on her leftover feast and that was a great decision haha! She even brought half of the giant pavlova which Ming and Anthony vacuumed down in record time.
Anyway, before we ate, my mother handed me a letter. “This is your surprise,” she said. I already knew she was bringing me a surprise and she had hinted it was a wheel of Jarlsberg cheese (my favourite), so when I opened the letter to read it I assumed that, instead of the cheese, she had decided to write me a loving letter. I already knew she loved me so I was about to say that I would prefer cheese until I began reading ….
18 December, 2013
Dearest Meg,
For many years back at each Christmas Rhonda, Geoff, John and myself, instead of giving to one another, look around to see where we might better place our giving – to someone needing a little tangible help. (We still give to each other a “little something”)
We have had Juli and Ming’s situation in mind, as in prayer, but we thought we should tread cautiously as not to offend Juli’s present somewhat fragile state of mind. So we did take our thoughts in another direction only to find what we had identified had already been resolved. We asked, what was the Lord saying to us?
Meg, we felt we needed to run this first by you as we would not like to add to the stresses Juli is undergoing, and the amount is really quite insignificant in light of what is down the track for her. Can we leave it to your judgement as how best to hand the money on to Juli. She does not need to know from whom it came. Note the cheque is payable to you.
We continue to pray for you all every day. We share your heartaches. We can’t begin to understand the feelings involved but we do understand the love of family and, of course, our love for you has always been a gift from God.
Sincerely,
Bev and John
So I read this letter out loud to Anthony and Ming while my mother smiled knowingly. When I got to the word ‘money’ I began to realize what was going on and my heart started catapulting with a mixture of excitement and anxiety (but mostly excitement). Then, my mother handed me a checque for $1,000!
I/we could not believe it! Okay so I remember vividly playing underneath Bev’s and John’s kitchen table with Rhonda when we were very little, and, more recently, I remember re-meeting Bev and John when they visited the farm with my mother several years ago but, despite how close these friends are to my mother, I don’t really know them very well because they live on the other side of Australia.
Bev, John, Rhonda and Geoff – I am at a loss as to how to thank you properly for this unbelievably generous gift of money, but I will try here: the court costs are going to be big but you have already covered the initial payment to the lawyer. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to raise the funds and now I am not so scared, not just because of your amazingly generous gift but also because something about your gesture has eradicated all of my fear. My words are clumsy with gratitude – ha!
jmgoyder 