A Penny for your Thoughts. 7th June 2020
“And the people stayed home, read books, listened, rested, and exercised.
They made art, played games, learned new ways of being, and were still.
And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced.
Some met their shadows. People began to think differently.
And the people healed and, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, made new choices, dreamed new images and created new ways to live……
And to heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.” (Unknown)
Dear All,
Sadly, we won’t be sharing worship together on Sunday morning at Cooksmill Green, however, Karen has asked if I would like to send a message or a ‘Thought for the Day’. Firstly, ‘Hello’ and I hope that you are all still staying safe and well, especially as we go to the new phase of lifting some restrictions to ‘Lockdown’. This pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways and I feel it will continue to do so for some time to come…..we have a ‘new normal’ to get used to!
I have to admit to loving this ‘lockdown’! Despite everyone thinking that I would be going ‘stir crazy’, I have found this to have been a valuable time to rest and recover from a usually busy life. As in the words above ‘and the people healed’. Yes, I have stayed home, isolated, sat, thought, healed and pondered a lot and even read a whole book!!!!!!
While I, and many others, stay at home, my heartfelt thanks go to all those who have, and are, working constantly on the front line, caring and healing, and to all those providing all of the goods and services that we need to carry on our lives. As I sit in my ‘isolation bubble’, I thank you all.
As I have sat in my ‘isolation bubble’, I have considered how fortunate I am to have my home, with a garden, in a nice area, among supportive neighbours, friends keeping in touch and a loving family that I can soon meet up with again. I thank God for the sunshine and the wonders around me, as I watch the wonderful birds flitting on and off the bird feeders; robins, blue tits, resident fat pigeons and the magpies who seem to have adopted me. I am in God’s garden and in His loving care. I have felt somewhat euphoric and content and at peace.
Every day I walk with Willy Woo around Oakland’s Park and gaze at the strong, tall trees, blowing in the wind. Trees that shelter, house, produce, provide and are vital to the earth’s survival. As I walk (and bag up other people’s rubbish) and I think many thoughts, it dawned on me that, to disrespect God’s creation and the beauty that it gives us in nature; trees, flowers, birds, bees and the diversity of His wonderful creatures, is to disrespect God.
Every day, during this ‘lockdown’, I am lifted by the quiet streets, the empty roads, the clear skies. The earth ……HIS earth …..is having a chance to recover even for just this short time. Nature is coming out to meet us, we have a chance to breathe purer air, look up into clearer skies. The Himalayas are visible in parts of India, 125 miles away, for the first time in 30 years after the coronavirus restrictions saw pollution levels drop!
Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance……….
“……and then ‘lockdown’ eased. Then the people went out, picnicked, went to the beaches, went to the beauty spots, queued up in their cars, ate their long-awaited for burgers, left their rubbish strewn around……. And the earth wept!!!!”
What are the answers? What do we do?
We are all good people, we love God, we worship in love and fellowship.
We know how much Jesus loves us and will never leave us through all of our ups and downs of life. He is our rock, our heart, our salvation, our everything, the one who loves us the most. He wants the very best for us all and, as His people, we want to do our best for Him.
We know how much God loves us and His world and we understand the message that God gave us charge and makes us custodians of His world and I have no doubt that we all do our very best to look after His creation, the environment, and ultimately the planet!
From Genesis 1 “……I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small……..”
- But how do we get that message out there that His world is suffering mis-use and abuse, and that it is worth looking after for now and for future generations?
- How do we maintain the lessons learned in ‘lockdown’?
- How do we balance it all against the needs of the modern world, economics and the requirements of daily life?
How do we do it …….without making the earth weep!!!!
Yes, we trust in God’s Plan for each one of us, and ultimately for the world, but It is in our hands too!
Maybe we could consider one thing, one lesson learnt that we can take from our ‘lockdown’ experience and make one change for the better in our lives.
Have we ‘made new choices’, ‘dreamed new images’, ‘learned new ways of being’? Have we begun to ‘think differently’? One change, one small step for our own lives, for our environment and for the planet! Worth a ‘ponder’ I hope.
“And just like that, money, fame, power and beauty are worthless.
Mother nature’s message to us all…….The air, earth, water and sky are fine without you.
When you come back, remember that you are my guests, not my masters” (unknown)
Prayer:
Dear Lord, loving Father and Creator, we come to You to say how deeply grateful we are for Your creation. As we look around, we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all that You have made. Nature around us speaks of Your greatness – the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of Your great design. You have given us such beauty in the colours of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and fields, the creatures of land, sea and sky. Words are not enough to express Your wonder. Psalm 8 “O Lord, Our God, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.”
Lord, may we show our love and reverence to You, by caring for all that You have created.
Help us to love and cherish Your world. It is Your gift to us all.
Amen.
God Bless and love to all.
Penny xx
This morning’s hymn: Think of a World without any Flowers
“Think of a world without any flowers, think of a wood without any trees.
Think of a sky without any sunshine, think of the air without any breeze.
We thank You, Lord, for flowers and trees and sunshine.
We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.
Think of a world without any people, Think of a street with no-one living there.
Think of a town without any houses, no-one to love and nobody to care.
We thank You, Lord, for families and friendships
We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name
Think of a world without any worship, think of a God without His Only Son,
Think of a cross without a resurrection, only a grave and not a victory won!
We thank You, Lord, for showing us our Saviour
We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.
Thanks to our Lord, for being here among us, thanks be to Him for sharing all we do.
Thanks for our church and all the love we find here.
Thanks for this place and all its promise true.
We thank You, Lord, for life in all its richness
We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.”
Thank You, Lord. Amen.
Bunty Newport and the children from Emmanuel Junior Church, Cambridge 1966