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Viewpoint from Rev Martin Upton 27/06/2025
 Rev Martin Upton
Assistant Minister, Bradwell Parish Church retired
My nearly 50 year old watch broke earlier this year. The parts to repair it were no longer available. So I decided to update the technology. My new watch is powered by a battery!
It does not compare with Sue, my wife's, new watch. That is linked to the Internet, gives her email and message alerts. It records her heart rate and overnight gives how many hours and minutes sleep she has had and her sleep score. We have no idea how that is worked out.. It even tells her the time!
It also gives her a ‘daily readiness’ score. That has ranged from 100 (am I ever totally ready for the day?) down to 15. She didn't think that she was that unready
 We never know what the day is going to contain: if we did there would be some days when we wouldn't even get out of bed. (An interesting philosophical point that because if we didn't, that would mean that whatever was going to happen, couldn't, so is the future fixed or variable?)
Time itself is a fascinating concept. Which seems longer an hour comfortably meeting with friends or 5 minutes in the dentist’s waiting room – or even in the chair?
I have various strategies if I'm awake in the middle of the night. The most basic is an alphabet. Boys names, girls names; surnames of people I know; railway stations; Norfolk villages - 3 for each letter: Acle, Ashby St. Mary, Castle Acre; People in the Bible: men in the Old Testament, Women in the Old Testament, women in the New Testament, men in the New Testament; hymns; praying for friends and family - Christian name or surname. Just recently, I've been going through the words of individual hymns: The Lord’s my Shepherd, Great is thy faithfulness, Love Divine, In Christ Alone, to name but four of a list of my favourites!
I do know that the time spent like this makes some stretch of time in the middle of the night a positive experience rather than something that becomes more and more worrying. It's certainly not a waste of time, no time spent in our Father God's presence is wasted. No time spent deepening our relationship with him is wasted. I also believe that this is a form of worship, giving God, our creator, worth
God is for life not just for Christmas!
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