Page 2 - Grace Mail December 2021

Dear Forever Family
Come towards - an Advent journey
Those following the Celtic Advent have already been preparing and thinking and journeying through this year's Advent season. They started on November 15th. Some have put up lights, trees, decorations, or at least started. And if that helps them, or lifts their spirits, then I'm glad for them. Truly.
Others have been busy at work, and at home, and maybe Christmas is something they've not even thought about, or don't want to think about.
One thing I'm learning, with each new successive Christmas season, is that whilst nothing around us stays the same, we can always turn to the story of God-with-us, born in lowly circumstances far from home, to find comfort and joy, an inclusive invitation to rest and find peace, no matter what else is going on.
There are so many places we could start, or stay a while; so many themes we could explore. This year I simply started reading at Matthew 1, and stopped when I was stirred by the way Joseph was described. Early in the Christmas story Joseph wrestles with his understanding of the law
versus compassion for Mary and understanding God's purposes.
(Matthew 1: 18-19, The Passion Translation) 18.This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, had promised Joseph to be his wife, but while she was still a virgin she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19.Her fiancé, Joseph, was a righteous man full of integrity and he didn’t want to disgrace her, but when he learned of her pregnancy he secretly planned to break the engagement.
We can't know exactly what went through Joseph's mind, but as I reflected on integrity, and Joseph's first thoughts and then his eventual action, I considered that our integrity is not easy to define or maintain.
In the midst of it all, faced with tough choices or being battered by circumstances, our integrity and our Christ-likeness can fade away, become lost or even obscured.
2. Grace Mail