Thought for the Week

WE WERE amused at a most unusual notice in Poppies garden centre just outside Oban.

It said: ‘Unaccompanied children will be given a double espresso and a kitten.’

What a tactful and amusing, yet kind, way to make a point. How much gentler than a threat about what would happen to unsupervised youngsters – and their parents. It also made us smile. People usually respond well to constructive remarks, but can be damaged by destructive comments.

Often people are quick to point out mistakes, yet slow to offer affirmation where it is due.

Some folk have the gift of saying just the right thing at the right time in the right way.

It is important that we find the right words, especially for the tender or special times in the lives of those we love.

People sometimes find the Bible critical and judgmental and feel burdened by guilt at not being good enough.

Words can be misinterpreted and cause hurt when taken the wrong way.

Words are inadequate for the most precious of feelings and they fall short in their ability to convey our deepest emotions. The word of God was often misunderstood. So God decided to come to us in person, in the form of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to show us God’s love in action, to take away our guilt and to affirm that forever we will be immersed in the love of God.

Easter proves how much God loves us. We are not naughty children he wants to punish. We are the apple of his eye and the treasure in his heart.

Wishing you all the joy and the blessings of Easter ... and, if any of you have mischievous children I could borrow ... I love coffee and kittens!