Thought for the week

I heard a very wise saying recently that “friends are like stars – you don’t always see them but you always know they are there.”

Lockdown for many of us has meant not seeing friends and family but that hasn’t meant that they are forgotten or have forgotten us.

I know how much I have appreciated making and receiving phone calls or text messages just to say hello and have a bit of a chat.

A real plus has been also that I’ve been in touch with or have heard from friends I haven’t spoken to for a while.

Like the stars, I haven’t always seen them but I’ve always known they are there. Then, a couple of days ago I saw a slogan adopted by one of the charities working to support people through lockdown which stated “isolated but not alone”. If you’ve been self-isolating on your own, I wonder where you’ve found companionship?

A book can be a great help, or perhaps a series on TV – let’s face it, the pleasure millions of people find in some of the soaps is surely because we become part and parcel of the characters and their daily lives.

Jesus promised His friends that even if they could no longer see

Him, he would be with them “to the end of the world” and that He would always be part of their lives.

That must have been a very comforting thought to hold on to then and it is for us today. Although we can’t see Him we can feel close to Him through prayer or reading about Him in the Bible. He is a true friend and a great companion.

Revd Jane Allen