Hello, welcome to the July blog! The rainy season continues, the manse is closer than ever to being ready and we have now lived in Grenada for six months. And yes, the debate about living in Grenadian time continues between Ann and me just as it will for the rest of our lives. What a gift!What’s Grenadian time? Those who have lived in it all of their lives see it passing one way, our eyes and time pieces measure it in another! When the locals talk about Grenadian time they might point to the starting time of an event, say 10:00 a.m., and, when everyone has gathered let’s say around 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. and the event finally gets underway, that event is taking place in Grenadian time. Does the event finish at the scheduled time? Well, possibly, but almost invariably not. Certainly, “in the country” where we live things tend to start and finish “later” in Grenadian time. For example, your appointment at the Doctor’s will come as close to being at the appointed time as the daily work and stress around the Doctor permits. On the other hand if Danny “comes by” to wash the car and says he will be on Saturday morning that means he will be here somewhere between 6:15 a.m. – 6:45 a.m. Danny works steadily and well. The car will be gleaming inside and out seventy-five minutes later. However, if a pretty girl, a friend or relative of his “comes by” while he is working, time hiccups, and Grenadian time is alive and well while the necessary social interaction takes place or is exceeded.
What is our view of Grenadian time in this sixth month? It looks like this. We go to the fish market, settle on a particular fish and money changes hands. We now need to find someone to clean and fillet it so that we are not continually finding small fish bones with our teeth. This is easy to do as there are many males, young and old, ready to go to work. They could quickly and efficiently complete their task in a few minutes. However, Grenadian time makes its presence known when this skill of theirs is about to be paid for. Time needs to be slowed down. Razor sharp knives flash close
r and closer to fingers. The table is washed down. Advice about this or that offered to or received from others. Fish entrails are examined for objects of interest. Shouts are exchanged across the street with others; a mouthful of beer swallowed down deeply and the fish carefully wrapped for the trip home. We then move deeper into Grenadian time. The cost of cleaning the fish can be anywhere from $1.00 to $3.00 CAD dependant on the size and type of fish. That’s fair pricing. It’s at this point if you have a $5.00 bill and are obviously not from Grenada that all the change in the fish market disappears into a time warp. It can take 10 – 15 minutes to find change elsewhere. The shopper in the family always finds it. Smiles and grins are exchanged, faces memorized and finally a handful of change put into the car for future use.We went to renew our driving licenses the other day. We need to buy three temporary licenses before we can apply for a permanent one (think of revenue for a cash strapped Government). Those of us over 60 years need a certificate from our Doctor to say that we are able to drive. Anyway, we go to the Traffic Department of our local police station and find there a very pregnant police constable enjoying her air conditioned office. She has a very meaningful chat with a girl friend on the phone as she fills out our paper work. She asks abrupt questions of us so that her conversation can continue; she returns our Ontario licenses and asks for the $25.00 CAD due. When I hand her the money she explains she has just cashed up for the day (the office is open for another two hours) and sends us out to get the exact amount due. Ann goes off to the bank; I go off to pay our Cable T.V. bill. The cash machine at the bank is not working, the bank is closed. I don’t get much change from the Cable Company. We finally walk over to the air conditioned shop of a Brampton ON., couple and, after a visit, they give us the change we need for the Traffic Department. A policeman approaches to discuss where I parked the car; he looks into my eyes, smiles in an understanding way, and leaves.
Why didn’t we drive? Grenville is the second largest town on the island. It has a one way road
system that runs through and alongside the local market. Yes, it is a people intensive place; yes, it is quicker to walk and yes, it is the rainy season. Elapsed Grenadian time that day ran around one hundred and fifteen minutes. On the other hand elapsed time at Mary’s in Sutton On., where licenses etc are renewed is around ten minutes. This time would also include an update on both of our families as well as some local “goings on”. I never ever had to change my shirt after a visit to Mary’s. On the other hand the visit there was never a story for Horton’s. God is good, I have two shirts and my short hair dries quickly.MacDonald College is closed for the summer holidays. Our work at Belair P.C. continues but it too has slowed down a bit for the summer season. Needless to say the excitement over the upcoming Camp for the youth from the 14th –21st of August is growing. Soon it will explode into the fun and noise of youth being together to celebrate their life and faith in Jesus Christ. Yes we are all excited, bring it on!
James 1:4 tells us that “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” It seems to me we often think of our perseverance in the light of our “daily grind”. We know of things that must or should be done because it is what we expect of ourselves. When perseverance becomes duty it can lead us, sooner rather than later, to a feeling of great powerlessness. Mary Jo Leddy in her book Radical Gratitude is helpful with our present adjustments. She would ask if I have thrown away my day planner/diary. Was it my identity? What actually holds the time and essence of our daily living? Can some pages bound by a cover do this? Were all of the time slots filled in accor
ding to their order in the pages? Grenada has suggested something about our use of time that needs more reflection. Do I need a new sense of reality, a means by which my perseverance can bring me to consider the difference between my life and my lifestyle? What do you or I see as a secure, free, happy, grace filled life? Is that what James is getting at when he writes about perseverance bringing us to being more mature and complete? If I am to be a disciple of Jesus I really must take the risk of believing that he meant it when he said we should simply seek the living God for in God we will find all things. How about you? Will it take a wet, windy, Wednesday afternoon in Grenville to help set you free?Pray, please, for the successful completion of the work at the manse and our move there. Pray also for our continuing adjustment to our new culture and our ability to find God’s grace, fingerprints and humour there.
