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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with George Craig, a Methodist local preacher in Cardiff.

Good morning. The first house that my wife and I lived in had coal fires. To help with chopping the kindling my father gave me an old axe that had belonged to his grandfather. I used it regularly until we moved in to a house with central heating and at that point the axe disappeared into a dark corner of the shed. And it stayed there for years, until I rediscovered it recently it while I was having a clear-out of the shed.

It was in a sorry state. But I realised that it gave me a direct and tangible connection back to my great-grandfather and I was a bit shocked to think that I had forgotten about it, and might actually have lost it. So, I had the head cleaned and sharpened and mended the handle, and now I keep it somewhere safe as a treasured memento.

But it reminded me that it’s not just things that get neglected. People can be, too. And that got me thinking about people who had been important in my life that I had lost touch with.

So, I set about ringing up or e-mailing and, where I could, meeting those that were still around - restoring the relationship and trying to make up for lost time. And I was pleasantly surprised that all those that I contacted were actually pleased to hear from me! It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I have every intention of looking after and maintaining those links.

The simple lesson for me was that if a thing’s important it’s worth looking after.

Father God, help us to see that whether it’s the things that we value or the people we love, we need to take care of what’s precious – or we might lose it. Amen