Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided; urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way; sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided; Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.

Lord, for our world, when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength and comfortless in pain; hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him; Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.

Lord, for ourselves, in living power remake us – self on the cross and Christ upon the throne, past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.

(T. Dudley-Smith, 1926-)

O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief… I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 

(Ps 143.1,5&6,8-10)

At the end of November 2023, my husband and I set off to travel to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he would be taking care of the (then vacant) Church of Scotland congregation during December. It was three months since we had left Gairloch, we had both been ill with COVID, and the autumn had been long and wet. We had no idea whether there was a long-term future for us in ministry, but meantime, we had five weeks in a comfortable flat in a beautiful city and the freedom to explore a new country. God was holding us, giving us grace not to look to the future (not too often anyway), and to appreciate the gifts which came each day.

As I look back to that time from this vantage point, 12 months later, I am quite simply brought to my knees in worship and thanksgiving. Our faithful, loving and wise Father kept us, enriched and blessed us until we were ready to hear from another congregation; until my husband’s weariness had been at least partly refreshed, and his sense of call to ministry reaffirmed by those weeks of serving in Switzerland.

We had watched the sun rise over Europe from the deck of the ferry, wondering what lay beyond that horizon; what lay beyond this brief season of caretaker ministry? I don’t think I doubted that God would provide for us, but how I struggled with waiting, with ignorance, with not being in control! And now as I remember, I give thanks for the daily provision of patience, beauty, and ultimately God’s good timing and the events which have brought us to ministry in Inverness.

God has provided good works for us to do for him here; He has given us a church family to belong to and a community to serve; He has given us fresh opportunities to use who we are and what He has given us all to His glory. How can we not be filled with gladness and gratitude?!

And so, as this year draws to a close and we face 2025 with all the pain, uncertainty and darkness which is abroad in the world, and which impacts our lives in so many ways, I have a choice. Will I remember how faithfully God has kept his promises, has provided, guided and inspired? Will I trust more fully this time, as He asks me to step into an unknown future? Can I sing with the hymn writer, and pray with the psalmist – leaving the past behind, and committing myself in childlike trust to a future path which God chooses and into which his Spirit will guide me?

Father, when she remembers your faithfulness, your child is ashamed of her lack of trust, and her fretfulness. You are trustworthy, you are good, you are patient and careful, and do all things well. Your world needs to hear about Jesus, and you have appointed your children to share the work of proclaiming his saving work; we who know him and can testify to his love and the transforming power of your spirit at work. May I, together with all your people, remember your faithfulness to your promises and be renewed in hope, in love and in faith. May we live with quiet confidence in you, and commit ourselves fully to Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.