Our prayer theme: It's all about the children

 Over 10 weeks of lockdown.  Although some of us may be going stir-crazy, and all of us will be delighted — if a little anxious — about some easing of the restrictions, we’re all aware of some opportunities that this time has given us.  For one thing, it’s as if God has pressed the Pause button, so that our eyes have time to focus on the detail of the natural world around us.

And what a time to do it:  Spring!

I don’t think I have ever before been so aware of the wonders of God’s creation, watching new life emerging, from the buds and blossoms of the trees and shrubs to the noisy activity of the birds busily pairing off and then parenting.  I have watched a pair of blackbirds build a nest in the honeysuckle very close to my patio doors; I saw how patiently the female sat on the eggs and, once they hatched, I marvelled how hard both parents worked from dawn to dusk to feed the scrawny little chicks.  I was amazed by their carefully-coordinated flying skills, as one parent flew on to the nest at the exact time the other was exiting.

Over a week since fledging, and they are still hard at work feeding the rapidly growing youngsters who are wisely hiding under the shrubs, as the red kite flies slowly and menacingly over the garden.  

As a non-parent myself, I am in awe of the patience, dedication and commitment it takes to raise young ones — and I’m not just referring to the birds!

For parents in our church family this is surely a very testing time.  With the whole family at home much of the time, it takes exceptional skills and commitment to balance employment, child-minding, home schooling, Sunday Schooling, household management and so much more.  Nurturing those fledglings is very demanding.

Sadly, we know that not all children have loving and supportive parents.  Not all homes are safe spaces in this lockdown.  News reports have exposed the dangers that some children face in abusive relationships; the incidence of domestic violence has risen dramatically in recent weeks.    Too often, the parents or other household members are the predators.  Until schools are able to reopen fully, and social services can operate normally, there will be no escape for some youngsters.  They need our prayers.

So we are combining two thoughts for our prayer theme for the month ahead.  We thank God for the emerging new life and young life that we see all around us, in creation and also in our church.  It is a wonderful blessing and it gives us hope for the future: God’s new life for us all.  And we pray for all parents, that they will be given the wisdom, strength and support that they need to care for their children, raising them safely and — best of all — “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”, so that they may grow to know, and to love, their Father in heaven.  

Comfort in the coronavirus crisis

There are times in life when we think we have it all sorted, it’s all under control.  Life may not be perfect, or even particularly exciting, but we know where we are and what we are doing; the future looks fairly predictable.

And then it all falls apart.

In the space of a few weeks, our certainties have been upended as coronavirus crossed first from animal to human, and then from human to human, finding us totally unprotected.  As the pandemic gathered pace we realised that we are certainly not in control of everything; that, despite all our medical and scientific advances, our lives can be completely turned upside down as we struggle to come to terms with the unstoppable advance of this new virus.  We are more vulnerable than we realised, and it can all seem very frightening.

But the world has known pandemics before; plague and pestilence have been a part of life in every century.  This too will pass.  Perhaps what matters most now is how we deal with this, how much we care for and support each other through the next few weeks and months.  We’ve already seen great acts of selflessness among those who are on the front line in the NHS, and those who care for the most vulnerable people.  We have seen a huge response to the appeal for volunteers.  Communities have come together to set up support networks for those who cannot look after themselves, and despite some selfish and thoughtless behaviour, the majority of people are doing whatever they can to ‘stay home, protect the NHS and save lives’.  Let’s do whatever we can to help where we can, to pray for everyone affected, to share the love of Jesus and to be his hands and his feet in our communities.

Someone asked Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, “Where is God in this natural disaster?”, and he answered, “He is in the middle of it. He’s alongside us.  He’s with us, he’s suffering with us … and when we turn to him, even in our darkest moments, we will find his presence.”

Times like this may test our faith, but we can come through it stronger for being tested.  We may not be in control, but we know that God is.  He holds the world in his hands and he loves it, and us.  No matter what we experience now, God has a plan of salvation through His Son Jesus which is sure and firm.  We can rest assured that the promise of a future in which God’s Kingdom will fill the earth with righteousness, peace and goodness will come to pass, and perhaps very soon.

“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God … And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelation 21:2-4)

In this life we may not know what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future.

(Image: courtesy of Fusion Medical)