You'll never walk alone

Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou.

I'm smiling.

Lord God, today we took the girls to see Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the theatre and it was such a treat to watch them singing away and dancing to the encore songs at the end. Katy was getting very much involved in the story - she looked at me with big wide eyes when Joseph is dragged off to prison after his run in with Potiphar's wife.  'But he didn't do anything, Mummy! It's not fair!' and then, emphatically with a pointy finger, 'She is a bad lady'.

I love the way that they don't do anything by halves, my children. They are either uninterested or totally immersed. Lizzie almost let her interval ice cream melt because she was so absorbed in Pharoah's song. It was wonderful. Great tunes, dancing, singing, colours; a real spectacle. And a treat at a little town like ours that rarely gets the big shows. 

I love that my girls favourite story of all time is a Bible story. I love that I know the story of Jacob and his sons and the story of the dreamer who came good. I love that I can say to the children, 'Yes, it's a true story; it's in the Bible', though whether Pharaoh was an Elvis Presley lookalike only you will know. I think it'd be great if someone wrote a catchy musical about the rest of the Bible. Let's all sing along.

Most of all I love that we all went to see this wonderful bit of entertainment together. Mum sat in the middle (as Grandma was Highly Favoured by small people) today, and Bryan and I flanked the girls and exchanged proud glances when they started joining in with such enthusiasm. We all clapped along and joined in the choruses at the end and it was one of those freeze-frame moments that I need to pin down and remember. 

It's been a good day. Morning spent behind the counter of the coffee shop in the church centre as the local Food Fair took place which is always good fun. We are so much more efficient than the day we opened when the Archbishop of Canterbury came for tea and a date slice (Living Stones and Cappucinos). I love it when it all comes together and the cafe runs smoothly and people get their coffee quickly with the right amount of froth. Afternoon at the theatre watching the show and watching my little girls faces light up with joy.

Now it's the FA Cup Final and Bryan is hoping that Liverpool might win the football. Hmm. 

Well, we might have to settle for success in the morning and the afternoon and not so much the evening.  But who knows? The Reds might prevail. 

I'm not too worried about the football. I'm going to get the girls' tea ready in a minute so I'll miss the kickoff. What I wanted to do right now was to sit down for a few minutes and check in with you.

Today has been a smiley sort of day and I wanted to say thank you. Thankyou for fun and coffee and company. For Bible stories and music and football teams.

I know that all that is good comes from you. Without you there would be no companionship or achievement or laughter or song. There would be no celebration or excitement or fun. 

I noticed. I've been taking it all in. 

I want to look away from it all for a moment; away from my family and the songs and the cheerful optimism in my living room right now as we watch Bryan's home town football team square up to the other team like David before Goliath. Just look away from all that towards you with a smile. These may look like simple pleasures but I know better. They are little moments to treasure.

Liverpool Football Club's anthem is a song called 'You'll Never Walk Alone', though fans come and go. If they win today they'll have a lot more fans than if they lose.

Me? I never walk alone either. Win or lose, you are with me. 

Thankyou.