Thought for the Day

The programme may be heard on iPlayer for the next few days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b068y061 at 24 minutes and 48 seconds into the broadcast

My sisters and I have been chatting about a story we heard our parents tell.

The year was 1943.  Thomas and Emily (our parents) had just got married.  He had been stationed in Oxford where there was married accommodation in nearby Woodstock.  Then his company of Royal Engineers was moved to Rotherham.  This meant that the new bride had to be left behind.  Soon arrangements were made for her to follow.  He was given a day's leave and the agreed meeting  place was to be underneath the clock in Sheffield Railway Station. 

Thomas waited …

Emily waited …

After a couple of hours Emily decided to make her way to the army camp in Rotherham where she was given a place to rest in the guardroom.

Thomas eventually gave up waiting and returned to barracks.  There he was told to go and check on a new inmate in the cells!  And so, the young couple were reunited. 

If only they’d had a phone.  It wouldn’t have taken long to discover that he was in Sheffield Victoria while she was sitting in Sheffield Midland!

This got me thinking about all the things for which I feel thankful …

I’ll start with the mobile phone …that keeps me in touch with people and stops me from waiting for someone in the wrong place!

Then, before coming to the studio this morning I was able to put on a load of washing … I’m grateful that I don’t have to stand at the sink to wash, rinse and then put clothes through the mangle … as my mother did.

I could go on and on about all the things for which I’m thankful … maybe even adding in my new rescue dog, Dougal;  but he probably deserves a Thought For The Day to himself. 

In these days when there is so much that can create negative thinking and hopelessness … it is a good thing to take a few minutes each day to think about what might be going right rather than wrong. To look for hope rather than give in to despair.

It’s often  the small things that can be the most beautiful; we must make an effort to cultivate a positive attitude of thanksgiving.

The writer in the book of Psalms went to the heart of the matter when he thought about God and said: I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;  I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.