1 May 2025

I have always thought of Kites as being big birds until I saw a Raven attacking three of them, today! All of a sudden, the Kites seemed to shrink to the size of Starlings!
I also remember when we returned from our amazing trek in the Himalaya, 40 years ago, that the Downs, the big hills of my childhood and youth, which we drove past on our way back to Kent, had disappeared while we had been away and been replaced by small, insignificant bumps!
It's all a matter of comparison, isn't it?
John's first curacy was served in Portsea, in a large area of terraced houses, many of them still with only one outdoor toilet in the 6' square back yard so there was a lot of poverty and deprivation - it was a tough area to live and work in.
Before he started, he was warned by the then Bishop that there would be difficult, overwhelming, depressing times and was wisely told, "When that happens, as you are fortunate enough to possess a car, get in the car, drive off the island and up to the 'hill'.
Park up there, get out of the car and, looking towards the city, do a 'thumbs up': you will then find that your thumb covers the whole of the parish. Then, get back in the car and get back to work with things a bit more in perspective."
So often we find that things may seem overwhelmingly difficult but when we step back a bit and take a cooler look we see how much smaller those difficulties really are; we get things more into perspective
Yes, of course there are times when pain, sorrow and evil are overwhelming, this is after all the real world, but for most of us, most of the time, "Nothing ain't gonna happen that God and me can't handle together."

With love
Jacquie xx