Walking around the town is an absolute delight as the wonderful scents and floral delights of spring, envelope us in perfume and colour. We can see and sense the changes, the rise in our spirits, as we come out of winter and out of our enforced lockdown.
Maybe you have been in a liminal space, a time of not knowing, of feeling like you have been in a holding pattern, a space between what was and not knowing what is to come. This can be a space of anxiety and uncertainty, a time when you may feel alone and abandoned.
There is a book in the bible called ‘Job’ and it is the story of a man who falls on very hard times. He loses his livelihood, his crops and animals, his children and his health. He feels that God is far away and not hearing his cries. Yet God is there with Job, listening to his cries and questions.
Jesus tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us. What a wonderful promise! We are reassured that even in our dark times, those times where we cannot see an end to our difficulties, Jesus is there with us.
Jesus’ presence can be in the touch of a friend’s hand on our shoulder, the spouse who listens and holds us when we need to cry, the smile of a stranger walking past, the unexpected phone call or card.
The love and compassion of God is shown in the new growth of spring, the birds beginning to fledge and the care we have for each other.
Be Blessed.
By Rector Joy Harris
Canowindra Anglican and
Uniting Co-operating parish