At beginning of the year, Dave’s rambles!
Johann Blumhardt (Johann Christoph Blumhardt was a German Lutheran theologian) who’s words and prayers reflected a certainty in God’s nearness. The peace that flows from them comes from a firm conviction that God’s kingdom is indeed on the way. In challenging times like our own, this reassurance can bring us serenity each evening of the year if we can but find the time to rest in God’s presence.
I always seem to look and turn to something at Christmas at the close of each day during this time of the year. In my memory I am back in my bedroom during a cold December night in a freezing North East as a young child. There is heavy frost and ice on the roads and footpath as I look out of my icicle coated window into the night searching for that December difference. It was as illusive as my breath on a cold night. Returning in our mind to our ‘villages’ are spaces that hold our collective beginnings. They’re spaces that we can return to, if only through memory, when we are in need of welcoming and familiar places of peace. It is a comfortable place to visit, although I suspect we often can’t find the words to express our deepest feelings to God as we rest in our past; but we are certain of God’s nearness, and the peace that follows comes from a firm conviction that God’s kingdom is indeed on the way.
Every new year is a chance to refresh our soul and renew our promises to each other and to God. It is a time to reflect on the things we did well the previous year, and how we can continue to grow and be better people.
Tim Teblow, a US Baseball Player said this, ‘Trophies don’t last. Awards come and go. Impressive titles move from one person to the next. But fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves can make an eternal impact.’
Have a peaceful New Year,
Dave