Carol Purves

My friend who wears glasses as well as two hearing aids, found that when she was also wearing a mask during the covid pandemic she twice lost her hearing aids. It was just so difficult to keep everything in place. I am blessed with good hearing but many of my friends as they get older are finding it difficult to hear clearly especially in noisy environments.

Hearing aids are obviously a blessing but like every man-made appliance they are not as good as the hearing God gave us in the first place. With a tendency for noisy bands and crowded raves I fear there will be more hearing loss in the future. The joy of good hearing is the joy of silence; the joy when the only sound is a distant singing bird or the gentle lap of the waves.

Our hearing is a gift from God so we can communicate and hear the pleasure of His nature. We need to take care of ears. I remember the last time I heard the cuckoo and also a grass-hopper. I don’t hear them now not because of loss of hearing but because of loss God’s creatures. Let us exercise our ears to hear God’s blessings while we can.

He sat at his master’s feet gazing up at him trustingly. There were ‘oh’s’ and ‘ah’s’ from other bus travellers but they knew not to interfere. The guide dog for the blind man looked so touchable. His owner continued to give him reassuring pats.

How often we sighted people take our eyesight for granted. I did give my eyes thought the other day when I had to have a DVLA eye test so I could continue driving. Our eyes are so complex and wonderfully made. Good eyesight is one of God’s many blessings which we don’t think about until we lose it.

I smiled when I read Psalm 8:1 ‘Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger.’ Just having had a nine year old help me in my garden, I had forgotten how little strength children of that age have. My light-weight lawn mower was too heavy to push and it was limited what she could carry.

Yet here in the Bible we read that children and infants are a stronghold against God’s enemies. The enemies of God are strong and mighty yet against the children of God they are useless. That is the wonderful topsy-tervy God we have. He is all-powerful using the might of little children.

Four year old Abie had learned about Mother’s Day from her older sister. She loved her mother and wanted to show it. Mother’s Day morning found her mounting the stairs and gripping a breakfast tray in her tiny hands. On it was a sheet of kitchen roll, a single slice of dry bread taken from the packet and a cup of cold water.

A plain unapitising meal but prepared with love. Prepared with love by Abie for her mother.