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22/03/2017
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Richard Littledale.
Last on
Wed 22 Mar 2017
05:43
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Remembering
Good morning. Β Today I find myself in something of a dilemma. I canβt decide whether to say that it is a special day or it was a special day. Β You see, today would have been my fatherβs 88th birthday. Β It would have been a day to celebrate his love of the natural world, his pleasure in photography and his many interests. Β My father died shortly before Christmas last year, and so I am left with my dilemma.
Does this day cease to be a day to celebrate him, since he is no longer here to participate in those celebrations β or do we mark it out to remember him anyway? Β In truth, none of us really gets to choose how we are remembered β but rather the living make those choices for us. Β They sift their memories, albeit unknowingly, and keep just the most precious ones of all.
Even those who have a good memory and can remember exactly what they were doing on such and such a day in such and such a year may not be good at remembering. Remembering is the art of encapsulating a place or a person in such a way that they continue to influence us even when they are out of sight and mind.
Godβs people of old have always cherished the notion that he remains with them β come hell or high water. βFrom everlasting to everlasting you are Godβ. Β Yesterday, today and tomorrow meld into a single whole in the presence of one who lives forever.
Dear God, as we remember those who have shaped our lives today, we give you thanks for them. Β May the words we speak and the actions we take today shape the lives of others for good, we pray. Amen
Does this day cease to be a day to celebrate him, since he is no longer here to participate in those celebrations β or do we mark it out to remember him anyway? Β In truth, none of us really gets to choose how we are remembered β but rather the living make those choices for us. Β They sift their memories, albeit unknowingly, and keep just the most precious ones of all.
Even those who have a good memory and can remember exactly what they were doing on such and such a day in such and such a year may not be good at remembering. Remembering is the art of encapsulating a place or a person in such a way that they continue to influence us even when they are out of sight and mind.
Godβs people of old have always cherished the notion that he remains with them β come hell or high water. βFrom everlasting to everlasting you are Godβ. Β Yesterday, today and tomorrow meld into a single whole in the presence of one who lives forever.
Dear God, as we remember those who have shaped our lives today, we give you thanks for them. Β May the words we speak and the actions we take today shape the lives of others for good, we pray. Amen
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