Archives: April 2010...

Editorial...

Remembering the sunshine

Despite the overcast grey cloud filling the sky things are looking up. By the time you read this, Easter will have been and gone, the clocks will have moved forward an hour, the nights have started getting longer and occasionally the sun is breaking through to tempt us out of our dark hovels. Hooray for the summer!

And you know what? We English don’t really need any encouragement. Take my friend Robbie, for example. He’s from Sunderland and so he’s hard as nails. In his own words, being from Sunderland means he’s not so accustomed to the ‘Riviera-like’ weather we get down south, so the other week despite it being only a slightly warming 13 degrees, Robbie insisted on wearing a pair of shorts, t-shirt and sandals to work. A bit eager you might think?  

Well it’s not just Robbie who jumps on the “I know it’s only April but the sun’s out” bandwagon. There’s a weather optimist inside us all. I went out with some friends for a drink the other day and we ended up in a pub beer garden shivering, as a wintry sun slid beyond the horizon. Not one of us thought to go inside, instead we all commented on what a lovely day it had been. And it wasn’t just us, the beer garden was full!

I guess this attitude has got something to do with our knowledge about what is coming. We know that things will change. Every year since weather records began, and I reckon from before that too, Spring has been warmer than Winter, and Summer warmer than Spring (I know it can be hard to believe but those scientists can be pretty darn accurate). We remember from our past experience that things get warmer in summer and therefore we start acting accordingly; the shorts come out, coats are neglected and pubs, cafes and restaurants with even the smallest sun patio make a killing.

Maybe it’s this ability to recall what is coming that left me shivering in a shady pub garden in late March “enjoying the weather”. It’s this certainty in the season’s constancy that (at times) makes us overly optimistic about wearing flip-flops on a sunny morning even though rain is forecast.

The same attitude is relevant in our faith. Recalling and remembering what God has done in the past makes us certain that he will act in the present and the future. This is one reason why storytelling features prominently in Christianity. Retelling how God has acted provides us with examples of his constancy and faithfulness, confirming in us that he will and does act, inspiring our faith to life (Psalm 107v21-2).

So, all that is nice, but practically it means we have something to do. It means we need to remember and retell the stories of things God has done and is doing in our lives. It also means remembering the stories written down thousands of years ago in our Bibles so we can see how God acted then to understand how he may act now. Funnily enough, it’s these stories that help build and ground our faith when stuff isn’t all tickety boo. It’s the stories that help us remember that God is faithful, good and loves us, even when we might feel otherwise. Go on, give it a try….

Anyway, enjoy the rest of this month’s fresh offering of articles and don’t forget to email in with your comments, questions and suggestions for what you’d like to see discussed over the next few months.

Cheers

Dan
editor@soulsurvivor.com