What's The
Biggest Deal?
Have you ever noticed how the smallest things can turn into big deals?
A little over 47 years ago the phone in my apartment rang. You know, the thing that hung on the wall which you answered because it was the only way to know who was calling. On the line was my friend Marlys. She said her sister Mary had recently moved from Nebraska to Madison, SD and we’d all be meeting at the Fireside Lounge. “You should join us.”. I did. At the time it seemed like no big deal. Turns out it was a big deal…
But that’s not the biggest deal.
A while back we received an invitation to a wedding for a niece to be held in Scotland. No big deal. As it turned out the wedding was not to be in the Bon Homme County, South Dakota, Scotland, but the Scotland on the other side of the ocean, 4,075 miles away. It seemed like a big deal (kinda was)…
But that’s not the biggest deal.
Mary’s part Danish, I’m part Swedish, countries not that far from Scotland. It seemed like a good opportunity to explore our ancestries.
Mary discovered much about her family by visiting archives, churches, and cemeteries as well as a family farm stilled own by her cousin Hans. Much family history from there and here was exchanged. I discovered Han’s magnificent whiskey cabinet and a new-found affection for Mary’s relatives. It seemed like a big deal…
But that’s not the biggest deal.
Similar experiences in Gnarp, Sweden, the home of my great-grandparents, Olof and Brita Lingberg. I learned our name was the invention of my great-grandfather and much about where they were born and raised and why they came to America. Mary and I stood at the altar where they were married 157 years ago. That seemed like a big deal…
But that’s not the biggest deal.
Given the season it got me to think about what I’m sure at the time was a seemingly insignificant birth in a barn in a small eastern Mediterranean village a long time ago. The Baby would grow up and work in His dad’s shop but ultimately would decide not to enter the lucrative family carpentry business but rather venture into an impoverished career as a traveling preacher. His organization would help save the souls of billions all around the world.
THAT’S THE BIGGEST DEAL!
Merry Christmas and have a Great 2026.
Rick & Mary Lingberg