Ever learned how to receive? I mean truly receive? Life is full of gifts freely given. It is a part of life that we somehow learn to receive these  gifts, and part of life that many of us will learn this lesson under difficult circumstances. 

So I was pretty fresh out of college and married just one month when a ’67 Ford truck hauled us to Homer almost 30 years ago. When it reached the end of  the Homer Spit the truck quit working. 

By that time my husband had landed a job on a boat in Bristol Bay and was gone. He returned six weeks later and I told him: “I’ve got a library card, a P.O box and a bank account here. I think this is our new home.” 

Fast forward to the part where we’re working on the lesson to receive. This past year I had a recurrence of melanoma, and was caught uninsured (the pre-existing condition did not allow me to get medical insurance but thanks to the new laws I soon will qualify). This community we’ve called home for so  many years poured out their affection for me and my family in a hundred ways. 

Letters of cheer and encouragement during surgery and radiation treatments last spring strengthened and encouraged me beyond belief. Prayers supported us and connected us to the unity of life. Many people that I only rarely see in Homer were there to offer meals, massages and various healing sessions. A Comfort Food fundraiser took place at the Catholic Church, which was a true ecumenical gathering of community members. A bank account at Alaska USA was  set up to help offset medical costs. 

All these gifts were freely given. We are so grateful. 

Carol Comfort and Wally Waldorf