Gratitude

Thismorning I sat with my neighbour in the gutter. His family, and in fact our whole street, have been moved from here to make way for more developments. Everyday he takes a bus and a tram to come have a beer outside his old house, contemplating the days when he could sit on his front porch and have a coffee with anyone in the street. Everything he has ever known has changed around him. Everything.

As I looked at the trail of beer cans a thought came to mind. This could have been me. So many times I've felt that everything around me has changed and I am standing there like a deer in headlights. The past few weeks have been heavy and my failings have been displayed in front of my eyes continually. Oh and I've been saying goodbyes again.

When you've been in ministry for most your life, spending most days checking up on how people are doing, it's sobering to realise that only a handful of people do the same back. But just thismorning one of them did. In a moment when I was feeling my lowest I got a call. "I had two mins on my way to work and wanted to see how you're doing." I actually didn't get to tell her how much that 2mins meant - I just took in her voice, knowing those were words straight from the heart of God.

I have many things to be grateful for and I refuse to let those moments be stolen away to make way for all the crushing thoughts instead. Not today. Today I want to be grateful.