Life is a roller coaster for many people. It certainly is for our young people taking exams. The stress and hard work of revising and preparing for exams is then followed by relief and celebrations when the tests are over. Then the build-up of stress waiting for results is followed by either the elation of doing well or the disappointment of not doing as well as expected. Then there is the question of what to do next.  Even those who get a good qualification still face the difficulty of finding a job that will be fulfilling, or that will even just provide enough money to live on. Basically life is stressful, and not just for our young people. It pays to think about how our faith can help us.

Summer is a good time to slow down and check out how things are going in our lives.  Firstly we can take rest seriously. The Bible also teaches the importance of taking time to enjoy our surroundings and our relationships with each other.  Part of the creation story shows God stepping back from creation and seeing that it is good.  This principle of the Sabbath; taking time to appreciate the good things in life, is a great antidote to the pressure to fill our lives with work and activity. Each of us will find different things restful and it is helpful when we understand ourselves enough to know what  works for us.

Secondly we can face up to our concerns, but not get into a state of worry that does not give any benefit: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27). We can place our anxieties with God through prayer.  This does not make our problems disappear, but it does give us resources to deal with them.  Importantly we can have faith and trust in God himself.

There will always be things to worry about in life: whether it is exam results, our own health or that of a friend, finances or the future. We are not called to ignore these things but to bring them to God in prayer. At the same time though, we are encouraged to take time to rest and  to enjoy what is good.

Rev Bill Henderson

Thank you for those who prayed for my journey to Tanzania.  I have returned safely after a very fruitful trip.  I was able to travel      extensively around and learn a lot about the ‘Water for Life’ project.  It was also very encouraging to worship with Christians there.  Prayer is a very important part of peoples lives.  There is prayer before a meal and on arrival after a safe journey.  There is a hunger to know God and learn more about Him, especially among the young people.  This      vibrancy is encouraging and challenging.

June is when we celebrate Fathers’ day and this year it falls on June 16th.  At St Peter’s our morning service at 10am will be a special Fathers’ Day Family and Parade service with the uniformed organisations: you would be very welcome to join us.  Of course, as a father I can take this opportunity to remind everyone who can, to do something special to show their appreciation for their fathers!

The experience of being a father is a very profound one with great potential for being a positive influence in the family.  Whilst most father’s bring blessings to their homes, some bring the opposite. Fathers’ day is about celebrating the positive experiences we have had.

When Jesus was helping us to understand our relationship with God, he told us to call Him father or dad.  It is helpful when we can use our positive experiences of family life to understand our Father God’s love for us.  Our church family seeks to model this and is much more than just a father’s love. It is encouraging to hear people’s stories of how they have felt welcomed and accepted.  When we say ‘our’ father, we are reminded that we are not an ‘only’ child.  We have a great number of brothers and sisters all around the world.  Our friends in Tanzania are praying for us and we can pray for them.

Do come and join the church family on 16th June or at any other time, and be part of the world wide community that seeks to support each other in our daily life and in our worship.
Rev Bill Henderson