Life to the Full

I have come that they may have life, 

and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

light and colour in the House of Prayer

Yesterday at the 'Advent Event' we focused on The Life.  I enjoyed draping the House of Prayer with colourful Saris and I also brought in flowers, photos, candles and bread and wine.

It was good to take a moment out of what was, to be honest, a pretty stressful day. I was crying when hubby left for work and crying when he returned (poor guy!).  Don't worry - I didn't spend the whole day crying, but had just had enough of items being undelivered, frustrating customer service phone calls, and additional unexpected 'money worries'. SIGH.

So I needed to be reminded that life is about more than work and deadlines and benefits and bills.  Needed to be reminded that 'life to the full' isn't necessarily about having fun and being happy all the time.  That this LIFE is about something deeper, about not being defined by circumstances, or emotions.  That this Life is a gift in the first place..

It's way too easy to get caught up in what the TV/adverts/corporations/internet/culture says about our purpose and meaning - which is generally about having more and achieving more... leaving me, for one, often feeling discontent with what I have and who I am right now.  I'd like to step aside from all that and be. Be thankful. Be hopeful. And recognise that I AM full of life, and let it flow over...  This is something to ponder more on over Christmas, for sure.

Apologies that this is a bit fragmented - just mirroring the current state of my brain!

Thoughts of life led on to thoughts of joy, and I read this last night too:

"With God there is joy, and from him it comes down and seizes spirit, soul and body. And where this joy has seized a person, it reaches around itself, it pulls others along, it bursts through closed doors. There is a kind of joy that knows nothing at all of the pain, distress, and anxiety of the heart. But it cannot last; it can only numb for a time. The joy of God has gone through the poverty of the manger and the distress of the cross; therefore it is invincible and irrefutable" - Dietrich Bonhoeffer