We just bought a new car! Well, new for us. It’s actually very old, but when it comes to cars that is exactly what you want sometimes. It’s a workhorse that is made to last, immune to the bumps and scrapes that are inevitable when you live in 3rd world Africa. If you live in a place where you drive on smooth roads with clear markings and boundaries, you should be thankful for that because it is not the case all over the world. Our roads are out of shape and many a car falls prey to unexpected pot holes. Not only are the roads in a state but a lot of drivers are making up their own rules which means that driving has become a form of art around here. Anyway, I’m waffling about roads, but what I really want to talk about is our car. It is rugged and designed to go off the beaten track. My husband was checking it out and I was standing nearby pretending not to appear overly interested when I caught him winking at me, an unrestricted grin struggling its way through the cracks of his serious-car-buying-face. Like a geologist digging for clues and discovering a rare treasure, that man had finally found something he has been looking for.
What a moment in time. To realise that we now have the ticket to getting to places that are off the beaten track. If our good roads are, quite literally, beaten tracks, you can imagine what it is like getting to more remote spaces around here. This is the first time we find ourselves capable of getting to where we want to go. It has struck me that when we have dreams that we are failing to turn into reality, it can often mean we just don’t have the right vehicle yet. We can get frustrated and despondent, stuck in a rut…or pothole, same thing. We would do well to consider what mode of transport we need to get from where we are to where we would love to go. Of course, timing and logistics also come into play, but if we know the vehicle we need, at least if we have to wait for it, we can wait with a sense of anticipation.
This evening some families we love came over to our house so that we could have a festive tea time and sing carols, read poetry, read scripture and listen to a story. I could have cancelled the gathering many times throughout the afternoon. The skies parted and it rained heavily, we had laundry hanging and waiting to be hung wherever I looked, the house was far from sparkling, I had no energy or inspiration to bake and our Christmas tree stood in the lounge looking pitiful and strained. We just visited friends yesterday and they have the best tree in the country. Tall, uniform and tastefully decorated. My friend also makes the best mince pies (from scratch) that I have ever tasted. I am not jealous in the slightest because her tree makes my heart happy and her baking was made to share with us, but I was feeling very aware today that the conditions in my own home were not as I would have hoped they would be a few hours before welcoming people in for a special gathering. Somehow, I have matured to the point that I believe it is always best to fling the doors open. It’s good to be prepared and make things lovely, but if that is not happening, just open the doors and smile. And the reason it is best to do that rather than cancel or postpone until our ducks are in a row, is that hospitality ushers in something bigger and better than our own stingy lives. Our home was filled with laughter, conversation and singing and our table was filled up with many more delights to join my own simple offerings. We could have kept the people away, the friendship, the meaningful focus, the food. We could have sat alone in our untidy house. We would have been turning up our noses to the very vehicle that would take us to just where we most love to be. When I walked through the house as the sun was sinking in it’s blustery sky, I looked at our tree. A pyramid of colourful, sparkling lights floated boldly on the shadowy branches. It wasn’t even the same tree it had been in the light of day. Quite a few of us stood admiring the very thing I was not even proud of. We found our vehicle to meaning, awe and wonder when we opened our doors and everything became more beautiful as a result.
How do we find a place of peace when there are wars and rumours of wars and hailstorms and illness and corruption and all kinds of evil? How do we live with joy and purpose when we cannot control the future? How can we make good decisions and live well when we find ourselves in circumstances we are not familiar with? How can we get to a place of true freedom, not bound by fear, sin, guilt and regret? How do we live larger than the grave? We can welcome in the newborn King. He made a way two thousand years ago when all the power of the universe got born into humanity. A baby to show us how, we too, can be born again. Light and Love Himself came to establish a Kingdom that opposes all that is dark and fearful. When we acknowledge our need and desire to cross the bridge from death to life, it’s Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man who will take us all the way.
Isaiah 9 v 2, 6 & 7: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.”
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