Porridge

One morning this week I turned to my husband and said, “This is the worst porridge we have ever bought.”

We have eaten porridge for breakfast for years and have tried many a brand, so we now know the very best through to the very worst.  You are probably thinking “But Kevin porridge is just oats, how can there be such a wide variation.”

This is a timely reminder to me, to us, that some things in life are incredibly simple. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t without merit and that they don’t have scope to be both incredibly awful and immensely wonderful.

Simple things need our attention and devotion, in fact simple things, more than anything else, need getting right. No amount of cinnamon, sugar or poached pears was going to change this porridge.

Do not overlook the importance of the simple things in life. Getting this right may be the most important challenge we face.

Let us go to God in prayer.

We thank you for our life with you Heavenly Parent, our life of such blessings and richness, of immense abundance, of awe and wonder that overflows.

 You provide daily for us, you provide all that we need so that we may step in and provide for those who are in need, for those who struggle to access the abundance you want for them.

Every day as humans we strive to complicate things , yet in these moments of prayer we reconnect with you Holy Spirit, and are brought back to basics, back to focusing on the simple things in life. We give you thanks for fresh running water, for grains easily harvested. We give you thanks for fruit and vegetables. In a simple bowl of porridge of slice of bread with cheese you provide all the physical nourishment we need.

Holy Spirit re connect with you and you show us the simple things in life that nourish us spiritually, a smile from a stranger, an unexpected conversation, a beautiful sky, a perfect forest walk, good company by a fire, alone time in your presence.

Remind us Lord Almighty that the simple things matter, in fact they matter the most. Remind us that the simple things need our close attention and are deserving of our contemplation and energy. In our busy world it is too easy to rush past the simple things in search of what we wrongly think matters. Slow us down Creator, may we devote more of our time to the simple things. More time to be grateful for this simple things, more time to getting the simple things right, more time to celebrating the simple things with others.

May we never be too busy to share a hello with a stranger. May we never be so self-involved we cannot offer a smile. May we never be too scared to share our porridge with the hungry and may we always want that porridge that we share to be the best we can manage.

Jesus, every act, no matter how simple, is an act in your honour in your name. May we see it is as a privilege to always ensure each simple act is worthy and wonderful and the very best we have to offer.

Amen