Reflection for January 2026
Adventures and Opportunities
Pat and I have been on an adventure!
An adventure is going somewhere different, doing something different, and meeting different people. So we’ve been taking a bus into central Bristol every weekday for a month, friends drop us off at the Mall bus station and we take the Metro 1 or the Metro 4 to Broadmead. We see parts of Bristol we didn’t know existed, or parts we once knew but are now much changed. We get off opposite the Bridewell police station and walk up the road to the BRI, that’s our daily exercise!
We walk through the labyrinth of corridors and two lifts to Oncology. Here we spend a couple of hours whilst I have my treatment. We meet lots of lovely people and get to make new friends, all of whom are undergoing similar treatment. We then retrace our steps back to the BRI, down to the bus stop and back home.
With opportunities to chat to new people we are able to share our faith in a small way, not Bible bashing, but gently showing God’s love, and the hope we have in our lives. Demonstrating what Church really is.
What is Church? Is it a building with a spire and bells? Is it the decorated pews and carved figures? Is it the choir in robes or the music group in casuals? The quiet prayers of the faithful or the shouts of joy of the saved?
These are all a part of Church, but Church is more than that, it’s the people! It’s the gathering of believers who worship the living God, and also that body of people serving one another in love. They serve in lots of different ways, like praying for each other, befriending them and showing practical support.
This is the Church in action and Pat and I have been truly blessed to have been on the receiving end of such love. It’s not easy to ask for help, and I am a very independent person, but allowing others to give of their time and resources has brought real blessing on our church. Not only for me but for all those who have shown love to Jan, Shirley, Joan and Pam over these past few months.
In our Living light readings, we have recently been following the life of Joseph, who later said to his brothers “You meant this for harm, but the Lord has used this to bring blessings to many.” Joseph had many troubles but through them all God was in command, and his longer-term plan was being worked out.
We don’t know how we fit into that plan at present, but we can be confident that if we trust in the Lord in all that we do, and walk in His ways, we are part of that plan. And even as we stumble and fall the Lord makes it right in the end.
We will always know hardships and times of trial, the Bible tells us so, both directly and through the lives of the saints who have gone before. We don’t always know why we’ve had to go through all this, but up from the ashes hope will arise! We need to keep our vision on the eternal and not so much on the ephemeral. We may suffer for a short while but we shall rejoice in eternity!
God bless you all during 2026, and may you know the love and comfort of the Lord in all you do.
Keith