Zimbabwean Mug

The psalmist writes in the last phrase of Psalm 23, verse 5 - my cup overflows. As we start Advent, and as a 'sort of' calendar, I thought I'd look around my study and see what some of the things in it might say to me as they remind of things I have done or that mean something to me.

I have a number of mugs and that seemed a good place to start. This particular one, with hand-painted elephants, comes from Zimbabwe, a country I have visited a number of times. It is a reminder of my many friends there and of the places of I have visited and things I have done. It speaks of lively worship, of economic hardship, of deep spirituality, and of a country that has so much potential.

That is a reminder that we all have potential and, with God's help, we can realise it. 

But the mug from Zimbabwe is also a reminder of the struggle to obtain reliable and clean supplies of water, and that there is so much that we take for granted in the UK. 

Let's thank God for all the ways in which our cup overflows.