Several of my friends have been in the process of selling their home and buying another.  Aside from the horror stories of all the things that have been going wrong with the logistical process, the attachments and memories wrench at their heart strings.  There is much mental and emotional energy expended to move on to their new beginnings and keep alive the hope of something better.

Meditating on Mary, the mother of Jesus, I think how she relied totally on God’s providence, giving herself completely into his hands during her many moves-entering the temple at age three, leaving the temple and taking residence in Nazareth, traveling to Bethlehem, escaping to Egypt, returning to Nazareth, and traveling with her son.

What must have pulled at her heart when she left Nazareth for the last time to accompany Jesus to Jerusalem to celebrate his last Passover?  I can picture her taking one last look around her little stone house.  Bundles of dried herbs hung from the ceiling.  Herbs she planted and picked to share with neighbors and spice her cooking. There must have been one or two that were her son’s favorites.  Hand-spun yarns hung from pegs near the loom on which she wove her son’s garment.  How lovingly her fingers moved along the threads, knowing they would cover her precious Lord’s body.

Her fingers stroked the smooth edges of the table that Joseph built.  The wood was worn and dented in spots.  She rembered how each dent and scratch was made.  Smiling, she moved the little three-legged stool to its proper place.  It was the first piece of furniture that Jesus constructed with Joseph’s help.  In a basket by the door were Jesus’ little tools that he used as a small child.

Outside the door was a basin and pitcher.  She had taught Jesus how to wash Joseph’s feet when he would come home from gathering wood.  Joseph’s tools were still in place on their pegs or in baskets.  The sound of his sawing and hammering still rang as music to her ears.

Lastly, she knelt down and kissed the most holy ground where the Archangel Gabriel gave her the message that she would be the mother of the redeemer.  She clutched her womb remembering the joy of the child within her.

Now she was walking out the door, not looking back.  She was moving on with Jesus to new hope for mankind.  With God’s grace and Mary as Our guide, we can leave behind what needs to be left behind and move on to where Jesus wants us to be.