by Martha Seagram
At the closing of the St. Barnabas Ladies Retreat at the end of February, we were asked to share a word that represented our thoughts. Mine was “journey.” Sometimes this journey feels very solitary, but we are on this journey together, albeit at the appropriate social distance!
On my walk this morning, I kept coming back to Pastor Jason’s sermon challenge to move forward and consider the opportunities of a new beginning instead of mourning the loss of the past and yearning for the day it returns to exactly how it used to be! Sorry Jason, that was obviously a paraphrase, but hopefully the intent! When we were in Australia, we were told that the kangaroo and emu are on their coin as a reminder that they want to move forward; neither animal walks backwards!
A blessing that I have received at this time is to become part-time Nana daycare for our 17-month-old grandson, Adam. I’ve had this opportunity before, but my calendar was always full of things that prevented me from accepting this blessing – or so I thought. I am a “Biblical Martha.” I love to be busy. My mother had many sayings; one of them was, “Tomorrow is not promised.” It went along with her morning wake up call for us which was, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
I’ll admit I really, really loved the life I had before! I’m struggling a little with the paradigm shift of leaving that behind as an opportunity for a new beginning. Yet, I feel God’s call on my heart to do just that. A blessing that I readily acknowledge is being on this journey together with my St. Barnabas friends and prayer warriors.