Good morning everyone.
First of all, can I personally say how grateful we are to all our wonderful IT folk in Circuit. It has also been a tremendous help and blessing reading all of the reflections currently posted on the Circuit website.
Last night Nigel recorded a reflection from me. I mean the words with all sincerity but the production is very Heath Robinson as it was done on my iPhone. I hope and pray that it will be of some help, but let’s be honest I won’t be hearing from a TV producer just yet. If the amateur nature gives you a laugh it would have done some good. I knew it was pretty naff when Nigel said to me, the next one is bound to l be better
Yes, we are all a bit out of our comfort zone at this time, swimming together in uncharted waters.
Do you, like me, at the moment feel we are making this up as we go along?
Our youngest daughter, Dawn works for a London Borough Council as a Manager within their Social Services and in order to meet the demand for extra food parcels they are having to be very creative indeed.
Here in Felixstowe, all but one of the local Food Banks is shut, but many people have stepped forward to work for Helping Hands delivering much needed food supplies.
In Pastoral Reflective Practice, we are encouraged to look for Grace in every situation.
Here is a list of some of the areas of Grace I have been aware of in recent days.
- We always wished that our daughters would contact us more and now they are!
- Some folk with very complex mental health conditions seem to be rising to the occasion and indeed offering much needed help and advice to others.
- People’s gardens are just going to look Fabulous.
- As we can only exercise outside once a day some folk are actually going to be much fitter then they have been in a long while.
- Families are eating together around the table.
- Many very lonely people, who pretty much live in isolation most of the time, are getting more phone calls than they normally would.
- Living the way we are living at the moment makes you think about all the things we take for granted.
- You can take more time on Bible Study and Prayer.
- You can watch a whole box set or get around to reading that book.
- You can write letters to people and give thank you cards to those who deliver things to our door or collect our rubbish – that’s if like me you keep a stock of cards for various occasions indoors
- You can make something.
- You can do your own Home Olympic games (as shown by the TV programme “The Last Leg”, which was inspired by YouTube videos from people in China under lockdown).
If you have two pouffes on wheels you can take up human curling or use saucepans for kitchen floor bowls. Best stop there; please do make your own list.
Yes, it’s all change at the moment on a daily basis but there is of course the constant assurance of our Faith. Jesus tells us he will never leave or forsake us and that he will be with us to the end of the age. “O thou who changest not, abide with me”.
We don’t need to make that up as we go along.
Diane’s video can be seen by clicking the image below
