Thought for the Day - Monday 22 June

Thought for the Day – Monday 22^nd June

‘The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.’

(1 Samuel 3: 19-21)

I have been clearing out some of the bookshelves in my study these last few weeks and yesterday I finally came to the bookcase containing all my old teaching books and my own childhood books. Over the years of my childhood, while teaching and during the time when my own children were younger and avid readers I had acquired quite a vast collection of Ladybird books. It took me ages to even sort them into some sort of order for as I picked up each one it took me on a wee trip down memory lane! There I was trip, trapping over bridges with the Billy Goats Gruff, pulling up the Enormous Turnip with all the animals, reliving the making of chocolate from cocoa beans and among other things re-discovering how a motor car worked - well how it worked in the 1960’s when the books were priced at 2/6 anyway! I was even reminded of what to look for outside a church!

Some of the books and their covers were still quite neat and tidy but most were, I have to say, well-thumbed and well-read. The ones which seemed most well-read were the Biblical ones about Daniel, Peter the Fisherman, Moses, Joseph and the one entitled ‘The Child of the Temple’  all about Samuel. Some of these had been mine as a child and I did enjoy reading and re-reading them and the boys had thoroughly enjoyed reading them too, as had many of the children in school – so well-thumbed indeed.

All these Biblical stories were so dramatic when you were small and they could let your imagination run riot as you imagined yourself in their shoes. What a pity so many of these stories and hymns are not still being shared with young children at home and in school today!

Samuel’s story in particular was always a favourite of mine and I also loved when we sang about him in school and at church the words were just so evocative of the setting:

Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark,
The lamp was burning dim,
Before the sacred ark:
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

Samuel is this little boy given into God’s service by a mother who is devoted to God and who has longed for so long to have a child. She sees the giving of Samuel to her as a wonderful gift from God and in gratitude to her God she gives Samuel back to him and dedicates him to God that he might serve God throughout his life - and he does. In echoes of the words used at Luke 2: 52 about Jesus we read that Samuel ‘continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the Lord and with the people’ (1 Samuel 2: 26) and as he grew God made sure the words he spoke never fell on deaf ears and so everyone knew that he was God’s prophet and that God was with him always.

In Samuel’s story we see that our dedication to God is important. When we have that same dedication to God, that same willingness to serve and constantly work in his service then we too will be given the words to speak that will allow others to see that God is with us in all we do and perhaps by those words and our actions other might come to know God in their lives too. 

Prayer

As we approach the longest day, here is a little prayer for Midsummer from another of my well-thumbed Ladybird Books – ‘The Ladybird Book of Prayers Through the Year.’

Thank You, God, for midsummer, when days are long; when the sun shines brightly; when there is so much to see, so much to feel and smell, and to enjoy in the countryside. Amen

The text after the prayer encourages us to ‘Look out for brightly coloured butterflies and listen for the humming of the bees and the chirping of grasshoppers!

So here is a hymn from ‘A Ladybird First Book of Hymns’ talking of this!

Hymn

For butterflies and bees,

For singing birds and trees,

For flowers and wind and sun,

We thank God, everyone.

For food and clothes and fun,

For strength to walk and run,

For home and school and friends,

Our song of thanks ascends.