Mary and Joseph are setting out tonight on their journey to Christmas, staying overnight in twenty four places around our church family at Calvert beginning with me tonight. I took them to local preachers meeting and they survived!!
I always ponder reading the story of a heavily pregnant and frightened Mary and an exhausted mentally and physically Joseph that journeying can be hard. And even the destination might not be easy!
I am shattered after working a ten hour day today, driving over 80 miles from my home this morning to Rye for coffee and carols, which turned out not to be the easiest of mornings for me. Then I had via a quick stop for lunch bought in a Co-op at Polegate, a drive to Chyngton near Seaford for a supervision session with the Assistant Chair, Rose, who I will miss very much when she moves on next summer. Then I drove to a layby to watch the sun set over the sea below me and then drove to a pub for some dinner as it was daft to drive home and come out again as I was nearer my evening meeting venue then going home and coming out again. Finally I have journied to the preachers meeting at Battle which was a good meeting. Now after a long day I have journeying home, to deal with phone calls and e-mails and post and the debris in my house before I go to bed.
I like to blog and journal my day and to pray it through towards the end of a day's journey of life. What highs and lows, joys and sorrows have there been? What do I celebrate the journey today has brought and what do I want to forget (about an hour of this morning actually!) I wonder what Mary and Joseph were thinking as they journied slowly into uncertainty? We shall enjoy them travelling round our church folk for the next few weeks. I hope as people receive them they will think about their journey and their own journey and what it brings for them. Every journey is different. I wonder if we are aware God travels with us on each one and helps us through the difficult bits and always surprises us on the way.
Joseph looks very tubby doesn't he? A long walk might help him lose some weight!
God of journeys, thank you for the holy family who journeyed into the unknown with pregnancy, poverty and unpredictability real issues for them.
Be with us when we face trouble. Assure us this Advent we are never alone. Amen.
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