Day 11: Practice Living Well

When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.” Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I have called my son out of Egypt.

When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and much grieving.

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted,

because they were no more.

Matthew 2:13-18 CEB

I love Joseph. Here again we see him responding in obedience to an angel from the Lord. I long to be a person who can hear, understand and then do God’s will.

We’re going to have some rather simple and clear opportunities during this holiday season to choose wisely. We will have moments when, under stress, we will decide whether to extend grace or act our frustration, especially as we wind down a difficult year. Can we find a little kindness for others?

Can we be kind to ourselves? This is different from self-indulgence. Can we continue to take time to exercise, prepare healthy food for ourselves…step away from the Christmas cookies after a modest two! I find for myself that I tend to listen and respond more appropriately when I am treating my body, mind and heart with respect. This means taking care of it. I will also need to choose whether or not I’m going to continue to practice spiritual disciplines over hiding out in my room watching Christmas movies. This year it has been easy to hide behind quarantines and zoom calls. It’s been a bit easier to disconnect.

But we have a chance to end the year reasonably well. But we cannot pretend that we are living well…we must actually practice living well. Joseph practiced. Can we?

Day 11: Practice Living Well

When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.” Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I have called my son out of Egypt.

When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and much grieving.

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted,

because they were no more.

Matthew 2:13-18 CEB

I love Joseph. Here again we see him responding in obedience to an angel from the Lord. I long to be a person who can hear, understand and then do God’s will.

We’re going to have some rather simple and clear opportunities during this holiday season to choose wisely. We will have moments when, under stress, we will decide whether to extend grace or act our frustration, especially as we wind down a difficult year. Can we find a little kindness for others?

Can we be kind to ourselves? This is different from self-indulgence. Can we continue to take time to exercise, prepare healthy food for ourselves…step away from the Christmas cookies after a modest two! I find for myself that I tend to listen and respond more appropriately when I am treating my body, mind and heart with respect. This means taking care of it. I will also need to choose whether or not I’m going to continue to practice spiritual disciplines over hiding out in my room watching Christmas movies. This year it has been easy to hide behind quarantines and zoom calls. It’s been a bit easier to disconnect.

But we have a chance to end the year reasonably well. But we cannot pretend that we are living well…we must actually practice living well. Joseph practiced. Can we?