BY REV. DAVID MERRITT |
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day
(Save it for a rainy, rainy, rainy, rainy day)
For when your troubles start multiplyin’ and they just might
It’s easy to forget them without tryin’
With just a pocketful of starlight
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day
This song made famous by the much beloved singer, Perry Como, has been bouncing around in my mind over the past few weeks. During Advent, I have been following the Advent Calendar published by the Board of World Mission. The online version reminds me each day of the many blessings I experience in my world that are often in short supply in developing countries like Honduras and Nicaragua. And so each day I have been looking for “spare change” around my house, car and even on the streets to contribute to the work of our Clinic in Ahuas, Honduras.
Each day, I have been catching or simply gathering up loose change to give to this effort. Like the song, I have been “catching a falling star” in order to improve the lives of people I have never met. And like the song, it gives my heart a boost to sing along with Perry Como a song that reminds me how important it is to appreciate each fleeting moment of each day, like falling stars from the heavenly celestial canopy encircling our fragile and broken world. These small efforts can change a life, a community, and even me.
Now one might think that I am trying to “toot my own horn” as we have experienced the joy of Advent and the blessed hope of the first Nativity. On the contrary, I offer this reflection in humility for the good that I have often not done to help others along the way. In my world, as a child of the 50’s I grew up in a world where all my basic needs were met and my blessings outnumbered the challenges that I faced in life. I was nurtured in faith, exposed to the joy of music, blessed by wonderful health care and supplied with an education that gave me the chance to experience a diverse and amazing world.
This Advent, I wanted to change the way I see the world. I wanted to think in a way that made me consider not the “how much” of giving but the gratitude I might experience if I saw the world in a different light. And so with each penny, nickel or dollar I placed in the jar that sits on our kitchen counter, I considered the stars that flickered over the Clinic and wondered what the people there might be thinking. As a volunteer hospital Chaplain, I have heard the sadness and fear of all those I visited over the years. But in Ahuas, I imagined a different world – a world where little is much and hope is sometimes all that keeps us going.
Maybe God has put a song in your heart today. I would encourage you to sing your song and pass along the joy of giving even “spare change” to change your world. May the One who calls the stars by name bless you with the gift of renewed vision. Who knows, you might even catch a falling star!
About the author
The Rev. David Merritt is a retired Pastor, former Dean, Outreach Director, and Chaplain, but he’s “papa” according to his grand-kids. David loves God, Laurel Ridge, and his family. He has enough sense to get out of the rain but prefers raindrops anyway.
