Are you at peace today?
Or does something feel out of place?
Is your burden light right now?
Or heavy?
Do you have someone helping you carry it?
This year as I travel through Advent, I’m thinking a lot about the Holy Family whose burdens were far from light. Mary and Joseph were asked by God to do something so monumental, something that would remain monumental for thousands of years after.
I can imagine that, at times, they wondered if they were deserving.
I can imagine that, at times, they wondered if they were equipped.
I can imagine that, at times, they wanted to tap out and let someone else be the ones to say yes this time.
I can’t imagine this ask by God felt light to carry… not in the moment at least.
I can’t imagine they fully grasped what saying yes would mean for generations to come but more considered the impact on their family and their immediate community.
But I also imagine somewhere in the range of emotions Mary and Joseph felt was, in every moment of the journey, the presence of invisible cloak of blessing captured in these words of John O’Donohue.
It was there for them.
It is there for us as well.
The love offered to us by God is freely given. It is there all the time whether we recognize it or not. It is not something we earn, and it is not something we can lose.
It is there when we say the courageous yes.
It is there when we say no or not yet as well.
It is there to carry the weight with us when the burden feels to big to shoulder.
So are you at peace today?
If you are, may the love of God continue to strengthen that peace inside of you.
If you are not, may the journey of the Holy Family and the words of John O’Donohue remind you of the love that is there, holding you tight and keeping you close.
No. Matter. What.
