As I write this it is cold outside but, the sun is shining brightly and it is so easy to forget the grey, damp, rainy days we’ve been experiencing for so long recently and which make us feel so downhearted and miserable. 

We are coming up to the season of Lent in the Christian calendar, the time when we remember Jesus spending a fairly long period of time alone in the desert region. Whilst not subject to the vagaries of the British weather, Jesus had his own weather problems in that desert - scorching hot days and freezing cold nights. And, no supermarket or convenience store to pop into for a bottle of water or a hot coffee or a snack bar!

Paul and I have visited that desert area and know for ourselves what the conditions are like (and we had water and snacks with us plus extra warm clothing). There are the occasional caves for shelter but the shifting sand and the wind which blows the sand around make orientation very difficult, not to mention the scorching sun relentless every day and no factor 50! Imagine being out there alone for a day let alone a few weeks. No wonder Jesus was famished and probably dehydrated and victim of hallucinations at the end of it.

But, that period alone with God was just what Jesus needed before he really began his public ministry - time out! And it is just the same for us. We may not literally be in a desert but it can feel as if we are alone, in a desert, that everything is conspiring against us to make life difficult. It is at times like these that we ask God to draw close to us; to revive us, to support us and give us the strength to carry on.

Yes, we do have to acknowledge our own faults and failings (other people are not usually the source of many of our problems) but God is a very forgiving God if we admit we are sorry for our wrongdoings, ask for His forgiveness and be determined to do our best not to make the same mistakes again.

That is Lent! And, what follows Lent? - the joy of Easter, and that’s another story.

May God bless you this Lent.