I am writing this just a couple of days after the sad death of our Monarch, Queen Elizabeth11, although by the time you are reading this life will have moved on and the funeral will have taken place and our new Monarch, King Charles111, will be established. Queen Elizabeth was an amazing queen, and I am sure we were the envy of many countries. She was also a very caring person, and there were many tributes from politicians and the people in the streets, of times when she had shown empathy and understanding of a person’s worries or concerns. She also seemed to have a wonderful sense of humour and fun. Some of the best photographs of her are when she is laughing and giggling, particularly with the Duke of Edinburgh. She was also a very spiritual person and regularly mentioned her faith in addresses to the nation. I did not ever meet her in the flesh, but like most of us I felt that I knew her. One of the things that struck me was that she didn’t talk about her faith all the time, but she lived her faith all the time. Her faith was so engrained in her that it appeared to be at the front of all she did in an unconscious way. She put others before herself even though she was the Queen. Obviously, she had a life of being served, but she also served our nation and the Commonwealth whenever she was able. Jesus was also a king who served others rather than be served. He emphasises to us too that we should lead the same kind of life. In John 13 he says “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” I don’t think we can go far wrong if we try and live our lives in the same loving compassionate way that the Queen did. She could be a perfect example to us all on how to live a life of service to others without losing our personalities or our sense of fun and adventure.
God Bless
Maureen Kendall