Taking a deep breath

I would really like to write something perky and upbeat but it's proving to be quite a tough month.  So today I have decided to have a "plateau day", take a deep breath and reflect a little.

So many of those who are close to me, known to me or close to those who are known to me are experiencing loss, trauma, disappointment and anxiety.  Generally speaking their circumstances appear to have arisen suddenly and unexpectedly since this year started.  Perhaps January is always like this!  Perhaps life is like this and I'd not spotted it before!

My role within a chaplaincy team does provide opportunities for a greater awareness of troubles and suffering.  As I listen to people and try to hear with my heart sometimes I feel the tears welling up in my own eyes as my spirit identifies with them in their suffering and uncertainty.  Sometimes being present with someone to listen or just be silent provides that person with companionship and support.   Yet, however effectively a person is accompanied, grief and disappointment are places where people travel alone and come face to face with themselves, often in new ways.

Does it all seem worse because it is January and only a few weeks ago we felt we had a fresh start, a new year.  We thought about changes and made resolutions which would make life better, more fun, more fulfilling, more energised and dynamic.  Some of us have spent that last 26 days or so eating healthy food, taking more exercise and keeping our email inbox under some sort of control but we have discovered that we cannot control our circumstances, we can only control the way we respond to those circumstances.  In extreme situations we feel that we cannot even control our responses and reactions.

Surely this is what it means to be human.  As I take today to pause and reflect I have a rising sense of hope and encouragement that the message of Christmas, of Immanuel - God with Us, is all about humanity, owning life as it really is in adverse circumstances and yet finding God with Us.  Perhaps when times are tough we discover God with Us primarily through one another and those who have the courage to be with us when we grieve, share our disappointment or feel paralysed by anxiety.

So let's take a deep breath and pause before having a good look round for those who are there for us, who provide us with hope, light, laughter and courage and then let's look for those for whom we can offer the same.

Even so I hear lots of you say "Roll on Feburary!"!