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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Haydon Spenceley Good morning. As a football chaplain, Saturdays are my favourite day of the week. Or in my case, at least until a goal is conceded, in the game when my team Northampton Town are playing. Even if you really dislike football, you’ll know the sinking feeling of best laid plans going wrong before your eyes. The new season is now a couple of months old and today is an international football break which means that Northampton aren’t playing. When I was a kid, we used to joke on days like this that ‘Cobblers didn’t lose today’ - they weren’t playing - and find this hilarious. Now I’m older and I know the players and staff, well it’s a lot less funny! There’s been a lot of change at the club since the summer, they are working hard to ‘forget’ the past and look only at the present and the future. The old has gone and the new has come as the Bible tells us about those who have laid down their past lives and put their trust in God for God’s new future. Part of that is, in Biblical language, entering the sufferings of Christ and rising to new life with him on the other side of our own suffering. If your week has been great, I will rejoice with you. If it’s been tough, here’s hoping that today is an opportunity to reset and know peace, healing and joy. Father, I pray for all who love Saturday. Would you give them days of great joy today. For those who find today a struggle, for whatever reason, would you bring peace, healing and hope. Help us to know you with us, for us and through us today we pray. Amen.