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Sunday Night
MaryHelen Swanson, editor

Weíre barely into the year 2003 and already our communities are hit with tragedy, pain, suffering and loss. Auto accidents, family disputes and diseases have taken from us loved ones, friends and community members.
The threat of a world at war hangs over our heads. Financial problems plague our country, our state, our county, our cities our townships and our own pocketbooks. Viral illnesses have attacked our workplaces and dragged on for months, and the seemingly endless winter continues to chill our bones and tax fuel supplies.
Thatís a pretty bleak picture for the beginning of a new year.
Yet, among all this we can find rays of sunshine to brighten our lives and give us hope.
Young people gathered at St. Gregoryís last weekend stopped eating for 30 hours and learned about poverty in foreign countries. They braved cold temperatures on a Saturday morning to gather food for the hungry. They learned that not everyone in the world receives food or possessions or medical care with equality, but that there is something they can do to make a difference.
With understanding young hearts, students in our schools raised money for various organizations and charities.
Community members put their theatrical talents to work to offer a respite from the problems of the day with an extraordinary performance of the Fiddler on the Roof. Sunday afternoon at the NBHS theater I was taken away to another time and place and was reminded that facing difficult times is not unique to 2003.
The birth announcement lists from area hospitals continue to grow. Homes are being built, schools are being expanded and planned for, businesses opened and expanded. People are working hard and playing hard in our communities.
There are struggles, there are tears, there are those who are sad and lonely, there are those who need a sympathizing ear, a shoulder to rest on. But life, the good and bad, goes on in us, through us and around us.
Monday morning some 1,000 people gathered for the funeral of Pastor Clayton Rudolph at Trinity Lutheran Church. Tears were shed. But there was laughter, too, in the remembering of the good Pastorís energy and his friendly manner. And there were lessons learned about his devotion to family and friends and his Lord.
And there was hope, that if this man of God, so full of life, who had anticipated many more years of serving others here on earth could accept dying, then we could go on with renewed strength and encouragement.
There is an awfully lot of reality going on around us. We donít need bizarre television shows to mock our struggles.
I encourage you all to join in the game of life. Be a part of the solution by being positive, by seeking ways to work together to solve our problems. I suggest that criticism be kept to a minimum, better yet, replaced by helpful suggestions.
The young people at St. Gregoryís this past weekend learned that individually we can make changes, but itís even better when we work together.
I encourage you to seek ways to help fellow citizens who are struggling. I encourage you to slow down and enjoy life. Donít be afraid to sit on the floor and color a picture with your grandchildren or eat a Happy Meal with your grade school kids.
Talk to your teenagers. Do you know how they feel about the threat of war? Do you know if they are afraid when they hear about code orange?
Talk to your spouse, do you know if he or she fears growing old, dying? Itís pretty heavy conversation, but perhaps itís time.
Find your way to the nursing home to visit mom or dad. In all the discussion about Green Acres, it is said the residents are looking for activity, Face it folks, theyíre looking for you, they wait for your visits, your hugs, your kisses.
If in all of this you canít find one single thing you can do improve the world, think about this: making a difference can be as simple as giving someone a smile. It means wiping away that frown, that scowl and turning up the corners of your mouth. Science says this is an easy thing to do.
If itís the least you can do to make this world a better place in which to live, then, by all means, smile.
I think the ever-smiling pastor would approve.

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