There must be a pony in here

Two boys were waiting for their birthdays to come. One was a pessimist and the other an optimist. The first boy was a greedy boy and wanted so many things but most especially he expected to get a drum.  When his birthday came he walked into his room and opened present after wonderful present. But, when no drum appeared, he sat down and wailed.

The second boy had no expectations of what he wanted for his birthday.  He would be happy with whatever came his way.  When the day came, he went into his room and all he found was a pile of manure.  He gleefully ran out to the shed, got a spade and started digging into the manure.  When asked what he thought he was doing, he replied

“with all this manure around, there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

One boy was the eternal pessimist and the other the eternal optimist! Having a positive attitude can stand us in good stead.  None more so than when we are living with so many restrictions in our lives.

It can be so easy to dwell on the negative – on what is wrong with the world. But, our faith is one of positivism.

Of the belief that God’s kingdom is possible here and now. That good can come out of bad. That the broken can be mended. That the lost can be found. That the light can shine through darkness. That sunshine can follow rain.

When we feel the pull of pessimism dragging us down may we remember the wee boy with the spade and keep looking for the positives in our situation.

Leap of faith

Peace Prayer

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in self-forgetting that we find;

And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Snow globes of hope

Who doesn't love a snow globe? They have a magical quality to them that touches young and old. We start off with the still scene, give the globe a shake and hundreds of snowflakes bounce around. Then they gradually settle back down creating a new snowy carpeted scene. 

Our lives too have changing scenes. Well-being becomes a barometer altered by the shifting tides of failing health and healing. Relationships can grow or break down, blossom or fade, heralding emotional fluctuations. A family's dynamics shift when a member dies or leaves, for whatever reason. They also alter when there is a birth or a new person joins the family. People's roles or jobs in life can change bringing new senses of identity and have financial implications. Moving house, relocating, emigrating or working abroad bring with them altering parameters to familiar routines.

Like a snow globe we are caught in a maelstrom that requires our response. And for those of faith, our relationship with God can affect how we respond. We can bring God into the equation. We can be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. We can rebuild our lives using the roots of our faith as foundation stones. The rebuilding may be slow. It may only evolve one brick at a time. We may not even be able to envisage what the final build will look like. But, that is ok. We don’t need to know. We just need to trust that we will get there.

Then, when the snow eventually settles, we will find a new shape has been created. It won’t be the same as the one before. Life has changed. But, it will have the unspoken tenets of faith built in to it. Those building blocks of love, trust and peace enabling us to look to the future again with a sprinkling of hope.

Rainbow through the rain

Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland

Our country is bracing itself for a severe storm today. There is word of road and rail disruptions, bridge closures and ferry cancellations. I feel for anyone working outside or caught up in the turbulent weather today and hope that they all keep safe. Hope is of course what we carry into all kinds of storms. The storms of life that can hit us all at various times: bereavement, illness, redundancy, family troubles, life changes.

Hope is what can carry us through the eye of the storm and back out to the other side. Hope that the sadness will ease, that we will feel better, that a job will be found, that the family will settle, that we can cope with the shifting rugs beneath our feet.

Hope is often symbolised by the rainbow. That spectrum of beauty and colour that emerges as the rain meets the sun. It appears just when we fear the storm will prevail and we will be overwhelmed. Its upward arch reminding us that we too can be lifted up and out of the turbulence. A spiritual symbol of God's relationship with us bringing with it the rays of hope of faith.

Whatever storms loom overhead for you today, may the glimmer of a rainbow carry you forward in hope.

Squirrelling nuggets of wisdom

You just never know who is going to visit your garden. This little guy (I think we should call him Ruairi - translates as red-haired king in Gaelic) has been paying regular visits to our bird table and enjoying the spoils that he finds there.

I watched him this morning in the act of burying the nuts in the earth in the flower-pot! He went on to bury them in random places in the middle of the grass.

I have to admire his faith. Wherever he buries the nuts he has the belief that at some time in the future he will be able to come back and find his hidden store.

As he left that morning I could only step back and admire his simple faith. Perhaps we try too hard. 

Recipe for a Happy New Year

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2012 from here in the early morning sunshine in the Angus countryside.

I came across this Recipe for a Happy New Year:-

Recipe for a Happy New Year.

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; 

see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, 

cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; 

pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; 

in short, see that these months are freed from all the past

—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. 

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. 

Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time 

(so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) 

but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, 

work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), 

hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, 

rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), 

prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. 

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, 

a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Wherever you are and whatever this year holds for you may the God of peace go with you.

Happy New Year!