What a glorious day it is this Labour Day. As I sit and reflect I am reminded of all those years getting ready for the first day of school after, what seemed then, a long summer. It is interesting how some of our perceptions change over the years. The days seem to rush by much faster now not giving us much time to enjoy everything we have been blessed with. What I used to think of as those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” now seem to be, especially this summer, fast moving and hot. Days filled with little time to relax and reflect as I am today. It is good to take time out to reflect after a busy time such as we have had at St John’s this summer. Take time to reflect on how blessed we really are and really take time to thank God for all God’s gifts and blessings.
It seems as if I feel even more like reflecting on my blessings when a friend journey’s on to the next phase of their being. I remember the good times we shared and the memories we made. I reflect on what this death means for so many people he touched in his life and how many will feel a lasting loss now that he has journeyed on. I think of his wife and family as well as all the people he helped. For that was just the kind of guy he was, always there to lend a helping hand with a smile and a hug when he left happy to have helped in whatever way he could. I think of his “lady friend” an eighty some year old who he looked after. Taking her shopping and then to church every Saturday just being one of the many tasks he took on. Oh how she is going to miss him as many others will.
Spirit of life and mystery, we pause now to be still, to breathe in each moment of life with a sense of gratitude for its gifts of beauty, love, and grace. We pause to affirm the cycles of life and death, for we know that we are all part of an endless and mysterious cycle of existence. We trust that beyond absence there is a presence. That beyond the pain there can be healing. That beyond the brokenness there can be wholeness. That beyond the anger there may be peace. That beyond the hurting there may be forgiveness. That beyond the silence there may be the word. That beyond the word there may be understanding. That through understanding there is love. Amen (Author Unknown)
Blessing to all
Archdeacon Val
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