Thought for the Day Don't give up

I wonder how many of us got what we really wanted at Christmas. I wanted time with the family and mostly I got that. For others, caught up in plane cancellations or indeed terrible flooding, Christmas has slipped past, and some I’m sure are left feeling quite empty. We don’t always get what we want.
For many 2012 has been a good year, especially from a sporting perspective; the Olympics, Bradley Wiggins at the tour de France and of course Andy Murray winning a tennis major. From a Bristol perspective it looks a bit different. I was at Bristol City yesterday as their match got rained of at the last minute and a victory for Peterborough as we travelled home left City feeling rock bottom. Things aren’t much better at Rovers either, also deep in the relegation zone. Many in our city did not get what they wanted! So how can we change things?
Perhaps you are an optimist and you think 2013 will bring you all you need, I fear many of us are more pessimistic. Watching the rain lash down and the officials and players trudge of the pitch it seemed hard to imagine things changing, but I personally believe change is always possible. So that’s my thought for today, perhaps the change you want can start in you. Knowing what you want and how to start to get there are good questions to ask. My faith means that I don’t start this process alone. Jesus’s core message was “repent God’s kingdom is near,” which to me means; stop, turn around, look: hope will always be near to those who really seek it. So don’t give up, after all a new year and a new start maybe just around the corner.