PREAMBLE

Just through the red door lies a mystical place where live the little-known creatures, the ones the world looks upon as myth and legend.  In this realm, they live and breathe, just the same as you and I.  Journey with me through the red door, to the place of imagination and we will find a new dimension of reality.

The new day calls out with an invitation from those beyond the door.  It is they who wish to meet us and share their tales!

I hear Grandpa Ansel, a respected elder, greeting the new day, in his usual fashion.

Hark, nobles ones of the realm!

Just before teatime, as Grandpa Ansel prepared to head home to see what delectable treats Grandma Elena had prepared for tea, a broad shadow flew overhead.  Always aware of the dangers of predatory birds, Grandpa tucks himself into a shrub.

From his hiding spot he watches the skyline intently.  Soon enough he catches sight of his shadow maker, much closer now.  Why, it looks like Iver, Uncle Gunder’s pet crow!  This can only mean one thing.  Gunder is returning to Rehoboth.

Excited at the prospect of seeing his brother again, Grandpa disentangles himself from the foliage of his lair, and with determined steps, he rushes off.  No longer thinking about teatime treats, Grandpa strikes out in the opposite direction from home.  With sureness, Grandpa is convinced he sees his brother coming, since Iver and Gunder are quite inseparable.

As I watched his departure from a distance, I became aware of a shift in the atmosphere about me.  It seemed that Rehoboth itself, this place beyond the red door, was preparing for something great.  It seemed like it was good to sit and wait, rather than pursue Grandpa Ansel.  In the stillness, I perceived a change.  The air seemed electric with anticipation, coddling my person like a warm blanket.  It seemed I was an audience of one, waiting for the curtain to go up.  Oh, what great things I see and hear in this place called Rehoboth!

Time held no consequence as I sat with my quiet thoughts.  I knew not what was coming, but I knew I must have a front row seat.

Dusk crept in, washing the landscape in the vivid shades of sunset.  Teatime long since passed, my reverie was disturbed with voices, now familiar.  One was jubilant and one, more hesitant.  Over the last knoll, I saw them.  The brothers reunited, Ansel and Gunder.

Grandpa’s every step is punctuated with joy and delight over his brother’s return to Rehoboth.  Gunder’s self-imposed exile was reversing and while Grandpa Ansel was the perfect person to welcome his brother home, Gunder clearly had some reservations about some things.

A shrill whistle, repeated again and again, pierced the atmosphere and before my eyes, the woodland where I was perched, came alive.  Gnomes began to materialize from every shadow and nook.  Clearly the whistle emitting from Grandpa Ansel meant something significant, though it was lost on me.  Having grown familiar with ‘gnome-speak,’ I had yet to become fluent in all their ways and communications.

Spry as a youth, Grandpa Ansel sprang up on a stump, announcing, “Draw near dear ones.  Gather close and hear the wisdom of age, for you have just begun and have much to learn.”

Addressing the amassed crowd, Grandpa said, “Tonight we celebrate, for one lost to us has now returned.  Tonight, my family is reunited and restored to me.  Quickly now, you swift ones, return to the village and share the glad tidings.  Ask the women folk to prepare a feast, ready the guest chambers and prepare to welcome my brother, Gunder, back into the fold!”

Gunder rolled his eyes at Grandpa Ansel’s theatrics, but his grin was evident.  Unsure of his decision to return after being gone so long, his doubts began to flee.   It would seem that everyone shared his brother’s excitement.

Leaping down from his improvised stage, Grandpa Ansel linked arms with his brother and together, they led a processional into the heart of the gnome village near the garden.

Finding myself surrounded by gnomes, clearly ready for a party and feast, I marveled at the welcome.  Such love I have seldom seen, but Grandpa Ansel’s rejoicing was joined by all present.  Family is family and when one has been lost to you, it is a great and joyous thing to be reunited.  Always welcome home, jubilation from Gunder’s forever family rang out.

Though I ought not feel like an outsider after my many Rehoboth adventures, it seemed best to make my way back to the other side and leave this moment of the returning prodigal to the gnome family and community who love Uncle Gunder best.

The love, so apparent, followed me back to the red door and my path.  What a treasure I carried with me on my return.  Today, what once was lost, was lost no more!

References

Luke 15: 11-32 (¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”)