Just buns & coffee

There are events in life when a person experiences certain knowledge of God’s sovereignty, even if it’s in hindsight.

Tumbling through Abbotsford, B.C. in my early twenties (some 28 years ago), and then landing in the home of Dave and Helen Falk was clearly a sovereign and gracious act of God. I was, to quote Bob Dylan, “a rolling stone with no direction home.” The Falks gave me a room to call mine and for several years I came and went, sharing in the lives of this godly couple.

Having grown up as a middle child in a large family, I couldn’t get enough of the one-on-one attention this loving Mennonite couple lavished upon me. We sifted and sorted through my life, much of which they could have judged harshly, but never did. Instead, we visited around the supper table, sat in the TV room, chatted on the deck, did the dishes together, laughed about Dave’s day with the chicken farmers, talked about family, friends, and of course, my boyfriends. We were oh so comfortable with each other and there was an easy flow of contented conversation, always punctuated with laughter.

I needed a place of refuge and God gave me the home of Dave and Helen. There, he hid me in the hollow of his hand.

Now I’m a Christian, married to a pastor, raising a family in California. I have often thought about those wander years and how lost and alone I was, especially now that I have two teenaged girls of my own.

The Falks will always make me mindful to look around my own world for the lost ones. This was the gift they gave me. Listening without reproach. Conversation – lots and lots of conversation – culling the deep things of the heart. Simple love. No bells and whistles, just buns and coffee.

To quote Mrs. Falk, as I did to my family for the 1000th time the night before I received the news of Mr. Falk’s death, “Well, if that’s supper, I guess we’ve had it!” I can hear Helen pushing her chair away from the table saying, “Dave, if that’s life, I guess you’ve had it.”

And, oh, did you have it! In abundance. With joy. With grace. With love. How gracious of God to let me share a small piece of it.

Norma Bennett lives in California with her family. She wrote this tribute for David Falk’s funeral. You can read his obituary in Deaths.