Christian Reflection and Prayer

The parents of three grown children would
divide their Christmases among their children’s
families. But with the difficulties involved in
holiday preparation and extensive travel,
sometimes they were tempted to throw up their
hands and say, “It’s too much! It’s just not
worth the effort.” Whenever either of the parents
got that feeling of exasperation, they would give
the other a wink and say, “Long walk, dear, long
walk,” and they would laugh and get back to
work.” “Long walk” was one of their code signals.
They began using it years ago earlier after
reading a story about an African boy who gave
his missionary teacher an exquisite seashell as
a Christmas gift. The lad had walked miles for it,
to a special bay, the only place where such
shells were found. “How wonderful of you to have
traveled so far for this present,” said the teacher.
The boy’s eyes shone as he replied, “Long walk
part of gift.”