Christmas in ministry...

Yesterday was a lovely day - I was particularly touched that my son announced his favourite present was the rather nice sketchbook he found in his stocking. (I think it cost £3.99!) And my daughter loved her lipsalve keyring. (Bought with her expedition to Peru next summer in mind.)The family were all in good form - lots of love and laughter around.

Family has been an important part of Christmas for me my whole life. I have been blessed with wonderful parents who ensured our Christmases were always full of love and I hope we have been doing the same for our children. I am blessed with a fab husband and two lovely (if at times trying!) children.

On Christmas Eve they all came to the Christingle Service at my placement Church: my mum and dad, Neil and the kids, my sister and her family. It was lovely having them there to share in the noisy fun. With over 70 children and their families it made for a noisy service - my voice at one point was drowned out by the excited children as they queued to get their Christingles lit. But rather than fight it, I let it go. Everything calmed down and we finished on a high sharing the blessing together. To be part of such a happy church service was great. To see more chairs having to be put out to accomodate the crowd lifted everyones spirits.

Tomorrow we come down with a bit of a bump. I have blogged recently about visiting a lady whose husband was ill. Well he died on Tuesday. Tomorrow is his funeral. So in this week of happiness I have been reminded it is not everyone who has felt like celebrating. I visited the lady on Tuesday to pay my respects. I had so few words for her but few seemed needed. Tomorrow I take part in the funeral, a year to the day after I took the funeral of my aunt. It might seem the saddest time of year to be dealing with death, but it is also the time of year that we are reminded of the love and peace that came to earth when Jesus was born. A love and peace that offers the comfort of knowing our Lord knows our pain and sorrow - he shares it.

Such is the lot of a minister (albeit probationer) that following the funeral I hot foot down the road to meet some old school chums for lunch. The last time we were all together in the same place was about 7 years ago and that was at my sis-inlaws wedding, so in reality the last time we met for a proper girly chat was more than 20 years ago. We were all at school together and don't see enough of each other. Infact one of my chums and I have had more contact in the last year than in the whole of the last 20 thanks to Facebook! I am really looking forward to catching up and no doubt sharing more than a few remanicences.

No doubt there will be blogging material.....

Jesus's Mum & Dad

These words from Mary & Joseph are courtesy of "Hay & Stardust" from Wild Goose Publications.


Mary
Your eyes are open now.
Those eyes will open the eyes of others.
You study my face
and, just for the moment,
though you came for the world,
you are mine and mine alone.
I made you and you made me
and we gaze at each other
in equal wonderment.






Joseph
Here I stand
holding the tiny, warm weight
of God in my hands,
Such a tiny weight
to lift the huge weight
of the world.
Here I stand,
The proud father? Not me.
I have been utterly humbled
by your arrival.
You're not my offspring,
not part of me,
and yet, at the same time,
already inextricably part of my life.


In the coming days I will be thinking of Mary & Joseph and their journey. A journey that took them to that cave/stable/shed, a journey that had to be made. They had not chosen their path, rather they had been chosen. Chosen to be the earthly parents of our Saviour. I know what it is like to be a parent. The joys, the worries, the happiness, the frustrations, the wonder of a new life, the responsibility for that new life. This I can share with Mary & Joseph. I love being a parent. I love my children. They are a delight. They are a challenge. But I love them, just as they are. Just as God loves me. Just as God accepts me. He sent his Son for me, for you, for the world. To be our light in the darkness. My prayer this Christmas is that amongst all the glitter and baubles that all can glimpse a picture in their hearts of Mary & Joseph and their child. And that a light will be ignited in their lives. A light that will not go out.

What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.
John 1:4-5 The Message