Mothers’ Union Devotion Wednesday 14th April 2021

I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2. 2-3a

 

 

So, the shops are open again and many people will be able to indulge in their favourite pastime – browsing. Personally, it is many years since I enjoyed the experience of browsing the shops with no particular purchase in mind. I rather like the fact that I can have exactly what I need delivered to my door. Of course, this is because at my time in life I tend to only buy things I need and most of the things I have are of good enough quality to last.

Life is not so static for some people. The day the supermarkets were allowed to sell clothes again, the lady in front of me at the checkout had a whole pile of children’s clothes. Reminding me that three months of closed shops is a long time if your child is going through a growth spurt. Indeed, in the knitting patterns that I am currently following, for the impending arrival of my first grandchild, three months marks the difference between the first few sizes.

Life is changing daily for each of us, but mostly in subtle ways that we often do not notice. We hope that each day brings us more wisdom and understanding. Maybe consciously by making the time to take stock of what we have experienced throughout our lives up to this point. Or more likely, the slow realisation that we have become less materialistic, less judgemental, less pushy, over time as we grow into the people that Jesus knows us to be.

Because all that behind-the-scenes processing that our souls do, is mediated by our connection with our living Lord. It is by living our lives in Christ that we gain understanding and wisdom. There is so much that happens that we cannot understand. Why has this happened to us? Why other people seem to have a much better experience of life? Why is it that we cannot shake off our feelings of hurt and disappointment even when we know we have so much to feel grateful for? As Paul writes to the Colossians, it is Jesus who has the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Jesus who brings the understanding of God into the heart of our lives. Into the heart of our very beings and helps us make sense of all we have become and will become in our ever-changing individual journeys of life.

With all my love and prayers

Revd Sandra