News: Things for the journey: News: Things for the journey

News: Things for the journey

Date Added: 01/11/2026 @ 9:00am

If I had to write a list of the things I dislike, packing to go away would be one of them! It probably wouldn’t be the first thing on my list, because, my dislike is often masked by a combination of practiced procrastination and by denial as I anticipate the delight of being somewhere different, and ignore what I need to do to get there! But then comes the awful moment when I must actually get on, make some decisions and put something – ANYTHING! – in a case!

Well of course that’s the first decision. Which case? What case? Has the case that I thought I had, which has been lent out to various family members, been returned? Does it still have a complete set of wheels? No, it does not! Does it matter? Yes, apparently, it does! Three wheels on my wagon, and my case is definitely not rolling along, and those Cherokees are gaining ground! Never mind, I have cases to spare. But the zip doesn’t work, I can’t remember the code, the handle comes out, but doesn’t go in, this case is too small, this case is too heavy… All these things and I haven’t packed one item to take with me!

And now, of course, I don’t just have to take clothes, but I have copious medical supplies which I must take, as well as the pile of ‘just in case’ things, which I hope I don’t need – but I might! I feel the cold. I feel the heat. I might get wet.

I have just come back from a few days in Mallorca. My companion persuaded me that I only needed to take two outfits, and that we could share a suitcase! It was painful. On the first day I fancied tomato ketchup with my egg. I pressed the pump. Ketchup squirted everywhere. I looked like a cast member of Sweeney Todd. A lunch time chocolate ice cream trickled its gloopy way down my front! More sponging. Early evening we went for a preprandial snifter. My companion successfully knocked his large glass of red wine all over me! More soaking and sponging (as well as forgiveness!) required. However, the truth is, I survived travelling lighter, with considerably fewer things. A lesson learnt, maybe?

As I write this, I am aware that we are journeying from Harvest and Creationtide, through Remembrance, and towards Christmas. Lying on my sun lounger, I was wondering what Mary and Joseph took with them on their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem? We assume they had a donkey, but of course the Bible doesn’t say that they had. Maybe they had to carry everything, or maybe because they had relatives in Bethlehem, they thought they might be able to borrow some things for while they were there. Or maybe they were used to having less. Or maybe they weren’t that bothered. Or maybe Joseph brought some carpentry tools with him ‘just in case’.

These festivals are important, and we need to mark them and reimagine them. We need to prepare for them, rather like putting the right things in a suitcase, ready for the journey. Less is probably more – spending time saying thank you for the lives of people who have enriched ours; preparing to celebrate Christmas by keeping a Holy or special Advent; focussing on Joseph, Mary and welcoming Jesus into our lives this Christmas. There are plenty of ways that we can do all of these things, across our Mission Community.

Thank you for sharing the journey with me.