Dear Friends
This has been a long and
hard winter for many people. Difficult from a work point of view, from a travel point of view, from a personal point of view.
But during this month a number of events should take place which have the potential to life those flagging spirits.
Those snowdrops and daffs will increase in number, we will see the dawn come earlier
and the evening light begin to stretch as we change the clocks and hopefully the cold days will begin to blend into some warmer
times.
Of course for some those events will not change the way they are feeling, for what is
happening to them is not so easily solved by a little more daylight or a glimpse of a snowdrop.
But there is something else around in this coming month and that is our preparation for Easter.
Our preparation to celebrate the gift of God’s love shown to us in the conviction of Jesus of Nazareth as his message
of forgiveness takes him to the cross. His conviction that evil would not conquer love, that hope would outlive despair, that
forgiveness would remain a powerful force against hate and that sacrificial service would always make sense.
As we go through the dark valleys, as we experience those days which don’t make
sense, as we face a future which holds we no not what, the Easter message seeks to reassure us that we are never alone. Never
alone because we live in God’s love. Never alone because there will be those who choose to love us, offer us hope and
serve us sacrificially.
As you journey from darkness to light this Lent may you know the power of God’s
love with you always.
With best wishes
Ian B. Groves
