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A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Rev Lynne Gibson.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY 8TH OCTOBER 2021

Good Morning
Most Saturday mornings, and on some summer evenings, you will find me in a boat on Belfast’s River Lagan. – not pootling around among the bullrushes, ‘Wind in the Willows’ style, but paddling as part of an amazing Dragon Boat team.
A dragon boat normally involves twenty paddlers and the name comes from China where in competitions dragon figures are placed on the prow. We’re still operating at half capacity for Covid safety, and so there are ten people in a boat, plus the helm at the rear.
Half a crew, but a whole team. The boat only moves through the water as the team work together. Beginners soon learn that while technique can always be perfected, timing is everything, as we strive to work in one single movement to propel the boat forward.
We’re a team of very different individuals from all walks of life, and all parts of our often-fractured land, but in the boat, we are all simply working in unity, leaving behind our worries and preoccupations as we step on the boat.
Unlike rowers, paddlers move forward- we don’t look behind as what has gone. We focus on the route ahead and the finishing line, distracted only by the occasional kingfisher or seal. We are a sociable bunch – but in the boat, the only voice that matters is that of the helm, instructing and guiding and encouraging us.
You’ve probably grasped it by now. What better metaphor for our life’s journey? What better illustration of how to leave behind our anxieties and concerns and live in the here and now. What better example of how to set aside differences and work together? And what better helm will we find today, than to listen to the voice of God, guiding, instructing and encouraging us on our way?
God our teacher and guide, may we hear your voice of calm and love as we navigate this day, Amen