A message from the Rev’d Amanda Collinson

Posted by Admin on 26 September 2017, 6:04 pm

Amanda Collinson

Priest-in-Charge

St John the Baptist Church

Northwood.

Tel: 01983 294913

Hello there!

‘The problem with today’s society is lethargy’ … I heard that said a while ago by an older gentleman. I subsequently found out that he was in his 90s and had served in WWII. Hmmm, the world today is certainly different to what it was when he was a young man, and during his formative years times were hard, but everyone got on with it, pulled together and supported each other.
.
Every time I have the privilege to take a funeral for the generation born around the 1920s the grieving widow or widower are stoic, desperately sad, but matter of fact. They never ask for anything, and they certainly never expect anything to be done for them. The list of what they have done in their lives is always long and varied, and there have been many a time when people in the congregation say of the deceased ‘I didn’t know half of what xxx did in his life!’ When you think of what happened and what they dealt with through their lives you can understand this gentleman’s statement, but the world is a different place now. However, what has not changed and what must always remain is our thankfulness for that generation’s willingness to fight for our freedom.
.
What’s more we can still learn so much from them and their attitude of never wasting time: How many times have you heard this week ‘I’ll do it later’? Worse still how often do you think at the end of the week ‘what have I done with all my time – I still have so many things to do’?……or is that just me?
.
We have so many options and things to do with our time that there are occasions when we just get overwhelmed with choice or simply end up never doing one thing properly. In the ‘olden days’ there was no internet distractions, no transport links to take us everywhere in the world, no mobile phones to talk to anyone, whenever and wherever. If you wanted entertainment you sorted it out between you and your friends, if you wanted a trip you would save up for a train ride or holiday on a coach, and chatting to your friends meant sitting around a table with a cuppa. There are many times people wish we returned to those days, but I am acutely aware that without phones, mobiles, email and skype many older people would not be able to keep in contact with their family who no longer live near them.
.
But to those of us who have grown up in the modern technology world, our lives can very easily be dictated by technology…. when updating your Facebook status is more important than just enjoying your wedding day – yes it has happened!! Or we expect things to be done for us, and done quickly – when we want and not perhaps when they can be done. And before we know it we are complaining when it doesn’t work out. Within an instant we are blaming other people instead of getting the issue sorted out ourselves.
.
A lovely lady told me recently that her experience with cancer last year was the greatest thing that could have happened in her life – she said that she didn’t nearly lose her life but instead regained it. Now in remission, she no longer wastes time doing things that are not important, she ensures she has her priorities right, she is living each day to the full. I smiled and asked her whether everything was as she wanted it to be – she commented that her house could do with a dust and a hoover but there would always be a chair and some food for anyone that comes to her house unexpectedly. That is exactly how I feel about my house – it will never be a showroom, and cleaning it will never be at the top of my priority list, but anyone who comes will always be welcomed in my house.
.
We will be moving the clocks backward this month, maybe this is the perfect time for all of us to check we are not wasting time or being ‘lethargic with our life’. Reflect on the quote from Louis E Boone ‘The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.’ As we give thanks for the Harvest in church this month, let us make sure we give thanks for everything we have and make sure we do what we want with whom we want and not get bogged down and stuck in life’s routines and restrictions.
.
Wishing you a great, fulfilling month.

.
Rev’d Amanda.

See the Church section