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Good Morning

I am a complete convert to Facebook. I didn’t find it on my own; my mother, who is in her 80s, asked a few years ago if we would help her get set up with a computer. So that Christmas, she bought a laptop and hub, and we helped her get online.

The next minute, she had signed up, and we have been racing to keep up ever since! With a widely scattered family and equally global friends, this has been a great way of keeping in touch. The quirky and the tragic, the moment of joy and the shared sadness, all find their place. Many of my friends share my faith, so we are also part of a praying community.

And I have discovered emoticons –you know, the little smiling and scowling faces– they just suddenly appeared among the options. There is an enormously long list of them so I try to choose with care – I use those that stand for ‘honoured’ and ‘delighted’ a lot, as I work with some wonderful people.

On the other hand, I value solitude. There is a ‘Feeling lonely’ icon which looks appropriately sad. But I want one that expresses – Ah, at last I am on my own! Surely lots of us would use that from time to time, when all that connectedness gets too much.

God, who created us as individuals in community, we thank you for new ways of being in touch, overcoming loneliness and sharing news of family and friends. Thank you too for the gift of solitude, when we can gather our thoughts and simply be.

Amen