Today's poem isn't the one I originally planned - I made a late change both to it, and to the accompanying photo; fortunately the prayer still seems to fit!

The poem is 'Adjustments' by R S Thomas, the first of three successive poems I have chosen by this Welsh writer.  Unfortunately, I can't find it online, but it is alluded to in this which uses the poem 'Absence' which I originally chose but, today, felt wasn't quite right.

Here is the prayer...

God who is present, even when it seems you are absent,

Hidden from sight, and sound and sense...

Yet, mysteriously, closer than our breathing.

When concepts fail, and words melt away

Help us to wait patiently

Trusting that, though we cannot discern it,

You  are with us always

Amen

Today's gift was a small roll of Love Heart sweets - a childhood memory stirred of vivid colours (no more) and amusing messages.

The symbolism is more than the gift itself - half a dozen sugary tablets of themselves mean little.  But love, and the 'sweet nothings' that some forms of love evoke, are worth contemplating - if only for long enough for one sugary message to dissolve in the mouth!

Today's poem was 'We grow accustomed to the Dark' by Emily Dickinson, which can be readily found online e.g. here

The image is a view along Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, at about 6:30 a.m., from Charing Cross.

The prayer:

God who gives us the gifts of day and night,

Who blesses and inhabits both darkness and light,

As we pause, waiting for our vision to adjust,

Grant us the courage to take the first step,

However tentative it may be,

And then, to walk more boldly,

Almost straight, into life, with you

Amen

Today's gift was a small, plain wooden heart, and an invitation to write on a message to ourselves.

God loves us with a never-ending, ever-lasting love - so that's what I opted for.

In 'love' week we try to be kind and gentle with ourselves and each other - because we are all worth it.

It's funny (or maybe it isn't) how, as the years go past, dates that were hugely significant fade from memory, to be replaced by others.  Had social media not reminded me this morning that it's 17 years since I made my ordination vows, I would not have remembered.

Ministry is definitely something you should only enter if you are 100% convinced it's God's call because otherwise you wouldn't survive, let along thrive.

All these years down the line, it is still the case the the best moments are so much better than I could ever dare dream, and the worst moments so much more awful than my worst nightmares.  Fortunately, there are far more ups than downs, highs than lows, but it still a very weird role!

Today, I slid my 'ordination ring' onto my hand knowing that I will 'pay for it later' once my finger swells and the lymph struggles to get out again - but just for one day a year, that's OK.

Thank you to the congregations in Dibley and at the Gathering Place who took the risk of calling me and allowing me to serve you.