As 2024 begins I’m drawn back to Anne’s bottles. On the right the big things have been put in first and the lesser things were fitted in on top. On the left the jar had been so filled with little things that some of the big things got left out. As someone involved in spiritual direction I’m faced regularly with folk seeking to get the big things sorted before frittering their energies with the smaller things knowing that if they can achieve this everything will fit better together. As 2024 begins we need ways of discerning the main things, the things that matter most here and now in our lives, and keeping the main things the main things. Spiritual discernment always takes the pressure off. Once we believe, if you like, we’ve got God’s agenda – the big things – we have motivation to hold on to that and use the vision he’s given us as a weapon to deal with lesser things among the numerous expectations put upon us.
