March letter.
Dear everyone,
With a bit more order and structure slowly coming back into my life, I said to myself recently while out shopping ‘David, you’re doing better than you think you are!’
When I arrived home, there was a police summons to say that I had been caught speeding in a notoriously common speed -trap area. I could either attend a special course or lose three points on my driving licence and pay a fine.
I’ve opted to go on the course!
It’s the first time that I have been caught speeding in over 50 years of driving . I was rather upset, but as I shared the news of what had happened with other people I soon discovered many others who had been caught in similar situations, even in the same place!
A fellow chaplain said to me ‘congratulations David on joining the club, the biggest club in the country!’
When you share a concern about yourself with other people, how quickly you discover others who have had similar problems, but it is equally important that we listen to what other people have to say, especially lonely people, about the anxieties and frustrations that they face. How much they can benefit from sharing with us things that worry them. There is an old saying which says ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved,’ and it’s true.
‘Lent’ is a time for ‘listening to what God has to say to us’, but sometimes we can discover much of what God wants us to do simply by listening to the needs of the needy and so share with them their burdens and concerns.
May ‘Lent’ make us all good ‘listening posts’ and positive in our actions for the Kingdom of God, as we listen to the concerns of those around us.
With all good wishes, and every blessing as we share in this time of self-examination together,
Sincerely, David.