Dear friends,
Celebrating Tina and Ella’s special day last Sunday led me to reflect on my faith journey. I attended Aldrynton. Whilst not a church school we did have morning assembly and sang hymns. My family, at that point, were not church goers and yet singing ‘Jesus wants me for a sunbeam’ was a joy filled experience in my childhood and ended up feeling deeply personal. Something had been planted.
In secondary school Yr7 pupils were given a Gideons Bible. Out went late night Radio Luxemburg and in came reading the tiny, thin paged book packed with story, meaning, purpose and love. I needed to find my tribe I realised! I went looking for a building that looked like the churches on our Christmas cards and found St Peters. I recognised the stories from those thin pages painted onto the walls, carved into the stone and shining in the stained-glass windows. I wanted to know more but didn’t know who to ask. My journey to confirmation and beyond had started.
I have been endeavouring, in my own way, to shine for Jesus ever since I think. Choosing to chase sunbeams rather than shadows.
Doomscrolling means a certain type of algorithm feeds more darkness than is healthy, but my experience locally is different.
Children looking out for and supporting their peers in class. The children’s work offerings in Assembly. Generosity and care from Church people in a myriad of different ways both large and small. Using what has been given to help, support or enrich the lives of others. The kindness of strangers. These are the sunbeams I am chasing and want more of.
So dear reader, being sent out like the 72 in the Gospel is not difficult or complicated. You don’t have to have a degree or hold a title in the church or have a huge tool kit. Sunbeams germinate seeds and ripen fruit.
So go, just shine, like the sunbeam you are.
Love Julia
Julia Jones