From Moomin Valley to Lourdes

“But one needs a change sometimes. We take everything too much for granted, including each other.”

 – Moominmamma (Moominpappa At Sea)

A very dear friend sent me a pin of Moominmamma to wear over the last few weeks, a reminder of our friendship and that I was never alone. Moominmamma is the matriarch of the Moomin family and at the moment this little pin holds so much symbolism for me.

First of all there is the quote above. It has always been one of my favorites but given the recent course of events, I have realised just how much I had taken everything for granted including my family and friends. It has only been with the imminent challenges and struggles that I have become aware of just how precious they all are. It has been a revelation as to how valuable the life and memories that we have together are. Moominmamma, always values each and every part of her life. She pays attention to each and every detail making sure everyone has just what they need.  The necessity for this has been all to blatantly spelled out for me over the last few weeks,both in the way I have come to treat others but in the way they have been there for us.

So Moominmamma sits on my collar everyday. She watches over me like my friend has, reminding me of how I should be as a wife, a mother and a friend.But this gentle loving creature sitting there reminds me of something more.

When my friend gave me the pin she said she had had a reticence about not giving me something Christian to watch over me. The parallels are there though. This quiet Mother figure sitting there watching over me, is not that dissimilar to another Mother who also carries out this duty.  

Over the last few days I have sought the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I have prayed fervently to her and sprinkled Holy Water from her Shrine in Lourdes. Other visitors too, have sought her intercession and asked her to wrap her motherly cloak of love around us all.  Her presence surrounds us, her motherly love has held us close and her intercessions have held us strong. She is our heavenly mother, she knows our pain, worry and loss, as we watch those close to us suffer. She can hold those feelings and offer them up to her Son. Through many of my darkest and my happiest hours I have sought the intercession of Our Lady. Her Motherly love has calmed my storms, eased my fears, guided me towards her son when I thought I was lost. Much like Moominmamma watches over her family and guests. Moominmamma is my friendly earthly guardian and she sits there reminding me of the overwhelming love that my family and friends have given and continue to give. But each time I glance at my pin I am also reminded of that great Motherly love of Our Lady and then on past that to the Divine love of her Son. We may feel alone, lost at sea when we are faced with our world turning upside down. We may feel that life may never be the same again, and maybe it won't, but at least we will have learned to value those around us a little more. Also, we 

will have revealed the immense power of Our Lady's love and intercession. Maybe you would like to join me in praying the Hail Mary below the picture, so that you to may begin to discover her maternal presence too.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

On the washing of Feet (literally and metaphorically)

"When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table.'Do you understand' he said 'what I have done to you?You call me Master and Lord, and rightly, so I,am. If I, then, the Lord and Master , have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you'"

 Maundy Thursday seems a whole eternity away, so the days since have been consumed by waking, school run and hospital and then the same in reverse. It is genuinely beginning to feel like there was never a life before this.  However last Maundy Thursday my husband preached a very personal sermon on how he was going to have to let others wash his feet for a while. While it was meant somewhat metaphorically at the time, it has proven to be more literally true than either us had really anticipated.  I had sat in my seat feeling quite smug, thinking it will do him so good to let others help him. To let people do things for a while. I was maybe a tad too smug, it should have been a warning sign to me.

 Over these last few days Christ has been very much been in our presence both in the Sacraments and in the ministry of our friends. It is easy to let Christ in to our hearts, to minister to others. It is incredibly hard to accept that your shoulders do not have to bear the cross entirely alone. It is harder still, to have the humility to let others in and share the load. I had thought that I had long ago learned to let go, to give my heart, my soul, my everything to Christ. It has turned out, I may have been a little presumptuous in this area. A little resistant to allowing Christ to carry and share the burden. Someone said on Twitter this morning that, when we offer prayers, we offer them to God because they are too painful for us to carry. It has taken me the time to offer those prayers for myself so completely and honestly, to give that pain to God, to allow him to wash my feet. 

Christ's sacrifice, was one of unwavering unconditional love. It would appear that learning to accept that means you are constantly having to learn to accept yourself and allow Christ to love the very person you are. He can see my suffering and he offers his love but I have to accept it. I have to chose him, I have the freewill to walk away, to become complacent, to refuse the help. My shoulders it appears are broad, but they can not carry the world. My heart may carry a world of pain, but it will break. My mind can hold a lot, but it has to give way. Today once more I accept Christ into my life, with a bit more humility and with the acceptance that I need the help and the love and the presence of Christ.