Each holiday season I do a little reading with my family—although I must admit my thirteen year olds’ attention is hard to snatch away from video games. And my Fragile X son? Forget it. My husband seems to like our annual reading sessions, although part of me suspects it’s because my voice can lull him to a nap.
So, if I’m to paint an entirely accurate picture I should say that during this past holiday season I once again attempted to read a few classics, most of which I did for my own enjoyment. One I particularly liked was written by Agatha Christie called The Water Bus.
I’m not sure why it’s considered a holiday classic except that it has the most delightful faith element. It’s about the widow Mrs. Hargreaves, who does all the right things as a fine, upstanding citizen known for helping others. She truly wants to care about people only she has no idea how. “She was willing to be just, kind, fair and charitable to people, so long as she did not have to see, hear or touch them.”
On a whim, wishing she could go to a desert island where no one would tell her their troubles, defend her, or want more of her than she’s prepared to give, Mrs. Hargreaves takes a little trip on a water bus—where she encounters a very mysterious stranger.
She’s so impressed by this stranger’s coat that, for the first time in her life, she’s drawn to touch a garment being worn by another human being. And so she does. Almost immediately she experiences a kaleidoscope of emotion—a miraculous insight into those who vexed her that very same day. With such understanding comes empathy, the very thing she’s been missing in her quest to care for others.
Mrs. Hargreaves knows a person’s character cannot change quickly or easily, and that old ways do not disappear in an instant. But having experienced such a miracle, isn’t this the first step toward achieving genuine love for her fellow man?
The symbolism in the story is lovely, recalling the woman in the New Testament (Luke, Chapter 8) who had only to touch Christ’s garment to be healed of her ailment. The ending of Ms. Christie’s story does more than suggest such a parallel: the garment Mrs. Hargreaves touched was none other than Christ’s Himself. Even the water bus pilot knows He was no ordinary passenger.
If the beginning of a new year is for resolutions, this story fits the season. In a day when we can fit people into convenient online schedules and relate to our virtual friends more than we can to our neighbors, this is a story I for one needed to read.
As Mrs. Hargreaves says at the end of her water bus ride, Thank You!
And we all know Whom she’s thanking.
May your New Year be filled with resolutions that’ll make the world a happier place to inhabit.
I think I'll have to find this one and read it for myself!
It's comforting to know that an author's home (yours) is not much different from my own. With a 13 year old reluctant reader and definite video game fan, a hard working significant other who reads all the time, but tends to fall asleep mid-page, and me reading anything I can get my hands on – it is a challenge to read as a family. I encourage everyone to read – no matter what genre, as long as we are all reading.
The significance of 'touching' a coat made me think of my nephew, who has autism. He went through a phase where he had to touch everyone. The importance of touching others was not lost on me, and I try to bring a personal 'touch' into every room I enter (for those comfortable with it, of course).
Wow, that's so interesting that your nephew wants to touch others – so many of the autistic kids at my son's school don't reach out to many others. I guess either way isn't really ideal, is it? All those sensory issues on both ends of the spectrum.
I was asked on my Facebook page about where to find the story, and it's from a Christmas compilation published in 2002 by Barnes and Noble – called a Christmas Treasury. It has a number of good stories in there!