Dear friends,
Greetings! And a very happy new year! I cannot believe it’s 2026!!
I really hope you had a wonderful Christmas and were blessed with love, laughter and delight.
It won’t come as a surprise if I tell you, that I’m actually writing this before the big event! It’s currently 12:10pm on the 23rd of December. Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve. I just have a few more things that I need to do, and a couple more services to lead, and then I’ll be putting my feet up and the relaxing will begin! My daughter and family are coming early on Boxing Day which I am really looking forward too.
And then we will be welcoming in the new year. Luke and I were only talking the other day about whether 2025 has been a good year for us or not. Thankfully we concluded, it certainly has been. And then looking forward to 2026, only the Lord knows what the next twelve months hold for us. In that conversation we talked about the past and the future all in the same breath.
But what about the present? What about the here and the now? Sometimes I think we need to be careful. We can be so intertwined with the past, so focused on what has been, that we miss what is right in front of us.
Likewise, the future. Oh! What will tomorrow bring? Again, we can spend so much time dwelling on the ‘what might be” that we miss the blessing God has for us here, in this moment, at this time. I hear it in the church a lot. We spend a great deal of time reflecting on what church used to be, whilst worrying about the future. How long can we carry on? We are all getting older. And yet, we need to be careful, for God is blessing us here and now, at this time and in this place, and I would hate to miss it! Let us never forget that the present is a gift!
A Prayer
Loving God, You meet us not only in yesterday or tomorrow, but here and now. Help us to release our worries about what has been and our fears about what is yet to come. Teach us to delight in this moment as Your gift—to notice Your goodness in the ordinary, to rest in Your presence, and to trust that You hold all time in Your hands. When our minds wander, gently draw us back to You. Let gratitude replace anxiety, and peace take root in our hearts today. We place this moment, and ourselves, in Your care, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessings
Viv