Dear friends, I wonder how you are travelling at present? And you know I am not referring to your means of transport but simply asking… “In your journey through life, how is it with your soul?”
It has been a difficult week… in fact, for many it has been a difficult month or so. Here in South Eastern Queensland we have been inundated with seemingly endless downpours. Our son, daughter in law and 2 grandchildren were home for a few weeks over Christmas and hardly saw the sun.
The floods around Christmas were devastating, and we here, on the coast could do nothing but offer aid in the aftermath. But nothing could prepare us for the horror of the events, which unfolded during the last week. Those affected, at close range, by the raging torrents that rushed through Toowoomba and the surrounding areas could not possibly be prepared… and neither could we be prepared as the horror unfolded on our television screens. We sat stunned as we tried to absorb the immensity of the destruction and the loss of life. It will take months for us to assess the true cost of the floods, in terms of lives lost, livelihoods destroyed and homes wiped out!
So, I ask again… “How are you travelling, my friends?” I know I have felt frustrated and helpless, as I have heard stories from friends who have lost so much.
There have been jokes about our need to build an ark and this comment was posted (on face book) by a former student of mine “I don’t think we’re such horrid children that God would bring about the apocalypse just yet”.
Let me offer you a little reminder, which, I am hopeful, will offer you some peace and encouragement. In this weeks gospel we read … 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi where are you staying?’ 39He said to them, ‘Come and see.’
Jesus calls us to continue following him… trusting that, though we can’t see where we are being lead, He knows the way and will guide us through our present concerns. We simply need to place our feet in His footsteps… one foot after another! Come and See!
Love and Blessings
Reverend Shan