St Johns with St Barnabas

Rosie, myself and Mopsy were sat in Nans café in Moordown high street recently. Mopsy loves it in there because she often gets little titbits under the table. We were all enjoying a late brunch on our day off. If you have been in there, you will know the walls are full of all sorts of little pictures and sayings, including the one (left) about the camera. For me it says it all. I’m not a lover of large spiritual tomes, to see it all fitted on a post card - wonderful, although it has stopped short of mentioning God but that’s ok, I can usually get God into most things. So, I thought having just begun Lent , we could turn this into a little Lent exercise. Let’s begin with the focus.

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Life is full of so many differing experiences - the good, the not so good, and the times we would rather forget. But let’s focus on what’s important, the here and now. Mindfulness has now become an everyday word; it’s about living in the present moment with acceptance. Jesus says, ‘do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’. It's so easy to get caught up worrying about the future, but as this verse reminds us, it's important to focus on the here and now, even better if we can get God into the picture.

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We remember the past (something I am finding increasingly easy as the years go by), and for me that’s rather like capturing the good times, like looking back at old photos and perhaps sharing them with friends. I noticed a group at coffee time on Sunday pouring over some old photos of friends - there was much pointing and laughter.

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I guess we will show our age if we begin talking about negatives. The advent of mobile phones which contain very advanced cameras have no need of negatives, but you and I know what I mean. We cannot avoid negative and unhappy events in our lives, but I am sure with God’s help we come through. Jesus walks with us through those times, giving strength, encouragement and support, often working through our friends and sometimes even strangers. Hopefully we learn from those negative and painful experiences to accept and eventually grow through them, and we come out stronger and ready to help others.

Finally, if things don’t turn out, take another shot. This is where I say we often forget to put Jesus, God, into the picture. We try to do it all on our own. This Lent let’s remember to put Him in the picture day by day.