A poignant message

Sue and I recently spent a couple of days in the city of Hull (or Kingston upon Hull, to give it its full title).  Hull has been designated as the 2017 UK City of Culture.  It is also the place where Sue and I lived for the first few years of our married lives.  We thought that with Hull being City of Culture this year, it would be a good opportunity to return and see what has changed over the years.

We enjoyed our brief time in Hull, and took the opportunity to visit some of the places which we never quite got round to visiting during the time when we lived in the city, including museums, art galleries etc.  In one of the places we visited, I noticed a poster on a wall which caught my attention:

The more I thought about those words, the more challenging they became.  Whether we realise it or not, the way we live our lives, our actions and our words, can make a real difference (for good or evil) in all sorts of ways.

During our time in Hull we visited some long-time friends, Les and Marjorie; we first got to meet them when we were members of the same church in Hull back in the late 70s / early 80s.  We have remained friends ever since, though we haven’t seen each other much in recent years.  We spent a lovely evening with Les & Marjorie and their daughter Alison.  It’s great how easily friendships can be renewed, even when you haven’t met for some years.  We really enjoyed sharing some happy memories and looking forward to future plans.

The poignancy of the message of the poster on the wall was brought home to us very strongly when we learned that just a day or two after our visit, Les was rushed into hospital with a suspected stroke, and a few days later he passed away.  It is a desperately sad time for all Les’ family and friends, even though we know that because his faith was in Jesus he is safe in God’s loving care.

Les was a builder by trade.  Many years ago, he stayed with us when we lived in Norwich and built an extension to our kitchen.  Even though he has officially been retired for some years, he was still very active helping out in practical ways whenever he could.  He was a down to earth sort of person, but at the same time he was a gentleman and a gentle man.  He had a heart to reach out to anyone in need.  He was a good friend to many, and will be greatly missed.  I have no doubt that the way that Les lived his life was an influence for good in so many ways.  His life really did help shape the lives of many others.

His sudden death is a reminder, if we needed it, that this earthly life is very fragile.  We truly don’t know what the future will bring, but here and now we have an opportunity to use our lives to help shape the future for good.  The choice is ours!