Film Friday Bill is a coal merchant in a small town in 1980s Ireland. He is married to Eileen, and they have five lovely daughters. At Christmas the girls sing in the choir at the lighting of the town tree, and then they gather round the kitchen table to make the Christmas cake and write their letters to Santa. Bill is proud of them and loves them dearly. But he is also haunted by his damaged past, and full of questions about the future. It’s not an easy time. But when asked by Eileen and others he simply says he’s doing okay.
We can perhaps all identify with the fears that come with facing and talking of the truth. We fear what others will think and how they will view us. We may well think we are the only one who feels as we do.
I recently came across a saying from writer Anne Lamott – ‘Don’t compare your insides with other people’s outsides.’ We all do it, look at the way others seem so sorted and strong, whilst we are aware of our weaknesses and struggles. But everyone struggles. Everyone has doubts and conflicts and contradictions. Weakness is in fact a shared language. One we could all speak.
It’s just a matter of finding perhaps the right person at the right time.
Jesus described himself as the truth, in John 14. And if anyone knows how hard life can be it is him. If nothing else we can pour out our jumbled inner world to him, without the right words or the correct theology. He doesn’t worry about that. He is concerned for us and the burdens we bear.
If you've appreciated this, why not...
Donate to support Dave's work Subscribe on YouTube Follow on X Like on Facebook Contact Dave Subscribe