May letter

Dear everyone,
Chuck Berry was a great inspiration to many musicians. The Beatles were greatly influenced by his style ; but it was not just celebrities. Ordinary people became enthusiastic to make a’ joyful noise’ as tunefully and cheerfully as they could!
In his early days, I was at College training for the Ministry. We had a skiffle group. I used to play ‘the double bass’, It was made from an old tea chest and a broom handle with a cord tied to the top of the broom handle and the tea chest.
Although it was a very simple instrument, it was amazing how skilled you could get, and the notes produced had a distinctive quality about them. The improvisation required provided a challenge to us all, and money was scarce to buy quality instruments anyway. It wasn’t an era that lasted for long, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we were doing at the time.
‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.’ Says the psalmist. When the Psalms were written many of the musical instruments were of a simpler kind, but they gave pleasure to those who worshipped God in this way and to human beings in their merrymaking too-even if the noise was not tuned to perfection!.
We do not always have to have expensive equipment to entertain ourselves and others. . Sometimes the simpler things are, the more others can join in.
Life does not just consist of the abundance of the things we have, but rather the good and proper use to which we put our possessions and our talents.
It is not easy to live a simpler lifestyle, but the challenge is there for us all. May we resist an overwhelming consumer style approach to life, and cut back more on those things which are not essential. Life gets cluttered so quickly with things that we do not need.In doing so, we would also be treasuring and valuing the world’s resources so much more.
May we happily celebrate the month of May, and enjoy many of the simpler things we take for granted.
Every blessing,
David

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