Alan’s Christmas thinking 2012:

At our staff meeting the other week I spoke about life chapters and life transitions. At this point all who were at the meeting will switch off, so I had better say something a bit different. by putting a Christmas theme to it!

Life chapter- things going well, life is good and stable, we are motivated full of hope.

Life transition– things not stable, things are changing, we feel uncertain, lack motivation self-confidence is hit, we might feel hopeless.

These are natural part of life and we move between the two depending on the circumstances we face or are in. Each transition, if worked through with support and prayer, is preparation for the next chapter in our lives.

I know that is easier to say than to achieve depending on the situation we are in, but this fits for me in our journey of faith with Jesus and shows the relevance of the Christmas story. We go through good and bad times, chapters and transitions.  Dealt with well, our journey helps us grow in faith, even though many times we feel like we are going backwards or standing still. It means having the love and support not only of God, but of the people around us, family and friends being there in whatever we are going through, whatever we have done.

God gives us unconditional love and it is essential we give the same towards each other. If we are to be supported and accepted and loved as a child of God, unconditional love from others is essential. In our relationships with others it is essential for us to show unconditional love if we are to love and support and accept others as fellow children of God.

It has been said of God’s grace

Nothing we can do can make God love us more

Nothing we can do can make God love us less

Can this be said of me or you?

The Christmas story is full of chapters and transitions of hope and hopelessness, good and bad, joy and sorrow.

 I am not going to do any spiritual talk on Christmas, but challenge both myself and you to look afresh at the journey of all those involved on that first Christmas . Let us look expecting to find something new, helpful, comforting, or challenging on our journey in whatever stage of life we find ourselves.