Recently I had to travel to the Isle of Wight to speak at an evening event. Not having done this journey before, I allowed plenty of time to drive to Southampton, find the car park and make my way to the passenger ferry.
It was a bitterly cold day and although I was wearing a warm coat, I shivered as I walked to the ticket office and waited for the “Red Jet” ferry. Having landed at Cowes, gale force winds added to the chill. It was too early to go to the hotel, so I wandered around to familiarise myself with the area. I eventually indulged myself by purchasing some thick gloves, wishing I had worn boots and a woolly hat!
I was feeling very sorry for myself by the time I reached the venue, but was able to thaw out in a quiet corner with a steaming cup of coffee and sat reading a copy of a magazine which I had brought with me.
The first article I read described the appalling conditions in a detention centre for African immigrants in Italy. Survival is all they can hope for, in a fly-ridden place with no sanitation, no food and little hope of work.
I read the article with shame in my heart. How could I complain, when I had a warm home to go back to that night? I had enough food in the fridge to last a week and clean clothes in the wardrobe. These poor people have fled from war, genocide, violence and famine and I was complaining about feeling cold! It was a salutary lesson!
For many years I have aimed to exchange self pity for gratitude….to thank God for the innumerable blessings in my life, rather than focussing on the negatives.
So, let us pray for those whose lives are torn apart and find out what we can do to help those in need, in so many countries.
1 thought on “Gratitude”
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Prayer is a very powerful tool. How many times do we comment that it would be great to have a direct line to chat with God? Well, I believe prayer is that direct line. God is always available. Never busy, never offline, never asks not to be disturbed, never puts us on hold….He is always listening to our requests. All we need to do, is simply present these requests to Him. I have recently started a journal, which I one day hope to share with people who are experiencing tough times.
God has recently taken me on a journey through the wilderness and I do believe He did this so that I would be able to share my stories ultimately to Glorify His Precious Name but also that by sharing with people that they will draw closer to Him and be delivered from any strongholds.
Could we set up a prayer chain somehow, so that we could all be praying for the same country or community at the same time??
I recently attended a conference in London and we were given a beautiful prayer journal. To date I have not found the way to use it, but it may be that this could be a start.