The Minister writes…. (from our July 2022 newsletter)
Dear friends,
What things do you do that are life-enhancing? What do you do that is ‘good for the soul’?
I’ve been thinking about this question recently – and its opposite: what do we spend time doing that grieves our souls or stunts our God-given creativity and withers away our joy?
When the Churches Together of both Crowthorne and Sandhurst decided to stage Jerusalem Joy on Palm Sunday, I knew I wanted to be involved. It is a short musical by Roger Jones and one that I’d sung many years ago and liked. So I went along to the first choir rehearsal, expecting to enjoy myself but was unprepared for just how much I did. I came back that evening ‘buzzing’! The rest of the rehearsals and, of course, the performance itself, were truly a joy and all the more so since people from two of ‘my’ churches took part.
In fact, the experience left me wanting more and after Easter I joined the Crowthorne Choral Society. I was a little apprehensive. There was going to be some serious singing and I wasn’t sure my rusty, ageing soprano would be up to it. It took me a few weeks before I mastered the songs, especially coping with the intricacies of Rutter, but gradually I felt more at home. We held our summer concert last Saturday. Most of the songs were African spirituals which have their origins in oppression and abuse, yet the music itself still managed to be upbeat and uplifting. All week since I’ve had those songs going round and around in my head and have found myself giving thanks for the restorative power of music and song.
Perhaps those life-enhancing activities for you also include music – whether singing, playing or simply listening to it – or maybe there are other things that bring rest to the mind and joy to your soul: writing, reading, painting, sewing, gardening, enjoying nature, walking, sport, dancing? What all these activities seem to have in common (and I’m sure there will be many I have omitted) is not how proficient we are at them but that we do them at all.
God has given us an amazing gift – the ability to be creative and to engage in interests or hobbies that lift us out of ourselves. Sometimes they are solitary affairs but often they involve other people and that itself can be ‘good for the soul.’ We should not be surprised because God himself is the Creator nonpareil and he has made us in his own image: to live, to love – and to take pleasure in the living and the loving.
There are, inevitably, times in life when we must engage in serious stuff. We must cope with the daily grind. We must deal with the physical challenges of growing older, with illness, even death of loved ones. Sometimes we have to spend time on activities that are grievous to the soul. We may feel drained and have to dig deep to find the wherewithal to keep going. Yet I believe that God does not intend for those periods to continue to the point we are exhausted, physically, mentally and spiritually. He did not make us so we could work and work and work without respite or rest. (I use the word ‘work’ here in the loosest sense because I am not talking only about paid work but about anything which for us is a labour.)
He created us to find love and joy and rest in him. He gives us the senses to appreciate beauty wherever we may find it. His presence is with us always. Not just in the difficult times when we lean more heavily on him but also in laughter, in wonder, in the discovery of something new and in the comfortable pleasure of the familiar.
I invite you, to think on how you spend your time. What do you do that brings joy to your soul? Put some time aside to ensure you do more of it. Don’t feel guilty about it but give thanks to God for the gift he has given you. And, if you can get hold of a copy, read the lovely book by Nicholas Allan: Jesus’ Day Off. It masquerades as a children’s book but contains a good message for adults too!
With every blessing
Sharon