Thursday December 23rd: Neighbours and relatives …. shared her joy.

“His power of speech returned, and he spoke and praised God

Luke 1: 57-66

We have gone through so much in the past year – as families, as parishes, as a country, as the world. Our neighbours and relatives have journeyed with us and we with them. Many have celebrated with great joy those who have had miraculous moments like Elizabeth – those who have witnessed the greatness of God in their lives, the birth of the first child to the couple who, for years, have been trying to become pregnant; when projects to bring relief in COVID times to shut-ins, take root and blossom.

But there were times when our neighbours and relatives were annoyed with us – maybe we did something that was not in keeping with norms/tradition, the way things are done in the community. I recall a mother’s choice to breast feed her child until 2 years which did not go down well – expressing milk in the kitchen at work was told by her supervisor to “do that in the washroom”. We stand firm in our conviction because we know in our hearts that God is with us.

Photo by Levi Guzman on Unsplash