Ramblings for Kirwan Uniting Church Keep in Touch pew sheet 7 July 2019


I shout at my computer. Perhaps you do, too. It’s usually when I’m trying to fill in a badly designed online form on an unresponsive site. Of course, the computer doesn’t hear me (well, it does nowadays with Siri and Alexa, but one hopes that they don’t let on). More to the point, the unhelpful airline or government site doesn’t hear me, and they’re the folk who should be getting their digital systems right.

At home (Cedar Creek home for a few more weeks), Yannie (pronounced Yarnie, you’ll meet her soon), our German Shepherd, comes straight over to me while I’m screaming into the cyber-void and nuzzles my elbow to say, in her non-verbal doggie lingo, “It’s alright, not worth getting worked up about, I love you even if Coles Flybuys (or whoever) doesn’t.”

The compiler of Proverbs (15:1) tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Perhaps nuzzling our neighbour’s or a loved one’s or a workmate’s or a fellow church member’s elbow wouldn’t be a good idea, but we can let them know that we know that they’re frustrated, we’re sorry we can’t fix it for them, and we love them unconditionally. It works wonders for me when Yannie does it. Who knows, you might even get a treat 😊

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