BBC
Radio Leicester Thought for the Day
©
John Denney 23 March 2005
Recently
I confided to you that I thought that I was turning into Victor Meldrew. But now the days are longer and brighter, so
I’m making an effort to become more of a Pollyanna. There are many reasons, as Ian Dury said, to
be cheerful.
There’s
nice smells. The aromas of new-mown
grass and freshly baked bread are dead certs.
And a few days ago, in a crowd, I caught a whiff of “Midnight in Paris”,
the perfume that my mother used to wear.
That took me back.
There’s
nice sounds. Birdsong, obviously, and
the purring of a contented cat.
Everything by Mozart; anything by Johann Sebastian Bach and Django
Reinhardt and the early Beatles.
There’s
nice tastes. I remember exquisite baked
oysters served with sorrel in a small restaurant in remote Brittany. I remember a Kobe beef salad flecked with
real gold leaf at a celebration banquet in Japan. I remember fish and chips eaten out of paper
at Skegness one, er – bracing - spring lunchtime.
Maybe
the best things of all are the first time your baby recognises you. The first time you hear “Dadda” or
“Mamma”. The smile as the passer-by
returns your “Good Morning”. The beam of
delight on a child’s face as you give praise for something they’ve done. The love in her eyes as she says “Yes” to your proposal of marriage.
Because
when all’s well and done, it’s relationships that matter. The interaction between human beings who
respect each other, and maybe care for each other, or even love each other, is
a wonderful thing. And broken
relationships invariably bring sorrow and unhappiness.
Christians
believe that the whole reason for our existence is to have a relationship with
God. In the story of Adam and Eve,
there’s a wonderful picture of God strolling out in the evening breeze, wanting
to spend time with his friends[1]. And how disappointed He was to find they had
broken the rules, and tasted the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve had broken the relationship of
love and trust that God had wanted. And
that’s why He sent Jesus later on, to give you and me the opportunity to
restore that broken relationship.
So
as you count your blessings, the things that make you glad to be alive, how
about making sure you stoke the fires of friendship and love, and maybe
even try restoring those broken relationships.