Walking in someone else's shoes.

As the alarm went off this morning, the most I could have to grumble about is the impertinence of it waking me up so early. I have a lovely flat, that is warm, has water on tap, flushing toilets, clothes for us all and more food than we really need to have. In other countries, people will have woken up to war, violence, a shack, no heating, a long walk to clean water, little clothes and for many no or very little food. This Lent I can choose to fast because I have food to choose not to have, for so many this is not a choice. Despite this reality many of them wake up with more gratitude and faith in God than many of us here.

We live a life crammed full of material objects, therefore it has become difficult to be objective about what is really a necessity and what is not. Lent is about examining ourselves through removing the unessential parts of our lives to give our cluttered lives space to allow God in. If we are to take this journey through the wilderness to it's end, some of what we have sacrificed has to become a positive influence in this world. This should be the case every day, not just Lent. But this particular part of the Church year allows us more space to make our lives and prayers do something more.

Therefore this Holy Week, I am sacrificing my shoes and socks. In preparation for this I spent Ash Wednesday barefoot and will spend the daylight hours of each Friday of Lent and the three day pilgrimage to Walsingham barefoot as well. In doing this I give up what we consider essential, but for many would be a luxury. It will hopefully encourage me to reflect on the paths I choose to take in my life, I am hoping it will encourage you to reflect on what you can sacrifice out of your pockets. I am doing this for Us. (the united society, what many of you may have known as USPG). In redesigning their name they came up with the slogan "Us standing together".  This is what I hope I am doing for a week, standing together in solidarity with those less fortunate than ourselves.

Please consider what you can give, in money or prayer. My just giving page is:-
https://www.justgiving.com/account/your-pages/Hannah-Phillips7