Prayer for Today

BBC Radio Four 09.09.25.

It’s not really my cup of tea, not being religious and all that, but ….

BBC Radio 4 ‘Prayer for Today’ is sandwiched between the Shipping Forecast (which I quite enjoy – trying to visualise the different sea areas and trying to build an overall picture of weather systems) and Farming Today (which is often interesting and informative). Usually I time the preparation of my first breakfast so that the noisy coffee machine goes on as soon as Prayer for Today starts – but this morning I got caught out, I was still prepping the cereal when Canon Ann Easter started in on her two-minute sermon.

She talked about the role of grandparents, in supporting grandchildren – and I found that my hand was stayed on its journey towards the go button on the afore mentioned machine. I was listening – perhaps because my partner and I, like many others, are currently engaged in supporting grandchildren starting school for the first time and / or reintegrating back into school after the long Summer holidays. Suffice to say such transitions can be challenging for everyone involved.

Within her prayer the Canon made the following remarks (I have edited out the religious bits – obvs):

– ‘Where they are able, grandparents can add a very special extra layer of love and care into their grandchildren’s lives.’

– ‘Thankyou for grandparents and the people who stand in for them.’

As I took the first cup of tea upstairs I found myself laughing – I may not be religious, but I’ll take that!