Pass it on!
Do you watch The Repair Shop? In 2020, in the midst of all our worry, frustration and grief, how lovely it has been to have this (pre-recorded) haven which never fails to show us expertise, gratitude and joy!
The format is simple.
Each visitor brings a treasured possession in need of repair; an expert
craftsman/woman applies their expertise to “bring it back to life”; the visitor
is amazed and delighted. Usually, two or
more generations of the same family are involved: a grandparent and/or parent
for whom the item has had special significance, and who now who wishes to pass
it on to the next generation.
The experts, too, often mention a previous family member
who taught them their particular skill.
For example, the man who created two new wheels for a child’s miniature
vehicle told us that he had learned his craft from his father and grandfather,
both wheelmakers by trade.
Thinking about this, I was reminded of a felt picture which
I once made, to hang on the back wall of my classroom. The front and side walls were festooned with
posters of France and Germany, but I was well aware that not every pupil was
keen, or indeed able, to learn a foreign language. So, the felt picture was there at the back to
encourage me, as I tried to convince my teenage pupils about the
importance of the Learning Process!
The deep pink figure, standing with arms down, symbolises a
pupil of the current generation. The
paler pink figures on his/her left represent previous generations: from parent
all the way back to great-great-great grandparent - after which they fade into
the distant past (Half-figure in white).
In order to receive useful know-how which can be passed on to the next
generation (as yet unborn! – shown by the white half-figure on the right), the
pupil must raise his/her arms – that is, make an effort - to join and continue
the chain of knowledge.
Of course, I was delighted when pupils shared my love of
French and/or German and did well in their exams. But I was also delighted when on Friday
afternoons members of my fourth-year non-certificate class took turns to tell
their classmates about a specific skill they had learned from older family
members. I remember the pride of a boy
who loved fly fishing as he showed us the colourful artificial flies he had
made, and the determination of another, whose ambition was to become a farrier
for racehorses.
In this photo of my Higher French class, you can see my
felt picture on the wall behind the pupils. But at this present time, what is far more
noticeable is the closeness of the youngsters – no facemasks and no
social distancing from one another or from the teacher. How very sorry I am that the present
generation – including my two grand-daughters at school and my younger grandson
at university – have had their education and social development disrupted by Covid-19
and their future prospects made less certain.
What can a grandparent do to help? Nothing much, it would seem, in this
unprecedented situation – except stay at home in Lockdown! But everyone of my age will have had to face
anxiety and heartbreak at some time or another, and will possibly remember and
pass on words of advice which their grandparents gave them. In my family such advice was “Just live
one day at a time” and “This too will pass” and ‘Cast all your
anxiety upon Him, for He cares for you.’
Now, I realise that for many people faith in God is very
difficult, especially in view of all the present frightening statistics. But the Good News is that faith is
absolutely separate from all statistics! It is for each of us a personal
relationship with God, accessed by private prayer.
If you look again at the photo of my pupils you will see a
quotation which I posted up there for my own benefit! – words which have
given me strength at very difficult times of anxiety, money worries, sorrow,
physical and mental exhaustion. I
painted the letters in yellow on black paper, with the most important word in
white paint for emphasis.
The message on the poster is in French: Ne crains pas; crois
seulement, which means:
Don’t be afraid; only have faith - a quotation from
Luke’s Gospel, passed on from generation to generation for two thousand years. It is what Jesus said to a distraught father
(Jairus) just before he brought his 12-year-old daughter back to life.
Now,
as we face the New Year, 2021, I pass it on to you.
May God bless you and your loved ones.
Amen
