Exe Valley Mission Community

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Ciao Baby!

We have just been lucky enough to come back from a four-day, whistle stop tour of northern Italy, (Padua, Venice, Verona, Padua), to have a break and to give lovely husband a much-needed Italian fix. He just can’t get enough of it. And of course, I am very happy to tag along.  I don’t have to do a thing. He does it all. He can reach to get the luggage in the overhead lockers. He can read the words. He can speak the language. All I have to do is smile and nod, say the occasional ‘Ciao’, order pasta and drink red wine. It’s tough! And it’s made me into a very lazy traveller.

All was well until we were making our journey home. We were on a bus taking us to the bus station and then on to the airport. Suddenly, without saying a word, lovely husband stood up, picked up his case and stepped onto the pavement. Before I had the chance to collect my luggage (and my wits) the bus doors shut, leaving me inside and lovely husband standing on the pavement, completely oblivious to the fact that I wasn’t standing next to him. I rammed on the window. Husband remained oblivious. I banged on the door. Husband couldn’t hear. The bus started to move. I started to shout. The bus moved some more. Everyone on the bus began to shout and gesticulate. Husband still stood on the pavement looking clueless.

And the thing was, in a split second, I realised that I had stupidly left everything for lovely husband to do. Although I knew I was in Padua, I hadn’t really taken any notice about whereabouts in Padua I was, or how to get to the airport, or having my own boarding card or any of those things that I was completely used to doing before lovely husband was around. I had left everything up to him.

It seems to me that there have been times in my life when I have done the same thing regarding faith. I have left it up to others to do on my behalf: parents, friends, seriously-religious-people-unlike-myself, professional pray-ers and vicars. Lent, Easter and Pentecost are great times to take stock, to re-examine what we believe, and take a bit of responsibility for it. There is a lot going on in the Mission Community this season. Come and join us and see what it’s all about. You may well be pleasantly surprised.

Wishing you and your families a happy and holy Easter.

Steph

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