Home for Christmas?
I’ve always wondered what Mary was thinking as they set off to Bethlehem. Was she, like me, excited to be travelling to somewhere new? A chance to escape what was normal and find out about more of the world? Or was she, as she is normally portrayed, anxious about being far from home at such a significant time?
“I’ve always wondered what Mary was thinking as they set off to Bethlehem.”
This December I will be traveling to the USA to spend Christmas with Josiah’s family. It reminds me of the first time I went to join this family of strangers for Christmas. I was excited to travel somewhere new, excited to meet these family members I had heard so much about. But I was also anxious. Would they accept me? Would I fit in? There were new traditions to learn and old ones lost. They wouldn’t even be eating turkey!
Like me, this Christmas St John’s will be away from its normal home, losing some traditions, doing things differently. For some of us, we will be excited to see how things can be done, for others we will be anxious, unsure about what to expect.
I don’t know about you, but I always find it a comfort to know that others have gone before me. This year, I’ll be thinking about how I can be like Mary. A lady whose faithfulness, actions and choices lead to the birth of the King of Kings. Whether she was excited, anxious or a mixture of both, let us think this Christmas about how to live as God would ask us, even when we are far from home.
Jo Lee English