I don’t know about you, but my memory is losing its edge; mainly with names. Being a playwright and author I used to be able to remember actors’ names as this was important. Now I find myself lying in bed and going through the alphabet trying to remember names, or using Google. Ring any bells?!!
I can’t remember jokes any more. I start off and lose the thread in the middle. One is about a man in Glasgow who used to throw coins to the children. One day he burst out in tears and someone asked him why. He replied “The elastic broke.” Oh well, smile if you must!
This got me thinking about the COVID situation and promises. We get thrown some hope and then it is pulled away. We get told everything is going well, the vaccines are on course and a road map out of lockdown is dangled. At the time of writing (which will probably have changed countless times by the time you read this) the situation looks even less clear.
Who do we trust?
Which excuses are we prepared to accept?
More importantly, what choice do we have?
We are all tiny cogs in a huge machine that rolls on and on regardless; relentlessly.
Where is God in all this chaos? Some ask the question, but most don’t care.
My answer is “He is right here in the middle with us”; not some distant, disapproving, vengeful ‘Being’, but the author of Love. I like the chorus to the song Stuck in the Middle with You: ‘Clowns to the left of me! Jokers to the right! Here I am stuck in the middle with you’ and the line ‘I’ve got the feeling that something ain’t right’.
Let’s face it, there is a lot in the world that ‘ain’t right’ and we are all stuck in the middle of something, like a long dark tunnel where hope glimmers faintly at the end, but seems out of reach.
Call me a clown, call me a joker, but here I am trying to get some kind of clarity in my head. Don’t take my Faith away please, because I know from my own experience that it is the only thing that works for me. Through many sorrows, many battles my Faith goes on; OK, bruised and scarred, a bit battered at times, but a living reality.
If you would like a confidential chat I am always available. I can’t help if you don’t ask!
‘Bye for now and God bless
Rev Andrew
Email ahrea2@yahoo.co.uk or ring 634 386 179