May 2021

I was thinking today about how easy it is, particularly via social media, to give others the impression that everything in our life is rosy.

Rather than share the sad bits and the struggles, it’s so much nicer to share the pictures of blue skies, sunshine and happy family times. The problem with doing that all the time is that it can cause others to feel that their 'non-rosy' lives are rubbish in comparison.

During the third Covid lockdown, amongst other things, I've kept busy creating a few art works and I’ve been looking forward to the sunnier and warmer days of spring ... which didn’t really appear. However, the rain has stopped at last, the temperature has gone up and the now sunny garden has sprung into life. So is everything now rosy?

To be honest, this last week has been really hard.

My uncle died unexpectedly last weekend leaving a grieving wife, children and grandchildren.

A family member received a medical diagnosis we were all praying would be different - but it wasn’t.

A friend is grieving the loss of her husband who died far too soon.

An elderly family member has been fighting hard to keep her independence but a greater degree of care is now inevitable.

Life is very different now for a friend who was paralysed during spinal surgery.

Five life changing situations for those involved that have made me feel very sad this week.

Who else can we turn to in the dark times other than God?

I really have no idea how I would deal with hard life situations if I didn’t know Him. But I do ... and I know I can trust Him in those hard times and that makes all the difference.

 Sometimes miracles do actually happen and I've seen people healed and situations turned around. But when there's no miracle, God is still God. He doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves. Dark valleys will always need to be walked through in this life, but we don't need to walk them alone.

As I’ve been writing, an old poem (or it may be a song) came to mind by Annie Johnson Flint.

Jesus said that in this broken world in which we live, we would have troubles. But He also tells us that He has overcome the World.....and that gives me great hope.