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Viewpoint from Rev Sue Upton 15/11/2024
 Rev Sue Upton
Assistant Minister, St Andrew's Church. Gorleston and St Nicholas' Church, Bradwell
Keeping what’s important
Back in February I retired – almost! I still take the occasional service but it was a huge change of lifestyle which led to a massive sort out of my home. My study has had the most dramatic change with half the number of files still on the shelves, and the recycling bin full of old service sheets, and other papers that I decided I wouldn’t need any more. The shredder was also very well used for minutes from meetings that just might have had a sensitive item on the agenda; I certainly wasn’t going to read them all just to find out!
 From there I moved to the rest of the house, shelves and cupboards and drawers were emptied and cleaned and charity shops and the bin again became fuller. I’m sure that you have found, as I did, that having got rid of something, you need it the very next week. My theory is that, had you needed that size vase the week before you discovered it lurking in the back of a cupboard and took it to the charity shop, you still wouldn’t have used it because you just didn’t remember that it was there. So my new plan is to only keep the things that I use – I’m not doing very well with that plan I have to say, but I’m tired of having a huge amount of things that ‘might come in useful one day’ cluttering up my cupboards and drawers
I wonder whether faith for a lot of people comes into the category of ‘might come in useful one day’, something quite nice to have, but not something that needs taking out and using on a regular basis. But Jesus told His followers that they must “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”. That is what true faith is all about. If you are loving someone that much then you will certainly want to spend time with them, get to know them better, give of your best to them. That really doesn’t equate with having a place in a cupboard – albeit a cupboard in our lives rather than a physical cupboard. Let’s make sure that our faith is alive and active, showing every day our love of our God
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