BEING A JONAH IN TADOUSSAC
Jonah 1:17
“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
At the end of the year 2000, Keith obtained a new temporary job working at Her Majesty’s Prison at Lancaster Castle, located in the centre of Lancaster. He worked as a messenger, carrying out administrative tasks such as photocopying, delivering mail, and franking letters.
He really enjoyed the work. Although it was only temporary and part-time, he was able to accumulate some holiday leave, which he later used to visit his brother in Canada.
Mum had already spent the summer there, and the plan was for Keith to spend the last three weeks in Canada before accompanying Mum back to the UK.
Valerie, his sister-in-law, had asked him to bring some packets of Bird’s custard powder. Trying to save space, Keith removed the packets from the main box and hid them among his clothes.
Unfortunately, the small white packets — complete with expiry dates — looked rather suspicious!
Sure enough, when he arrived at customs in Montreal Airport, a customs officer pulled him aside and insisted on searching his suitcase.
Oh no — how was he going to explain packets of creamy white powder hidden among his clothes?
Nervously, I stammered:
“It’s custard powder!”
Thankfully, she believed me and even repacked my suitcase better than I had packed it myself.
The previous year, my brother had visited Tadoussac, a resort town at the mouth of the St Lawrence River where several species of whales could be seen.
So we travelled there and had a wonderful time. First, we went out on a large boat, but to be honest, we did not see any whales. Later that afternoon, we decided to go out on a much smaller and faster boat.
This time we saw many whales.
That evening we excitedly told everyone that we had to go out again the next day — this time with Mum.
The following morning, Mum, Peter, and I boarded the small boat. It was extremely windy, and Mum struggled to keep her headscarf on. Peter was becoming increasingly irritated.
The trip was supposed to last three hours, but it ended up lasting four. By the end of it, both my brother and I were absolutely desperate, as Peter put it, “to get to the bogs.”
We had never been so happy to set foot on solid ground. The moment we landed, we ran like Usain Bolt straight to the nearest toilet!
Our final adventure was a helicopter ride. There were eight of us altogether, so the pilot had to make two trips.
Later, my nephew Paul informed us that the helicopter door on his flight had been slightly open during the journey. I am very glad he did not tell us that while we were in the air!
Back on land, life seemed ordinary on September 11th, 2001.
I had just finished taking a shower when I walked into the living room and saw Peter watching television. At first, it appeared that a plane accident had taken place.
What we were actually witnessing was one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in modern history — an event that changed the world forever.
Devotional Thought
Why have I shared this holiday story? What significance does it have?
It was the last time we were all together as a family.
We all have earthly families, but one day they will pass away. Yet we also belong to a spiritual family made up of people from every nation and language, and we will spend eternity together.
I now live in China and have many brothers and sisters in Christ who love me dearly. I have Christian friends who are American, Australian, South African, French, and Ukrainian.
God’s family has no language barrier.
When we meet another brother or sister in Christ from a different country, we may not understand one another’s language, but there is an unspoken bond between us that cannot be broken.
In Galatians 3 we read these words:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” — Galatians 3:28