From The Revd Frank Cliff August 2020

26th July 2020


Last night Carolyn and I became what my father would have called ‘a pair of dirty stop outs’ as we finally came home at 11.45pm. The occasion was to observe a comet called Neowise. The view, when we could see it through the clouds, was magnificent it can be seen with the naked eye and is even better with binoculars. However with a period of 6,800 years this is my one and only chance to see it, which is why last night we were stood on the beach at Caister at 11 o’clock in the evening eagerly scanning the northern skies. With beating hearts and much anticipation, ‘socially distant’ with no one around us
 
It goes to show that even when all around seems to be in chaos and despair there are those moments when we glimpse something wondrous that lifts our spirits and is a healing balm to a wounded soul. That we are currently living in perilous times seems to me to be self-evident as the pandemic still rages on, restrictions are still in force and countries all over the world are faced with harsh decisions to make
 
At moments like these people, myself included, seek something to cling to, be it a trusted friend, family or community that surrounds us. We seek some measure of stability, however small, to cling to, to hold onto much like a life belt
 
For me my life belt is the relationship I have with two people. The first is my wife Carolyn. We will have been married 21 years by the time you read this but we will have known each other for over thirty years. It is the longevity of our relationship that creates that lifebelt of trust. We know each other both the good and the bad and we trust each other
 
The second relationship is the one I have with God even when I don’t speak to him, He is still there listening, watching and caring for me in the good times and the bad. This unconditional love is one of the pillars of the Christian faith, it is our gift to the world because it is active not passive. This love shows itself in the myriad ways that all faiths have banded together in the face of the challenge of the pandemic to help those around them. Whatever the future holds we can be sure that God loves us even when it seems that there is nothing left God is still present in that time and place
 
I pray that you will have a happy and restful August and hopefully we
can meet together in the early autumn
Fr Frank

also published in Great Yarmouth Parish Life

photo courtesy of https://pixabay.com
 

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