Here's a little story for Friends to reflect on as they contemplate Britain Yearly Meeting.
A reader tells us that he heard a compelling ministry recently at a Meeting he attended. The ministering Friend related how, having a concern, he found himself in a very large and very empty Catholic church, where he sat with his thoughts. A worshipper entered and lit a candle, which persuaded the Friend to stay. He again felt that he might be in the right place when he saw the priest and so stayed for the following mass. During the sermon, the priest told this story. A man was driving a car when he saw three people at a bus stop: an elderly woman who looked ill and in need of medical attention; an old friend of the man; and the third person was a woman who he felt sure would be his ideal lifetime partner. What should he do? He gave the car keys to his friend asking him to drive the elderly lady to hospital and then he made the acquaintance of the potential partner.
Our reader points out that a general perception is that saying yes to one thing means having to say no to something else. 'This ministry shows that with lateral thinking', muses our reader, 'going round the edge of a situation, or parallel to it, there can be another way'.

Labels: lateral thinking