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Good morning

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When I was a boy, we crossed the Irish Sea one night when it was very rough. Passengers and crew were all looking green.

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My dad took me up on deck, hoping the fresh air would do us both good. I suspect he himself was feeling pretty rough, but he did that thing Dads do, where he helped himself by helping me…Ìý

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He told me to consider the size of the ship, and compare it with the size of our car – and then to think of the size of the waves as being like the stones on a cobbled street. This powerful imagery reduced the size of the waves in my head, calmed my anxiety and settled my queasy stomach.

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When we are in distress, a bigger sense of perspective almost always helps.

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The writer of the Psalms found help when he raised his eyes to the hills and considered their Maker.

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And in the present crisis, I am seeing hope as I lift my eyes from the news reports and social media feeds on my screen, and consider the evidence that summer is coming.

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The slow change in seasons reminds me of God’s promise that while the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. As the old hymn says:

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Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

Sun moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

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Perhaps today you may be helped by looking beyond the immediate evidence of the pandemic. Consider not just the sky and the seasons, but the Creator who lies behind them, who remains loving and faithful amid the chaos.

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Lord, enlarge our vision. Help us to open our eyes and see your glory. Amen

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