I found myself thinking this week of how so many people who I have spent very little time with indeed, have been a source of blessing in life. There have been people who took the time to say hello at conferences, when I have stood awkwardly next to the buffet table, desperately trying to avoid turning the food on my plate into a jacket fashion accessory. I thought of a specific and useful theological conversation I had with a stranger in a London pub fifteen years ago whose name I never learned, and the homeless man who made me feel very welcome in a Sunday evening service nearly 30 years ago. There are conversations we have in after-church coffees or train journeys, over a shop counter or in the street, with people we may not know well who, nevertheless, help us to feel a sense of belonging and mattering if we are open to them. With this theme in mind, today I want to include two submissions from Heather Matthews on the blessing that is to be found in interactions with people we might not know well:

The Postman

In Victorian days postmen were nicknamed robins because they wore red waistcoats. Robins were featured on Christmas cards to represent the postmen who delivered them.  Thank you today to my postman who, rain or shine, always has a smile and a friendly word.

Green Tea and walnuts

I thought I would make a difference and give a little kindness by teaching a refugee to speak English.  Nobody told me that I’d be the one receiving the kindness.  How much fun we have together! And especially so as we drink green tea and eat Afghan walnuts while we work.