New Every Morning
by Peter Blount 5 January 2021
Welcome to ‘Sharing Our Faith Together’
After the rather reduced, but nevertheless relaxing and enjoyable celebrations for Christmas, and welcoming in a new year (in some people’s books it clearly is a case of ‘the more noise we make’ the better the coming year will be! Defined by several hours of loud, intrusive and for the most part – unnecessary fireworks!). I now find myself, on the first Monday morning in January 2021, staring at a list of mundane jobs and a row of empty boxes waiting to be packed with all the glitter and fancy decorations that define the Christmas season!
In a few hours all evidence of Christmas 2020 will be gone from inside my house, and indeed as the evidence from a daily walk indicates (a chopped up tree sticking out of a wheelie bin – a few lonely fairy light hooks dangling from a guttering and shadows on glass where elaborate Christmas picture once were), it's gone or going from everyone else’s homes too.
It can be depressing, but look closer and in place of all this temporary ‘stuff’ there is evidence of the more lasting and significant changes that take place each year irrespective of pandemic and government imposed restrictions, that of new life in nature and the daily sunrise, added to the promise of better things to come.
I guess for Mary and Joseph, once the euphoria of the new baby, all the visitors and attention had died down and, when they eventually got back to Nazareth, they would settle into the daily routine of feeding, changing, sleepless nights and general care for the child with the assurance of all that was to come, as well all the things they could never have imagined.
They, like us, would be sustained through the hard and difficult times by brief glimpses of joys that lay ahead. Maybe, like me you are just a bit deflated at the prospect of more lockdown, more imposed restrictions and more time unable to see or do the things you crave after.
A few mornings ago I was blessed by the beauty of sunrise – see picture
Just a tiny assurance that despite all that is happening around us, life goes on, things will get better, our God and Father is still watching over us and walking with us. Be strong in Him and as the hymn says ‘praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that’s to come’.
Prayer
Father in heaven please give us the strength to reach out and put our hand in yours, then simply trust and obey. AMEN