Carol Purves

Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone.

Our lives should be full of thankfulness. Yes, we are in difficult times but there is so much to be thankful. I think I’ve told you before I keep a thankful book and note down my thanks each day. When I’m feeling down I can look back through the book. I have so many more things to be thankful for than I have time to write down.

Try writing down 20 thanks in one minute. A great exercise and so uplifting to the soul..

Because of warmer temperatures there is a fairly substantial mist this morning. I imagine driving in the countryside must be difficult. I can’t see the skyline of the city, but it is still there. It hasn’t disappeared because there is mist. The sun in not visible but behind the clouds it is still shining, it has not been turned off.

It is the same with God, He is still there even though we can’t see Him. We can see evidences of His love in nature and human kindness. Our knowledge of His presence does not depend on sight. We see Him by faith..

We can’t go to church, the cinema, a museum, concerts, theatres, other people’s gardens, other people’s houses, parties, etc, etc. But nothing can stop us praying, praying on our own, with others, praying day and night. We need to bombard the gates of heaven with our prayers of contrition and calls for mercy. We can’t do this pandemic alone, we need God.

We all know the story of the ember which fell out of the fire. That ember soon burnt out while the fire itself remained burning fiercely. As Christiasns it is like that too. A single Christian without the strength of others soon flags.

In these days we are all in the danger of being lone Christians. May we find ways to connect by phone, Zoom, video calls or listening to uplifting sermons. When this pandemic has passed, we want to be stronger more vibrant Christians.

I’m still enjoying the tree outside my house. As I look at it each day I give give thanks for God’s creation. As I look today I see that just one leaf is hanging on. Does being a Christian sometimes feel like that? We think we are the last Christian.

That was what Elijah thought, but God told him there were thousands who hadn’t bent the knee to Baal. Maybe in North Korea Christians can think they are the only Christian. But there many Christians in North Korea. God will never leave Himself without a witness.

As I watch the autumn leaves fall to the ground, I think about life. The leaves have a limited life span. In the spring the leaves are bright green buds, ready to unfurl in the sun’s heat and rain. Then during the summer they give us shelter and beauty. By autumn they are well spent. Each leaf turns a beautiful autumn shade and drops off in preparation for new leaves to come next spring..

It is like our short lives. We start as small green eager shoots. As life progresses with God’s help we reach our full potential. Then eventual we grow old and die. This is not a sad thought. When we are gone new buds will forms, there will be new Christian lives. Like the leaves these lives will be all the stronger because of our input to this universe.