Weekend Thought: The time of year for us to reflect

The thrill of wearing a new school uniform and meeting new friends can be exciting as well as a bit daunting. Starting junior school or senior school or even higher education and employment is the next new step in our lives.

This time can also be seen as a time for clearing out the old and bringing in the new. The Rushbearing Festival is part of this same idea. It remembers throwing away the old rushes which formed the floor coverings of the churches and bringing in the fresh rushes ready for the winter months ahead – an event celebrated over this weekend.

This is also a time which represents a change in the seasons as we look towards the autumn months. Holidays are almost over and we start again with a new resolve to work hard and make the best of our opportunities.

There may be times in our own lives when we need to throw away some of the darker parts of our past. This is true where we hold grudges or long term disagreements with others. Maybe the time has come for a fresh start – to begin again as we mean to go on – to renew our efforts to live lives which are good, upright and true.

There are times also when we need to refresh our spiritual lives – when we need to come back to God and to ask for his forgiveness and to pour upon us his love.

This could be the time of the year when we reflect on where we are and the sort of person we want to be.