25 December 2024
Merry Christmas!
This is the final Advent Calendar for 2024. I hope you have enjoyed Feathers and pictures from Liguria in Italy. And let us hope that the hope and light of Christmas are found in our lives and world in the year to come. Behind today’s window is the final instalment of our tale.
Feathers
Part 25
The story so far: Joshua Davidson, of Nazareth Cottage, Kingsbarns, promised son of Maryam Imran, has been named and his birth registered.
There’s more to tell, of course, of what happened to Josh as a kid and a grown-up, how his character developed, what he said and did, and how people responded to his extraordinary life – but our story of the promise of his birth must come to an end.
Maryam and Joe, bringing Josh up in Nazareth Cottage, were delighted daily by how he grew and learned. He seemed much the same as the other tots Maryam saw at the baby and toddler group she went to, and had the same ups and downs in his eating and sleeping, a touch of colic every so often. Once in a while, Maryam caught the 95 into St Andrews to see her friends for coffee in Gorgeous. Millie said one day, “I wasn’t sure, Maryam, about what you told me – the message in the library and all that. But now Josh is here I can believe it.” After coffee, Maryam took Josh into Student Services to meet Robin. “He’s so beautiful,” she said. “Do you remember how frightened you were a year ago? Can you believe you’ve done this?”
Joe’s parents, empty nesters, found any excuse they could to drop round and spend time with their first grandchild. Maryam wondered if her parents would ever be as accepting. But one day her father said on the phone, “We have booked our flights and a hotel. We need to see this member of our family for ourselves. We are coming next week.” And when they stepped into Nazareth Cottage, and saw the baby, Maryam’s mother could not hold herself back. She lifted the child and held him to her chest, and spoke to him through her tears, “You wonderful, silly, beautiful baby. You gave me such a shock coming so early in your mother’s life. I should be angry at you for messing everything up, but how can I be? You are a gift from God.” They all cried, even Joe who hadn’t understood her words, but caught her sense completely. You couldn’t be caught up in yourself when you were around this child.
After a year out, Maryam returned to the University and got a 2:1 in International Relations. Her dissertation topic was “How grace and truth bring peace in a time of conflict.” In her Acknowledgments, after thanking her supervisor, Joe, family, her friends, even Josh for distracting her from working too hard, she added, “And my feathered friend, who met me one day in the library.”
Bartolomeo Stefano Murillo (1618-1682), The Flight into Egypt, Palazzo Bianco, Genoa
Yours,
Donald.
Revd Dr Donald MacEwan
Chaplain