A Message from our Minister

Have you ever started out on something and got to a point where you wished you’d never started or can’t see how you are going to reach your goal?  Something like maybe a decorating project, landscaping the garden, going on a walk.  Malcolm (my husband) and I love walking but there have regularly been moments on a walk when we wondered why were we doing this, why didn’t we choose a beach holiday instead of a walking holiday?!  I particularly remember a walk around part of Ullswater in the Lake District. It sounds simple doesn’t it, walking around a lake but in the Lake District it’s not that simple, well not around Ullswater anyway.  It involves significant “ups and downs.”  At one point, after many ups and downs we could see our destination.  The trouble was that we could also see the miles we still had to cover and it was a very deflating moment!
 
We will all have experienced deflating moments in our lives, and not only since Covid hit.  Some will have been easier to cope with than others.  Some of us will be in situations right now where we can’t even see the destination point.  I know, from personal knowledge, how tough that is; there have been many times when I just wanted to quit.  As I reflect though, I realise that these deflating times have been times of learning - about myself, learning coping mechanisms, learning more about God who I have shouted at very loudly on many an occasion, and more!
 
Whilst I was training for ministry and even sometimes now, it often makes more sense to me to go back to the life I once lived.  There wouldn’t be any complications, I could do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it.  But I have changed and we have all changed because of Covid and life will never be the same again.  If it’s even possible to go back to the life we once lived, do we want to do that?  Aren’t there great and wonderful possibilities ahead of us for a bright and better future?  Action on climate change for instance seems more of a possibility right now.  But this alone will take courage, strength, collaboration, commitment.
 
Right now might feel like a very confusing, complicated, scary time but one of the things I’ve learnt in such times, is not to quit because I realised we all have a purpose, a role in life that is fulfilling, a role that doesn’t always feel sensible but stretches us and calls for courage, strength, collaboration, commitment and “going that extra mile” - a biblical statement.
 
So, for some of us we need to “keep on keeping on” and go that extra mile.  For others, we need to be the encouragers.  As Malcolm and I continued our walk around Ullswater that day and reached that point of deflation, he kept encouraging me on.  You know the sort of thing – “it’s just round the next corner.”  The joy of completing that walk and taking off my boots was wonderful.  It doesn’t compare though to the joy of completing a particular part of the journey God has mapped out for us – that purpose for our lives.
 
Despite the dreadful time that this world is in, I do see hope as many have found new purpose in life, as communities have blossomed even in the midst of despair.  So my encouragement to you is:
 
Whatever it is that you’re endeavouring to complete today,  keep on keeping on, don’t quit.
And look out for the person who needs a word of encouragement.
 
Rev Julie Letts

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The Don’t Quit Poem

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

​Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow. ​

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

​- Author unknown