With hindsight we all have 20-20 vision!

As I consider what to write in my last ministers letter a line from the song “I was born under a wandering Star”(Lee Marvin 1970) is in my head.... “I haven't seen a sight that doesn't look better looking back!” With hindsight we can all have 20-20 vision!

As I look back over the ten years that I have been at this church I can see many things which now I can see as the will of God but at the time we were too close to see the wood for the trees. Often when we are going through a difficult or confusing time, we are unaware of how God is guiding us. When I’m in the middle of a crisis, it’s difficult to comprehend God's plan because my thoughts and emotions are in turmoil.  My mind is frantically working to find solutions, but all the while God is right there working things out!  Years later it may become clear why God brought us through that experience the way He did. The bible verse at Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” sounds very confident but when things are a muddle all round we may not feel at all confident in God.

William Willimon says, “I believe that providence can be discerned in this life, but usually only in the backward view, never in the forward. That is, it is difficult to speak of God's guiding in terms of what happens to us at this moment or what will happen to us tomorrow. But we are more able to discern the loving hand of God in that which has happened to us in the past. As Saint Augustine said, when you first consider your life, it looks like nothing but a bunch of chicken tracks in the mud of a farmyard, going this way and that. But through the eyes of faith, we begin to discern pattern, meaning, direction.  Providence.”

At some times in my life I have kept a journal. This is more than a diary and at times of turmoil or uncertainty it can be a way of organising your thoughts and helping you work things out. Sometimes if we write a diary or journal it can help us see all of the places where God is with us, and where God is working around us.  In writing it down so that we may see it more clearly,  we can develop our understanding rather than going over the same things again and again. If we learn to look using this as one tool to help us then perhaps we will begin to recognise God at work in the present.

As we look back we can all say “I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am if that hadn’t happened”

So with the date set for my final services I can look back over the last ten years and remember many happy times we have shared together. There have also been some times when we have exercised our Christian responsibility of care as we have supported each other. The church has grown and developed over that time – indeed churches are living organisms that only stand still when they are dead. Sadly some of the folks who were with us ten years ago are no longer with us but we rejoice that new people have come into the church. So I thank God for all the people here whose lives and words have shown me things about the love of God.

And I will continue to remember you all and pray for you and I hope you will remember me and pray for me too.

(This letter is in the current edition of the Grahamston United Church review)

Tread softly

"L'âme d'autrui est une forêt obscure où il faut marcher avec précaution."* - Claude Debussy
Yesterday I was asked to see a lady in a nursing home. When I had seen her previously I remembered her as a very smart, petite lady with her hair in neat, tight, grey curls and with the thin transparent skin of the very old. But yesterday she was lying on her bed, curled into a fetal position and crying. Deep silent sobs came with every other breath as she screwed her face up in a silent echo of some inner pain.
I took her hand in mine and talked softly. I read a psalm and said a prayer.
I stayed beside the bed for as long as I could and was aware the human contact seemed to bring her some relief. As I left she seemed to be a little more at peace. I felt I wanted to do more but what?
I was reminded yet again of the immense complexity of every person. None of us know the inner struggles and burdens that another carries within them. It is a warning too that even the most sensitive and aware people can do untold harm by blundering around in the inner life of others.


* "the soul of another is a dark forest where you must walk with care"

Intercessory prayer as metaphorically walking round the garden (A sort of meditation)

Recently, as I was working in the garden, it came to me that walking round a garden can help our intercessory prayer.

There is lawn – a place of little interest but where everything happens – where children play and grown ups sit. In the same way there are many ordinary places which do not look much but are vital for our lives, our recreation and our health. We thank God for those places where things are always happening in the busyness and ordinariness of life

There are flower beds and borders – places that look very pretty yet hide the amount of work needed to keep them looking wonderful. So we pray for all those who work behind the scenes in our society to keep the wheels of life turning so that all we take for granted runs efficiently.

There is often a place of disaster – where nothing will grow or where mice and slugs have eaten what was planted and all the hard work seems wasted – places where the soil is infertile or a heavy useless clay. So we pray for the places where life is hard where people are struggling to make a life for themselves against the odds. (The floods in Pakistan are the latest example of human life being shown in all its vulnerability against the forces of nature) We pray for people facing hardship and danger in their everyday lives and that we and others may find ways to help them. There are people we know who find life a struggle against the odds through illness or circumstance and we remember them and pray for them.

The is a compost heap – an unpleasant smelly place which is nevertheless essential for the life of the whole. We pray for the parts of life that are unpleasant and which people usually ignore but which are essential for the balance of nature.

There is the vegetable bed – where plants are grown for what they can provide for the table so we pray for all those involved in production of the essentials of life such as food and water. We remember that what we take for granted is a luxury in other parts of the world.

There are weeds and pests – things that we don't want around, that ruin the nice things we try to do. So it is in our world: there is so much that makes us often feel our efforts are overwhelmed. We work to build things in a new way and find that there are those who get pleasure by destroying the good things that people do. Help us not to get discouraged by this and continue to work for justice, peace and sharing and the coming of Gods kingdom in the world

And there is the shed where the tools are kept – a place of quiet order – equipping us for service. So we pray for those who serve others, those who lead and those who administer that they may act fairly and for the common good.

The garden is a place where we go to relax. So we pray for the times we have to recover and recharge our batteries. We remember all those who are away on holiday at present preparing themselves for the busyness of the autumn.

That the garden is a microcosm of our world, a place of beauty and a place of utility, a place of order and a place of chaos, but most of all a place to both work and play.

We bring all these aspects of our lives, our society our church and our world to God in prayer in the name of Jesus.. Amen