Thought for the week

FROM the grand slump of just a few months ago to the brink of a tilt at the Grand Slam itself, the turnaround in the fortunes of the Welsh rugby team has been nothing short of miraculous!

Poor results and performances in the autumn heralded a crisis in confidence (amongst some fans at least!), with predictable calls to ‘sack the coach’, ‘change the team’ and prematurely retire the very players who have brought so much success in recent years.

Clearly this panic did not extend to the team itself. Perhaps we can learn something from the resilience they have shown, alongside the admirable knack of closing out games successfully even when not playing particularly well.

From chumps to potential champs, zeros to heroes, gritty performances under considerable pressure.

We have all faced our own personal struggles over this past, challenging year, but we find a way to overcome the odds. It is widely agreed that adversity is at least a good teacher – by overcoming the initial struggles it can bring out the very best in us.

We find the same natural principle at work in every flower growing through dirt, or diamonds that only take shape under extreme pressure.

This was Paul’s message, writing to the church in Rome: ‘Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope’.

My fervent hope and prayer is that as this year unfolds, we too will succeed in bouncing back from recent trials with a new confidence and a new hope – and maybe get to celebrate a Grand Slam too!