Firstly I was sitting in the office at work today - I work for a small local charity and we are all getting ready for our annual Christmas Fair on Saturday. So there were people wrapping presents for the lucky dip and people putting up lights and garlands and all in all there was a pretty festive feeling in the air. It was nice. So I put on an instrumental album of christmas songs to play in the background whilst we were all busy. As the gentle tones of Silent Night were drifting down the corridor a colleague came into my room and sighed and said ' it is so peaceful in here'. And she was right. It was. And it isnt too often peaceful in our crazy mad workplace.
Then this afternoon I saw this post someone had put up on Facebook
and it got me thinking about changing the atmosphere.
I think most of us would agree that the atmosphere which swirls around most of our lives at the moment is a bit depressing. There is Brexit, there is a mental illness epidemic, there are wars and fires and famines, there is cancer and poverty and insecurity. It's all a bit doom and gloom and sometimes it can be really really hard to see how little old individual me can make any difference at all to any of it.
But the thing is, I do buy all my clothes from charity shops. So I am changing the physical atmosphere just a teeny weeny little bit. And along with everyone else who buys second hand clothes I suppose that little part I play helps to add up to something bigger. I'm also giving money to good causes rather than to big business. So my purchases in charity shops don't just change the atmosphere, they change lives. Intentional behaviours change things
The worship music on in the office today seemed to change the atmosphere. I think it was because, despite the fact that really nobody was paying that much attention to it, you can't help but sing along in your head to carols. And the words of carols are Truth. And Truth changes things.
I am part of a prayer triplet. When we meet together to pray things happen. It's odd but I'm pretty convinced that more things happen when three of us are praying than when I just pray myself. Unity and agreement changes things
If we want to see the atmosphere change in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches, towns and cities and countries, then perhaps we need to act intentionally, speak Truth, worship more and find those who can agree with us to pray the changes we want to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment