Live contact

No doubt recorded messages have their uses but sometimes I am frustrated when I phone a firm and receive a series of recorded answers to questions I never thought of asking anyway. I want to scream 'Let me talk to a live person to whom I can explain my individual need!' On many issues I am glad that by faith I can speak to God and be assured of his care and concern for me as an individual. I will not be fobbed of with a stock answer but will receive grace sufficient for my need.

Take courage

Courage is not the absence of fear but its conquest. Fears can come like poisoned darts and destroy our confidence but courage is fear that has said its prayers. In the Bible the phrase 'fear not' appears 366 times- once for every day in the year - even in a leap year. The peace of God can be like a sentinel guarding heart and mind. That is just what we need!

Knowing and not knowing

St John said that we know that we have passed from death to life but St Paul said that we only know in part. To know is not to know all. We can know enough to be able to live and move and have our being, physically and spiritually. But we should also know that there is much that we don't know. It is said that faith is a balance of knowing and not knowing. We may find satisfaction in knowing but humility in realizing that there is much that we cannot know or, in other words, mystery in life and death.

Talk 'n tucker

We live in a world of rushing and sometimes miss out on the blesings of a more human approach. I think of sharing a meal with a good friend and engaging in open conversation with a real person and compare that with the exasperation I feel when dealing with many dehumanised firms with recorded messages answering questions I never thought of asking.

Ideals and possibilities

It is good to have ideals and aims for which we strive but sometimes we have to come to terms with what is possible. This is not a perfect world and we are not perfect either. There are limits which we have to accept and beating ourselves up may not solve anything. The bible says that God knows our frame. He at least is reasonable. Without being overly soft on ourselves we can only do our best, leave the rest - and then be at rest.

I

No worries?

In all the English speaking coountries I have visited there have been characteristic catch phrases. For example, when I first came to Oz I was taken back when a 'check out chick' said "See ya later!'. Then there was "Good on ya" which sounded friendly and encouraging. But the phrase, "No worries" was one that stuck in my mind. Like most people I tend to worry at times - often about things which never happen anyway. Worry is the interest we pay on tomorrow's troubles and sometimes it is at a high rate. Jesus said not to worry. He also said that we should have faith and I try to do as I have been told.