A reflection on the story of Elisabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1.

How must Mary have felt finding out that she had "found favour with God" and was going to give birth? She an unmarried woman! Given the social mores of the time, when she heard from the Angel Gabriel that she was with child, she must have been terrified. The repercussions for her once her pregnancy became known were enormous. In favour with God or not, in real terms, she was in serious trouble. Her response is one of incredible faith in the face of very real danger.

Mary made a long journey to see her see her cousin Elisabeth. The danger to a young woman making such a journey alone is palpable. When she arrives she discovers that her cousin Elisabeth, an older woman, who has until now been barren, was also with child. Elisabeth, we are told is a descendant of Aaron, and so part of the holy line. Her husband Zechariah had also heard from the Angel Gabriel that their child would be special - it would pave the way for the son of God. Zechariah, who did not immediately believe the words of the angel, questioning him how his barren wife could become pregnant, has his mouth stopped until the birth of his child. Despite being a priest, he did not understand as the women did.

And so when Elisabeth saw her kinswoman Mary, she responded with great joy. Not, as an older, wiser relative berating a younger one who has fallen into error, but as one blessed by God to have the "mother of my lord" visiting her. Elisabeth too does not fear the social consequence of harbouring her young unmarried relative who ought to be punished for her crime; she exalts her as the mother of her savior. Even the "child in my womb leaped for joy." Elisabeth's courageous faith in God allowed her to understand and accept the word of the Angel Gabriel, no matter how 'unreal' it may have seemed.

What follows this story is Mary's "Song of Praise" to God; her Magnificat. One of the most beautiful passages of the gospel, made more so with the realization that Mary, who ought to have been terrified by her pregnancy, is able to embrace this gift from God. More than that, she sees herself as a lowly servant of God, one who does the work of God, who from that time on would be seen as blessed. Her faith enabled her to accept a pregnancy which put her in perilous danger and gave her strength for the journey which was to follow.

This Christmas, let's meditate on the God given faith of Elisabeth and Mary, these two great women of faith. May God bless us all with a modicum of such faith in the face of the trials and tribulations of our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Hugs
SB

Back in Black - back to my "roots"!

Following the conversation about theme songs and BB's theme "Back in Black" below, as well as a visit from a Kenyan group at church this morning I've been reflecting on some genealogical discoveries I've made lately....

My aunt was very excited with the prospect that we might have african blood in us. So now that I can in fact confirm that my 6X great grandmother was and African slave in Antigua, named Joanna she'll be chuffed!! I must confess to being rather excited by the news myself. I've always felt a calling to Africa and things african, and a desire to do what I can to aid the situation there. I wonder if I can find out what part of Africa Joanna was taken from? I'm certainly going to try to find out as much as I can about it. I'll go further into this in another post some time I'm sure.

This photo is of Joanna's great grandson Adolphus Trott, his son George Henry Stevens Trott (the famous cricketer and captain of the Australian XI in 1896 and his son Francis Henry Trott - my great grandfather.)All three were known as Harry. It was printed in the Australasian in 1918 - under the heading: 3 generations of Trotts. Adolphus arrived in Australia in the 1850s with his uncle's family, half brother and his grandmother (Joanna's daughter Betsy) Theirs is a fascinating story, and one which I am learning more and more about.

If there's one thing genealogy has taught me it is this: We are much, much more closely linked to each other than we think. We cannot be indifferent to the suffering and agony of Africa - for they truly are our family - one way or the other. The family of man is a much tighter knit family than we think.
Talk to you soon
SB

My 'perfect' song......

Your Theme Song is Beautiful Day by U2

"Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away" You see the beauty in life, especially in ordinary everyday moments. And if you're feeling down, even that seems a little beautiful too.

What's Your Theme Song?

Amusing how this website works - pretty cool that it found a U2 song! :-)
Love,
SB

You Are 100% Psychic

You are so very psychic.But you already predicted that, didn't you?You have "the gift" - and you use it daily to connect with others.You're very tapped into the world around you...Just make sure to use your powers for good!

Are You Psychic?

Well..... there you go!!! Wonder what my family will have to say about that!! XX

Further along the road.....

Another interesting progression along the road this week! Last week I was being offered positions that seemed to distract me from the discernment road. Monday I went to see my boss who gave me what he called "old fashioned advice": that I should follow my heart and not my head. Not bad considering that I had, after much prayer made the decision to do exactly that over the weekend. Not that it really was a decision mind you - but it's interesting to have to give up "what might have been" and rather nice to be approached even if I don't want the job!

I've been trying in the last few years to shift from being a LOTE teacher to an RE teacher - this week an opportunity arrived to assess religion exams, and another to join a relevent subject association. Interesting how so many different things are jumping on my path at the moment - or is it just that I'm becoming super sensitive to these things?

Would be interesting to hear what you'all think!
Love,
SB

Where to from here?

I've always liked certainty. Knowing who I am. Where I am. Where I'm going. Having somewhere to aim for. I like security. An obvious example of this is the fact that I've been in the same school for 12 years now. Sure, I had a year overseas - but to all intents and purposes I have enjoyed where I've been - and so I've stayed. There's been plenty of challenge, new opportunities as far as classes and pastoral challenges that have made it an interesting journey. I've also loved the collegues I've had to work with and of course the fantastic young people who have made their way through my classes.

So entering into a Period of Discernment for ministry is an interesting change of direction. What it really means is giving up that life raft of security I've enjoyed for so long. Earlier this year I applied for a job which would have given me the best of both worlds: able to stay at my school and chaplaincy. Fortunately others could see this wouldn't be the best thing for me. And now, just as I'm on the brink of beginning - a phone call offering me my dream job. That which I would have given anything for a few years ago. What once would have been a great opportunity seems more like a block on the path - obscuring my vision and having the potential to block my view of what really matters.

I'm reflecting on what it feels like to give up my sense of security - to actually trust God with my future and leave my life in his hands. It's quite a brave thing for someone who likes security as much as I do! Stepping into an unknown future seems a brave thing to do. However I have two big things on my side - the love of God calling me on to new and exciting adventures - calling to a life of service where I can hope to make a difference in the lives of those around me - and also the love of a truly wonderful man. What a great blessing that is.

I pray that God will be with both of us on this journey - and lead us along the right path. And if that's not the one I want to go down now - I pray that God will give me the grace and understanding to put it asside and find the truly right path for me.
I'm in your hand's Lord - hold me gently.

Hugs!!
SB

Jeffreys family of The Mumbles Wales

During our visit to the UK last year, mum and I managed to do some family history research. We visited knew that mum's Jeffreys ancestors came from The Mumbles and went to the Cardiff public record office. We discovered that John Middleton Jeffreys, the ancestor who came to Australia, and his brothers and sisters were all born at either Norton House, or Norton Lodge. JM Jeffreys is the grandfather of John Middleton Brodin, the ancestor buried on The Somme, subject of another post on this blog.


As we drove into The Mumbles, we were quite excited to see a sign pointing to "Norton House Hotel." We followed the sign and discovered this lovely boutique hotel. Clearly the Jeffreys family weren't short of a bob or two when they were in Wales - what a shame that JM Jeffreys came out here as a struggling labourer!

Norton Lodge was over the road - another lovely house -now an old people's home. We could only see the gates unfortunately.

We also visited the church and then checked out where the family lived in Swansea in the 1700s.

If anyone is interested in this branch of the Jeffreys please feel free to respond to this post.

SB

John Middleton Brodin's grave

One of the highlights of our trip last year was being able to visit the grave of mum's great uncle, John Middleton Brodin (Jack) brother of her great grandmother. He was killed at Poiziers in France - one of the worst battles Australians ever fought in. On a beautiful sunny summer's day in a sleepy peaceful village it was hard to imagine the horror of that day.

We were really touched by how beautifully kept the cemetery and monuments are ninety years after the battle. It certainly is a fitting tribute to all those Aussies, English, Canadians, New Zealanders etc who died on the Somme.

Jack was born in Euroa and worked as a wood cutter. He fought in Egypt and then in France. 2 days before his death he was disciplined for gambling. The letters in his military file from his mother trying to get information about his whereabouts and injuries when he was wounded make very sad reading. Apparently she never really recovered from his loss.

It was a privelige for us to be able to visit.

SB

How cute is this!!

We've got a new toy in our house - a slide scanner. So last night I was scanning some ancient Lee family slides and came across this cutie of me as a small person!
Just incase anyone wanted PROOF that I was taught to do housework, here I am pegging washing on the line.
No wonder I turned into the domestic goddess I am today!
Hugs
SB

Synchronicity

Friday was one of those days when it felt like the past and the present had come full circle.

We took our students from school to the "Chinese Cultural Forum 2006" which in itself wasn't that exciting. It did give me the chance though to meet up with several old friends, including my old Chinese teacher of some 15-20 years ago. David and I had a lovely time catching up on life.

When I went back to school, one of my ex-students Michelle, who is currently doing teacher training came in to teach my class as part of her teaching rounds. It was a bizarre experience watching her teach, remembering the young kid she was, not so long ago sitting in my classroom! I wonder if David was having the same memories of me as we were standing and catching up earlier in the day!

It's not too often that we get the chance to see how we have influenced those around us. I hope I have in a small way had some influence on Michelle. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank David for the enormous influence he's had on me. He is truly a wonderful teacher. And I hope I encourage my kids to love the study of Chinese just as he has done for me.

Talk to you soon!
Hugs
Sandy

Picturesque Scotland

One of my fave things about travelling is taking photos. It's a real joy to be able to look at them later and to be able to share them with friends.

That's what's great about digital cameras - I love having lots of photos I have taken on my computer so that I can view them as screen savers. It can make for amusing conversation starters when I have been using my lap top in class and it goes onto slideshow whilst I am talking!

So I thought I might occasionally share a pic or two.

This one is from my trip to Scotland last year. It was taken on the road to the Isle of Skye. We lost count of the number of times we stopped on the journey to take pictures. I like this one because it's slightly off centre, and because of the way the piece of land in the foreground breaks into the reflection. There's also some little tiny rocks leading out from it which break the perfection on the reflection on the lake.

Ah Scotland! You really are God's own country! There's nowhere on earth quite like it!!

Have a great day!
SB

Visitors from overseas

Hey all,

It's been a great week! We've been lucky enough to have some friends from overseas come to stay, one from Texas and one from the UK. It's been great to show them our beautiful city.

A couple of things struck me though - firstly how much we don't know about how home country or city (in my case Melbourne Australia) or how much we might have known once, but have now forgotten. For example, one of them was asking about Monotremes, as we were at Healesville Sancturary. Now somewhere back in the dim distant past I probably knew quite a bit about egg laying mammals - but really had to think about it!
The other fascinating thing is the words we use and the way we look at the world. We often think of Australia/UK and USA having fairly similar cultures. It's not that way at all!! It was amazing just how many little differences there are between us.

Doesn't that make the world an interesting place to be! So thanks to our friends for enriching us with your visit - I think we got as much from it as you guys did!!

Ciao,

SB

Where to begin?

It's always hard to know where to start with something new isn't it!

My interests are ecclectic in the extreme - so it's rather hard to say what the common thread of this blogsite will be.... guess we'll just wait and see.

Hugs

SB