Take impossible off the table
You remember how I wrote about the Harvest Festival at Glenthompson? To begin with the numbers seemed sparse and our hearts sank.
But we toddled into Church, we sang, we prayed and we gave thanks for the generosity that makes our tables groan. We prayed for those who did not have anyone to be with and were hungry that night; especially when we tucked into generous glasses of wine, scrumptious sausage rolls and thick juicy sandwiches.
We had a new auctioneer to inspire us. He did a cracking job, but it's not over until the last item has been sold, the last glass washed up and the last coin counted.
No one expected the tally of cash to be anywhere near what it has been in past years and yet when the counting had happened, a couple of times just to be sure, there was a major miracle. The sum was what we had always made.
This happened thanks to the hard work and invisible ministry of so many. If you are one of those folk, then you should know how grateful the Anglican community at Glenthompson is.
But when the euphoria had evaporated there were a couple things to draw out from this. I think about a little lad who shared his play lunch when old wise people had forgotten theirs. The result was that thousands were fed. Perhaps my story of the Harvest Festival and the loaves and fishes are the same?
The other dynamic is that something quite mysterious happens when you give things away. It is repaid back to you, multiple times over, in ways that you could never have imagined. So next time there are hard cards on the table, the first one you should remove is the ‘impossible’ card.