Thought for the week (we 24th August 2014)

It was quite a sight to see abseilers descending St Stephen’s Tower in Westminster to give Big Ben a much needed facelift five years since the last time this most iconic of London landmarks had the same treatment.

The tower which houses the famous Big Ben bell stands over three hundred feet tall with each face measuring over 23 feet across. With the hands set at 12 o’clock the cleaners had a free hand to spruce up the glass faces and Big Ben will soon again chime out over the capitol with its faces gleaming in the day and shining even brighter in the night.

It reminded me of the day I climbed the scaffolding around Greenfield during the time the stonework of the chapel was being cleaned and repointed. Once I reached the top in front of the massive stone nameplate looking down was certainly not an option as I held nervously to the scaffolding much to the amusement of the scaffolders.

I was never so relieved as to get my feet on solid ground again – but glad that I could say I had put my hand in the ‘G’ of Greenfield, while at the same time surprised at the amount of grime and soot deposits that the stonework had absorbed, mainly during the time of Llanelli’s industrial past.

We live in an uncertain world in which there’s so much terrorism and fear and where so many life under cruel oppression. The circumstances in which we find ourselves, often through no fault of our own can make us feel vulnerable and afraid. Then all sorts of questions and doubts test our faith, often to its limits. Is it true that God is love? does the creator of the ends of the earth really care for me?

Yet making that step of faith by trusting in God’s goodness despite all that’s happening around us we will see more clearly that his promises hold firm and sure. It’s then that those things hidden will be revealed to us, hope will be rekindled and in the words of John Newton we will be able to say ‘I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see’ Indeed ‘Amazing grace!’