In the last few months I have thought often about Mary "treasuring up" quite often as her life became a paradox of joy and sorrow. What must it have been like to have been waiting expectantly for your Child/King? Or to know He would come to die in order to save us? Our own days are full of questions too, unknowns, worries and joys all mixed up into the paradox of a life here in the fallen world. Some days or months feel heavy with burdens and aches weighing us down. We can't make sense of it all. Transitions wash over our lives, heartache sweeps through. But we treasure up all of these things and give them to Jesus. We hold them closely, knowing that the sorrows are intwined with the truths we know from the Gospel. The weary world rejoices and we do again wait expectantly. Perhaps part of "treasuring" is remembering. We remember the first Advent and Mary's treasuring and we cry out "Come, O Come, Emmanuel" yet again.
The last few months have been ever so busy. I can hardly catch my breath to think about all that has transpired. Our kitchen renovation seems a metaphor for life! There has been a lot of ripping out, letting go and moving on, of pulling out broken things and rebuilding. There have been countless blessings of God's faithfulness and moments of stretching and growth. The children are growing and learning and we hold close these moments of joy. We have had violin recitals, Nativity plays, choir concerts, lots of practicing and the finishing of Term 1. Lots of practicing and duets and lessons, homemade crafting and painting along with reading by the stove with tea. As winter comes and we get our first big snow I want to treasure up too!
