So what?

Did the account of parish visiting (for Thursday 22nd)  sound inconsequential?  Or not particularly distinctive?  In what way was it relevant to the life of a parish priest?  Wasn't that the kind of day that anyone might have?  Why include it in a "Rector's blog"?


Prayer corner in St Cuthbert's church Bellingham

                                                                                                           

The answer is that all these encounters and conversations are the matters that are in my mind when I come to pray.  These are the concerns that I offer to God in the confident conviction that the Love at the heart of the universe actually cares deeply about every single one of those people and situations.   At prayer I'm not wishing for a magic reversal of the natural laws of the universe.  I believe that God's love supports us and gives us strength to cope with what we have to go through, as well as inspiring other people to show kindness and help to us when we are in need.  Sometimes my prayers prompt me to action, as though opening up the subject in prayer also opens up my own receptiveness to the divine hints.