Thought for the week (From Cotswold Journal)

Thought for the week

5:30pm Thursday 21st June 2012 in S-U

SO here we are in the middle of June and the summer solstice is upon us – ‘the longest day’.

For us here in the UK summer and long daylight hours are associated as one and the same thing but of course it’s not the same everywhere.

We sometimes forget we live on a ball. The tilt of the earth which gives us our seasons means that where we are on the planet dictates the lengths of our days. If you were to fly to the northern most parts of Sweden or Norway right now you’d get 24 hours of daylight and the opposite in Antarctica.

Frustratingly the nearer you get to the equator on your holidays the shorter the daylight hours become! It’s just a reminder of how fortunate we are here in the UK with our long summer daylight hours.

However for some of us ‘the longest day’ may also have a sadder, unsettling association. It may remind us of a day when we were waiting for news, perhaps, of hospital test results or of a sick relative.

Why is it that days of trauma, sadness or illness seem to last longer than days of joy, gladness and celebration? Who can we turn to on those days?

As a Christian I believe that Jesus is alive today and I can communicate with Him in prayer. If He listens to my prayer then He’ll listen to yours.

Remember, we’re speaking to the creator of all things; you, me, the earth, the sun, everything. If, then, we can speak directly to this God who made and cares for everything, shouldn’t we be sharing our concerns with him? Is there any need for us to worry at all?

As Martin Luther once wrote: “Pray, and let God worry”.

And so in these long summer days I pray that you would be able to talk to God.

All it costs is a few moments of your time and it might just change your life.

ROB SILK, Chipping Campden Baptist Church