a sign

Yesterday we had lunch at a restaurant which had a large yellow banner outside. "Kids eat free at weekends" it announced enticingly - but as the kids were in school and it was Tuesday its message was for another time. In fact, the banner has been there for a while and we have not gone in on Saturday or Sunday - but that isn't the point.

Whilst we were eating I noticed that we were on the other side of the banner - ie. we could see the back and with the light coming from outside through the banner into the restaurant you could see very clearly that it had thin veins worn away where the weather had lashed it. There were patches which looked almost bald from being crumpled in the wind - but when you read from the outside this was not noticeable.

I suspect than many of us feel like this from time to time - we have a shiny outside which gets on with the job at hand - but we know our insides feel crumpled and worn out. When I saw the banner from the inside I immediately said - "there's a sermon" because when life is like that and we are putting on a brave face - God is sitting inside with us and sees all the crinkles. When we pray or spend time with God we are not "doing the job" we are simply being who we are - and if that is a bit ragged God knows that and abides in our discomfort - offering healing, yes - but also dwelling in the moment - surveying the damage of life - allowing us to take the deep breath and move forward.

The poor banner will have a short life span on that windy restaurant corner - it will eventually be thrown away to be replaced by another offer on another piece of vinyl. But God never does that to us - no matter how it might feel. God offers us strength and hope. It is true that as the years advance some of the battle scars stay with us - but they are witnesses of our journey. Knowing God sees inside and out and loves every atom of us enough to linger with us is food indeed.