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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ann Memmott. Ann is a national and international adviser on autism, and main author of autism guidelines for the Church of England.

Good morning

As we journey towards the end of world Autism Acceptance Week, my online calendar informs me that today is a day to celebrate maps, whether paper or electronic. Our family’s Surveying company uses maps as a practical part of each day, getting our team out to site, and allowing them to measure and assess. My own lifelong interest in cartography, as an autistic person, has been so useful for this. Maps can bring us together, of course, and so many of us now have Sat Navs – although the one in my car seems to think that it’s possible to drive through rivers, and has to be reasoned with.

In the Bible, Jesus, Moses, and so many others make sometimes perilous journeys. Not guided by the Ordnance Survey, but by God. Finding our path together as people of faith takes more than knowing which way is North. Trusting God to know the path ahead, to be at my side as I walk it, and sharing the load with me as I go through crises, has been such a reassurance. I cannot claim that my faith has always been strong. There have been moments when it feels like I am truly lost. But, Jesus told us of the lost sheep, and how the shepherd searches and searches until that sheep is found and brought back into safety. A comfort indeed, especially in a world where so many autistic people want to know more about faith, but do not know where to go, or who to turn to.

In all our journeying, Lord, be at our side. Help us to know your presence, and your guiding light. To take courage from following in your footsteps, and knowing we are never alone in what lies ahead.

Amen.