Encumbered with 'stuff'?
1 Jul 2024 • From our Priest-in-Charge
My friends,
As you read this I will already be living in your midst, having moved into the vicarage in June. I’m probably still surrounded by half-unpacked boxes and wondering where the tv remote and corkscrew are. Preparing for the move, my third in five years, I was dismayed at how much ‘stuff’ I had somehow acquired. We all have our consumerist weaknesses: mine are books, chairs, jigsaws and teaspoons (judge not, and all that).
I wonder if you too find yourself encumbered with ‘stuff’, either literal or metaphorical, perhaps both. Baggage that weighs you down or tethers you in some way. I sometimes find my creativity, even my capacity to simply breathe and be, is stifled by all that I carry around with me. Then it’s all too easy to reach for the superficially easy fixes that only mask the problem. I will admit to an envy of those who have achieved some sort of minimalist Shangri-La.
The Bible encourages us to take our cares and worries to God, to entrust them to God. It’s especially important if you are involved in carrying the troubles and burdens of others as well as your own. I sometimes forget, and it will be a nudge from something I read, or something said in conversation that will remind me to talk with God about what’s weighing on my heart. It’s not that God takes it all away, but there is something in the sharing of it with the One who is the source of love and light, something in the knowledge that I do not walk alone.
It’s not always easy to pray, particularly if it’s not something you’re used to doing. I’m here to pray with you if ever you need, and there are many others who can do that too. God loves you and is always ready to listen.
Our human connectedness, too, is vital to our wellbeing. Inevitably, we all have ‘stuff’. We can all be mindful of the unseen things that may be weighing heavily on those around us. Within community we can support one another, be it with the offer of a listening ear, perhaps a catch-up at the garden gate or over a cuppa at the kitchen table or be it with an offer of practical help like picking up shopping, an invitation to join in with an activity or being company at a difficult medical appointment. Rarely will any of us be able to remove somebody’s troubles, but a little bit of kindness can go an awfully long way. Even something as simple as a smile can change the course of a day.
Now, where did I put that corkscrew?
God bless you.
Rev Angie x
Source image: www.onlythebible.com