Do you need a hug?

In a weekly column usually published in the Medway Messenger, Churches Together in Medway contributor, the Rev Dr Helen Burn, Vicar of St Justus, Rochester, writes: "Some years ago, I lived for 12 months in the beautiful town of Monmouth. It was a temporary arrangement and I didn’t have time to get very involved in a local church as my job involved working away most weekends.

"However, I went along whenever I could to the nearest church where there were lots of families, and when it was time for communion, the children all appeared from Sunday school and joined the line going up to the altar.

"The family I liked watching most of all was a Dad with three small boys, two of whom were quiet, one of whom was very lively.

"This middle child always had a question which he would ask in a loud voice and in total innocence.

"His Dad never seemed perturbed by this, no matter how much chaos was being caused.

"One morning, as they were all making their way back to their seats, the lively little boy was prancing and pulling at his Dad’s jumper until his Dad picked him up.

"‘Daddy,’ he said in a big clear voice, ‘I just want you to hold me.’

"Something about that little boy’s simple desire, and his being to express it so innocently and so forcefully, struck a chord.

"There are times when we just want to be held: held by someone who is bigger than us, someone who is utterly safe and totally committed to our wellbeing.

"Someone who loves us unconditionally, and who does not see our need as weakness. The only one who can truly do that for us is God, whom Jesus loved to address as Abba-Daddy.

"When Jesus’ friends asked him to teach them to pray, he showed them how to begin by saying, ‘Our Father'.

"At the moment, many of us are feeling vulnerable and a bit fragile. We know that the lockdown we have endured is not the end and that there remain challenging times ahead.

"We have been strong for others, we have reached out and consoled family and friends on the phone.

"Perhaps, like me, at this point you just want, for a moment, to be held.

"I have found prayer – just resting in the presence of my heavenly Father and being held in love – to be even more vital than ever during this time.

"Psalm 131, just three verses long, imagines the person praying being like a small child on their mother’s knee, just being held in the peace of the present without needing to look ahead.

"Why not let go and let yourself be held in love by God? ‘For underneath are the everlasting arms'."

If you would like to find out more about what it means to become a Christian, please contact the Churches Together in Medway chairman, Pastor Stephen Bello on 01634 920491 or rccgvictoriousfamily@hotmail.com

Also visit the website here.

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