Evening Prayer Tuesday, 23 March 2021

Good evening Living Stones.

Janet and I first met when we were students in Coventry and she gave me a book of Helen Steiner Rice poems. I used one of those poems last night and here’s another one, suggested by Janet, which seems to fit in well with today’s anniversary of the announcement of the first COVID-19  lockdown.

Our Father knows what’s best for us,
So why should we complain –
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain –
We love the sound of laughter
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear …
Our Father tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us, not to punish us,
But to help us meet tomorrow …
For growing trees are strengthened
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of a chisel
Gives the marble grace and form …
God never hurts us needlessly,
And He never wastes our pain
For every loss He send to us
Is followed by rich gain …
And when we count the blessings
That God has so freely sent,
We will find no cause for murmuring
And no time to lament …
For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain,
So He never sends us pleasure
When the soul’s deep need is pain …
So whenever we are troubled,
And when everything goes wrong,
It is just God working in us
To make our spirit strong.

Helen Steiner Rice

A prayer for this evening…

Dear Lord,

As we look back over the last 12 months help us to remember that you have always been there to guide us.

Thank you for the people you have provided who have supported us through this last year, be they family, friends or people we have never met who have stepped up as volunteers to help others.

We ask that you would be especially close to anybody remembering a loved one that they have lost in the last year.

Help us to remember that no matter what happens next, you will always be there with us.

Give us rest tonight so that we will be ready to face another day, with you beside us.

We ask all this in Jesus’s name,
Amen

May God bless you and keep you safe,

Ian and Janet Trimnell