Another Oasis

The world in 2011 is a place cluttered with things that make is difficult to be a young person. 26% of children are being raised in single parent homes. Depression affects 20% of Canadians, suicide is the second most common cause of death in the 15-35 age range. 15% of children are living in poverty. 1% have been direct witnesses of domestic violence. In a world like this, all of us, especially children, need a place where none of that is true. We need an oasis that shelters us from the violence and depression that envelops the world.

                The Fresh Air Fund was founded in 1877 by a pastor (Willard Parsons) who wanted “to allow children living in disadvantaged communities to get away from the hot, noisy city streets and enjoy free summer experiences in the country.” It is focussed on children from New York City and has helped 1.7 million children since its inception. One such child is a girl who comes to stay with us once a year for a few weeks in the summer.  It is one more way in which we can seek to be a blessing to those around us. I have spoken of designing our home to be an oasis to help rebuild and refresh us for the battle, but it can also be an oasis of blessing and refreshment for others. An uncluttered home leaves room to be a blessing to others.

                New York City, the base of operations for the Fresh Air Fund and where all the participating children live, has a population density fifty times that of Niagara. Open spaces are therefore rare and grass and trees are an occasional sight from a distance. The background noise is always at least as loud as a loud television and violence is much more prevalent.

                From out of this world, our guest comes to us via the Friendly Town program of the Fresh Air Fund. We enjoy having her and I think she enjoys being here. We are glad that for a few weeks each year we can provide a place that is decidedly unlike New York: quiet, green, not crowded, safe and filled thanksgiving, joy and contentment.

                In a world that is thankless, filled with sorrow and violence, we are thankful our home can be an oasis in which we bless others and seek to inspire them to live lives of purpose and commitment to God.