This close up of the bird reminds me of the importance of taking a moment, even during this busy week, to reflect, to pause, to give thanks, to pray, to be grateful, to hope and to just be

It is only five days to go before Christmas Day. The coming week is busy for everyone. There is a good busy and an exhausting busy. I hope your busy this coming week is good. I hope the coming week is a week of blessings for you. I hope you can enjoy beautiful connections with your family and friends. Whatever your plans are remember the beautiful message of Christmas, that God is with you, that God loves you and that you are precious and special.

On This Day

On December 20th 1990 The world’s first website and server go live at CERN

On December 20th 2020 European countries begin closing their borders to the UK after news of a faster-spreading variant of COVID-19 across London and the south-east

Birthdays Today

Nuala O’Loan (Northern Ireland Peace Commissioner) is 71

Billy Bragg (Singer Songwriter) is 65

Ashley Cole (Football pundit) is 42

Saint For Today

Today December 20th is Saint Dominic of Silos

Significance Of Today

December 20th is called ‘Go Carolling Day’. We are encouraged to appreciate carol singing whereever we may find it this week. It could be your local church or in your local shopping centre or on the street somewhere. Remember we have come from a place of Covid where for three years carol singing was completely shut down. It is great to have them back and many of them raise lots of money for charity too.

Interesting Quote For Today

“We’ll never see a better match. This was the greatest World Cup final of all time, perhaps even the greatest game ever played. It contained the greatest final comeback, the greatest final goal and the greatest player of all-time going head to head with the player who’ll probably succeed him.” ~Eamonn Sweeney

Did You Know

Did you know “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy to the World” are two of the oldest English language Christmas hymns, originating in the 1700s.

Thought For The Week

There is a Christmas story called ‘The Mice in the Piano’ about a family of mice that lived in a large piano. They loved their piano world and the music that often came to them. It filled all the dark places with sounds and a beautiful harmony. At first the mice were very impressed with it. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that there was someone who made the music. Although this someone was invisible to them, they felt close to whoever this invisible might be. They became known as the ‘unseen player’.

Then one day a daring mouse climbed up a part of the piano that no one had dared to go before and returned in a very thoughtful mood. The mouse had made a discovery at how the music was made. Wires were the secret. He had found tightly stretched wires of graduated lengths which trembled and vibrated. Now the mice had to revise all their old beliefs of how the music came. Only the most conservative of the mice could still believe in the unseen player.
Later another mouse explorer returned from another exploring adventure and came back with a new discovery about the origin of the music. Hammers were now the true secret. There were dozens of hammers that danced and leaped upon the wires to create the music. They dismissed the theory of the unseen player and described it all as a myth. Meanwhile the unseen player continued to play.
It may only be a fable story but it reminds us that at Christmas the unseen player continues to play. Some can call it a myth. Some call Christmas an exaggerated story. But it is also called the greatest story ever told. At its heart is a reminder that while God may be unseen, the music continues to be heard and the music continues to flow. God continues to love us and be with us.
A piano can only work because everything is connected in harmony. Everything works together as one, the player, the keys, the hammers, the strings and the music flows. The music is heard at happy times and also during sad and difficult times too. The music is symbolic of love and at Christmas we celebrate so much love and kindness all around us. We also celebrate God’s beautiful love of us. If there was no Christmas story, the piano would be silent. Some call it a myth. But Christmas is a beautiful celebration of God’s love for us. It is a celebration of the unseen player who continues to play always.

The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday