Do you know God as your Father?

 

To be rejected and left alone is a dreadful experience and one which can cause and leave deep emotional and psychological scars for life in those abandoned.  Simone Lang was an Australian school teacher who spent some time in India.  There, she taught in a Christian school to help educate the poor and those who could not afford to go to the state schools.  In the school was a little boy by the name of Jonathan and he lived in a nearby children’s home. 

She got to know the little boy, and gradually he opened up his heart to her as she conversed with him.  His parents had abandoned him when he was three years old and had left him at the children’s home.  They had abdicated all responsibility for him and had left him to be brought up by others who would try to show him some sort of love and kindness.  His parents were still alive and one day he received a letter from them stating that they would come and visit him on a particular day, namely the first day of December.  This gave him a wonderful feeling and he shared his excitement of looking forward to seeing his parents with Simone. She realised that this would be a wonderful day for this little boy. 

A hopeless situation!

 

Death seems hopeless, but let me remind you that there is hope to be found in Jesus, even in a hopeless situation.

Facing Death

Before Covid, from time to time, I visited people who were sick. Sometimes I called at their homes, but often I popped into the hospital to see them. Hospitals can be very sad places. The circumstances and struggles of life and the prospect of facing death are often confronted head-on in a hospital.

Nurses, Doctors, Porters and Cleaners are often amazing people. Their skills and abilities far exceed the basic requirement to clean, transport and provide medical care. Usually, these unrecognised people have a kind word to say and the ability to encourage, amuse, and lift a person’s spirit. They are quite an amazing group of people.

Mr Grumpy - what would change you?

 

All photos used by permission of Unsplash

When we think of someone, we can often think of a characteristic that describes them. It could be grumpy, optimistic, sullen, generous, or mean. I wonder what people say about you and, more importantly, what people say about me. The truth is that we all exhibit many commendable qualities along with our flaws, but often one of our idiosyncrasies seems to represent us.

There are often reasons for this! Maybe a lack of confidence stops us from being optimistic, or past failures stop our confidence from showing. Is it easy to change? No, not really!

Coping through Tough Times

We are living in interesting times. The world continues in a state of recession. The season of abundance seems to have come and gone and now the season of recession seems to be entrenching itself. People are finding that times are difficult and the effects of this difficulty seem to be affecting the whole world. Economies are shrinking and jobs are being lost. As I was contemplating these issues, I began to realize that there is a story in the Bible about a similar situation that took place.