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Viewpoint from Rev Daniel Pritchard 15/09/2023
 Rev Daniel Pritchard
Deputy Lead Chaplain – James Paget University Hospital
Are your ducks in a row?
I felt sorry for the thousands of passengers whose travel plans were thrown into confusion recently, when National Air Traffic Control had some major problems. I sympathised from my armchair on this occasion, but I have been caught up in similar difficulties in the past. It’s no fun being stuck at an airport, especially abroad, with no idea when you might be able to get a flight!
How do you feel when things don’t go as you planned? Are you the kind of person who likes to have their ‘ducks in a row’, and who is easily thrown when things don’t go as you hoped, or can you quickly adapt and look for a plan B?
 Making plans for the future, for the short term or long, is a good and responsible thing to do, but I have lived long enough to know that it is not wise to hold too tightly to them as circumstances can change so quickly. In my work as a Hospital Chaplain, I frequently talk with people whose hopes and plans have been interrupted, put on hold or even thwarted by changes in their health or other life situations
In the Bible, a man called James writes about this (The New Testament, James 4:13-17) warning us that we don’t even know what tomorrow might bring. That’s a sobering thought isn’t it? He reminds us that life itself is short, like a "mist that appears for a short while and then vanishes" – Ouch! That is an uncomfortable truth!
So James gives us some pointers, some advice, which many Christians find helpful…
Firstly, James suggests don’t make your plans too firmly, but prayerfully involve God in your thinking. After all, when our view is so limited, it is good to know that someone can see the bigger picture
Secondly, James hints that our lives are not just about what will make us happy. Our plans for ourselves may be important, but we have a responsibility to others as well, those close to us and also our community and the wider world. Sometimes in pursuing my own plans and agendas, I can become oblivious to the needs of others around me and act selfishly. James reminds us that we should seek to do all the good we can, whenever we can so that, wherever possible, our plans for the future take others into account as well
picture of ducks courtesy of pixabay.com
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