The Children of Israel were out, free at last from the lash and harsh treatment of their captors.
Free to leave, which is exactly what they did, walking on dry ground, heading towards ‘a land of
milk and honey’…. but. There’s always a but, isn’t there?
Moving from where we are, closer to where we want to be, is a phrase we use a lot here at The
Hope Trust in Felixstowe. Helping older people understand the options they have before them,
offering them support to make good and wise decisions always comes with a ‘but,’ or a ‘what if…’
‘What if I fall, what if I make the wrong decision, what if it doesn’t work, what if no-one chats to
me?’
This land between where we are and where we want to get to, is always scary, usually unknown
and can cause us to freeze and be too afraid to do anything at all. Which is so sad. The Children of
Israel had to leave, had to press on and eventually they did arrive at that promised land. As we
face the next steps in this pandemic, will we be frozen into inactivity, or will we be brave and keep
moving forward, knowing that when we trust in God, He promises never to leave us nor forsake
us. After all, we may not have passed this way before, but this journey is not a surprise to Him, He
knows the way, we just have to follow.
That’s why at The Hope Trust we have re-opened some of our activities all based here at
Maidstone Hall. Our Tuesday Technology Café is even more necessary now as the pace of change
has sped up in these past lockdown weeks. The need to meet up and share a happy time with
other people, socially distanced of course, may just be what we need to banish our darker
thoughts.
So, let’s not be afraid, this land between where we were before lockdown and where
we will end up once a vaccine is found, could be amazing, we just need to be brave and step
forward.
Sheila Taylor – The Hope Trust Pastoral Worker