Dear Friends,
Welcome back!
Is it me or is time really passing quickly? It feels like only yesterday that we were melting in the Mediterranean temperatures of July and here we are in September, though as I write we are still enjoying good weather with the first real autumn temperatures perhaps only just around the corner!
Time often feels like a piece of elastic – it can seem to stretch and go on for ever or it can shrink and pass really quickly depending on what we’re doing, who we’re with or where we are – this becomes more obvious as you get older (so I’m told). But we can also be the ones responsible for speeding things along. Already in some shops we’re seeing a combination of Halloween, Fireworks and Christmas goods on sale and we’re buying into them. Perhaps we could combine them and call it something like ‘Hallo Christ’!
Seriously, these days there hardly seems to be time to enjoy the moment, relive the experience or reflect on the journey! WHAT’S THE RUSH!!! I sometimes think we need to impose speed limits on our lives so that we don’t miss the best moments. How often do you take time out to be still and quiet, more importantly do you take time out to be still and quiet? In the midst of all the daily activity of our busy lives it becomes increasingly important to seek out those quiet moments, to find time just to chill out and be ourselves. King David the author of many of the Psalms in the Bible wrote “Be still and know that I am God!”
As we return to the more normal routine of life after summer the daily focus tends to be on meeting our physical and emotional needs but it’s more important that we do not neglect our spiritual needs too. So when those quiet moments occur take the opportunity to follow King David’s example and be still before the one who created all things.
In Christ
Arthur
Vicar of St. Gabriel’s
01256324734
P.S. Hope to see you at one of our Harvest Festival Weekend events 21st to 23rd – see our website or fb for more