When glimpse become slivers

TWO weeks ago, I was made redundant. The last few months leading up to this were difficult – frustrating, saddening, shocking, even frightening. I’ve been stressed, suffering from poor sleep, short-temperedness, lack of concentration, weight gain.

And, of course, this hasn’t just been happening to me, but to the people I live with and love; my family struggle, too.

What, then, am I to say to anyone who should ask where God is in all of this?

Why doesn’t He make things easier for one of his beloved believers? But no promise of an easy life has been made to me or to anyone else. The world we have made for ourselves is full of conflict, disappointment, and compromises. For us all.

So, what is the point of faith?

In this broken world, there are glimpses of what Jesus called the Kingdom of God - easing pain, kindness, speaking truth to power, putting other people first.

And the harder you look, the more glimpses you see, and, as you keep looking, the glimpses become slivers, and the slivers become windows and the windows become panoramic vistas of joy.

These joys have all been apparent as my job has ended – colleagues’ kindness to each other, unwillingness to accept less than the best possible treatment of people, accepting difficult tasks to lighten each other’s loads.

Jesus showed us how to do it – Love God, Love People. If you just look, with God’s help, you’ll see his Kingdom advancing all around you.

Paul Armitage is a member of St Paul’s Church, Wokingham, writing on behalf of

Churches Together in Wokingham