One of the things that has always intrigued and repulsed me about Christmas is that it is usually a day when grudges are put aside and "peace on earth, goowdill towards man" are the order of the day. Indeed, even in the trenches of Europe in the early years of WWI, the now legendary "Christmas truce" brought together soldiers who had been shooting each other the day before, and would soon be shooting each other again.

But the hypocrisy of joining together with people we hate and putting on plastic smiles has always baffled me. I don't like a phony, on Christmas day or any other day.

So there was some relief when we attended our small town's Christmas Eve candlelight service. This is literally the only time of the year when the denominations join together for the service, and usually there's a feeling of camaraderie and community as people come together. We went to put a bit of closure on our time in Lefors, and to see a few of the friends we do have.

One of the characteristics of southern communities that causes them to draw flack from the North is the feeling that people should "know their place". If you're poor, and from the wrong side of the tracks, you don't talk to the mayor, you don't talk to the council, and you always defer to your "superiors", i.e., those who make more money than you. When you go to church, you don't sit in the front pews, you sit in the back, and you don't make eye contact with the important people in the community. I've always hated that, and that probably has a good deal to do with why I don't get along as well as we should.

So, I was both surprised and relieved to see that many of the townsfolk had no desire whatsoever to put aside past differences. In a sense, it affirmed what we are doing; over the past year, we've made ourselves very scarce, and have received a frosty reception anytime we've DARED show our face in town. A hard move for some reason becomes easier when we are reminded that these people do not want us here, that we are unwelcome, and that we would be best served by moving to a place where we ARE welcome.

We shook hands with the people that we wanted to, but for the most part, we were strangers as we entered the sanctuary. Out of the church full of people, ony a handful acknowledged our presence, and only two families actually SPOKE to us.