Hope For Today

Dear Friends, In The Garden of Gethsemane Image by  Heather Truett  from  Pixabay   In recent weeks I’ve been thinking and meditating on Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Whilst it represented to Jesus one of the most painful times in his life, I have drawn much comfort from it and it’s this comfort which I want to share with you.  They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  Then he returned a...

Dear Friends,  "You have collected all my tears in your bottle." Why does something always seem to go wrong and cause more work when you are already feeling under pressure from a full to do list? Last week I was greeted by the sight of a large puddle of milk coming from our fridge freezer. What was happening? I got my answer as soon as I opened the fridge door. An opened six pint milk bottle had been placed on it's side and somehow the top had sprung off into the shelf compartment of the fridge door and milk was leaking everywhere....and I mean everywhere. It had even got in the sealing around the fridge door through a small hole. When I pressed on the sealing, milk shot out!! When it comes to spilt milk I'm a little paranoid about getting every drop cleaned up, having learnt from experience the smell that comes from milk that hasn't been completely wiped clean! Now, on some days, I could have easily burst into tears (it doesn't take much)...

Dear Friends, I was having a rough morning, battling a migraine and the depression, when my sister rang up for a chat.  Not living locally to each other but being close as sisters we like to keep in regular contact via the telephone and share what's been happening in our respective lives.  We have a great relationship with each other, always have had despite the usual sibling arguments growing up together.  We tell each other pretty much everything, so apart from our husbands, we are the ones who know each other the best. She asked me how I was with my health at the moment and it didn't take long for me to burst into tears.  Now, at this point she could have said to me, "I'll ring you later, bye for now", or "Pull yourself together" as some might do.  Instead she said "You have a good cry."  Her words showed me she cared, that she knows how releasing crying can be and that tears can bring healing.  Crying is an important part of releasing...

Dear Friends, We recently had our bi-annual family outing to the dentist.  I don't mind having a check up at the dentist; to tell you the truth, I'd rather have a dentist appointment than an appointment with the doctor.  Jess, on the other hand, does not like visiting the dentist.  At this particular appointment the dentist wanted to clean her teeth as there was a build up of plaque.  If she was tense before that comment, she was even more tense now, especially as he told her to just lift her hand if it got too painful.  As I sat watching the proceedings I could tell she was anxious, scared and in pain at times.  Now, the casual observer would not have picked up on it, but, as her mother, and  knowing her so well, I knew exactly how she was feeling.  I found it very hard to sit and watch my little girl suffering (at 12 years old she doesn't like me calling her that, but that's what she is to me!) and my natural in...