A nice blank diary

Available for 20 days

Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Fiona Stewart. Script: Good morning. As the season turns and the days get shorter I take delight in ordering my diary for next year. Notwithstanding the advantages of rolling digital calendars and reminders, there is something reassuring about handwriting appointments on a fresh page, and by September, my existing diary is full of scribbles and random notes. I find myself craving the new beginning in January, a means of bringing order to a busy schedule. We are creatures of habit, living in a nation with four distinct seasons. Although few of us live by the agrarian calendar any more, deep in our beings we know that life has warp and weft. Our circadian sense of light and darkness, work and rest, prompts us towards particular patterns of behaviour as we anticipate a new season. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Turning leaves and chillier mornings prompt us to prepare for the physical winter to come. I wonder, though, how much attention we pay to the emotional and spiritual season in which we find ourselves. Living as we do in turbulent times, there is wisdom in noticing anxious thoughts, or doom-laden fears when they arise. Once we have observed our internal season, we can prepare ourselves for what may lie ahead. For some that might mean finding someone to talk to, while others might need to withdraw for some time alone. Whatever season we may find ourselves in, the love of God, and his promise of hope in Jesus remains constant. Father, Would you cause us to notice the season in which we find ourselves. Help us to be attentive to our need for company or for quiet, and to have the boldness to reach out to those around us. Amen.