Postscript for Jan 30th

By the time you read this, Gay and I may be grandparents for the first time. I can’t wait! What an awesome thing to be part of celebrating a new life coming into the world, a new person with all the potential he/she will have, and to share in the joy of James and Amber, as they take on the responsibility and privilege of being parents. As I think on this, I also remind myself that the world in which this child is to be born is both delightful and dangerous. Do you remember the words of ‘Desiderata’? -’With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world’. It is indeed and when we hold a new born baby in our arms can experience that beauty....and also some of that grief for the journey of life ahead. Life is not easy, but its challenges and opportunities to make a difference for good are what makes it worthwhile. For Simeon and Anna, the baby Jesus was the revelation of the life and love of God which makes sense of our world and gives meaning value and purpose to our existence, brings hope and the knowledge that nothing is stronger than love.
So as I light my candle today on this feast of Candlemas I will be saying a prayer for this child soon to be born, and pray that what I do to make the world a better place will be worthy of her.                                             Peter Beck