Limits, Loss and Light
There’s a cloud that hangs over the holidays when you are grieving. Memories and traditions come flooding back without warning.
Last week when my daughter had me take a look at our Christmas picture before she ordered it, I felt the ambush when I saw only three of us, rather than four. My brain had seen 4 people in a Christmas picture for over 30 years.
There was a thud when grief snuck in the back door to define my current reality.
As we enter Christmas week and read the story of Mary and Joseph, I find I’m looking at their journey through a different lens.
The songs we sing at Christmas reflect on the birth of Jesus. However, I’m fascinated with how Mary and Joseph ended up in a manger. They had to abide by the laws of their culture to complete a census, which determined where they were going. They had limits set upon them. They left behind their families and what was familiar.
Loss was weaved into their journey.
Then, they had to go into another country after the angel told them to flee to Egypt. At a glance, it appeared that they were not in control. From the time the angel told Mary she was pregnant, throughout the journey to Bethlehem, then Egypt, God showed up in unusual ways.
God used angels to lead Mary and Joseph on a path that neither one of them had planned or expected. They were positioned to trust and waited to listen for the next step. The plan wasn’t revealed all at once, but one step at a time.
Little by little we can trust and listen for the next step we are to take on the grief journey. Much like a dimmer switch, the light will illuminate just enough to see the next step as we call on and cling to Emmanuel, God with us.
