I love the film Summer Magic- I totally adored Hayley Mills when growing up- she was so sweet and lovely and English! When I found this Topshop dress in the St Francis Hospice charity shop, it made me think of the yellow dress she wears to the Halloween ball, or maybe some other Hayley Mills film (she seems to wear yellow in Pollyanna too) but I'm not sure which. I've never been a fan of yellow clothing, although I do have a mustard vintage blouse and beret which I now really like, but when I saw this dress, somehow, I thought it too pretty to leave and bought it! CBC was really surprised when he saw it was yellow but when he saw it on, he said it was really pretty and I looked nice in lemon!
 |
| Yes that is my hand. But it doesn't look like it! |
It put me in mind of that saying in Pollyanna, another of Mills' famous films:
"When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."
It's attributed to Abraham Lincoln in the film although I believe that wasn't exactly what he said.
Now, I take this sentence in two ways. I love looking for the good in a situation, in a person, trying to see the best in a situation, I love this for encouraging you to have a positive outlook on life. But at the same time, seeing the bad, offers an opportunity to pray for it- for the situation. At church today, the talk to the kids before the sermon was about remembering the wrong that we might have done this week, the things we are ashamed of and want to change. Obviously, as Christian, I think this is a good thing to do, because I believe that if I confess it and truly try to change, God forgives it. But it's no bad thing for any of us to do even if we aren't Christians- acknowledge and consciously think about changing that. I put my hand up and said "Gossiping and talking about people,". I was guilty of that this week- I've been discussing people leaving at work and people being poached to other jobs. I didn't even think about it being wrong until it came into my mind today- but by talking about it and other's business, I am not giving people a chance to share it themselves, to talk, I might put pre-conceived ideas in people's mind. I wasn't being bitchy or negative, but then I wasn't being helpful. I was really glad that it had come to my mind. I won't be gossiping at it. It's not my business- it's those people's business- when and what and who they want to tell. He said a saying someone said once: God doesn't rub these things in, he rubs it out.
Later, in the prayers, he asked for people and children to put their hands up and name situations in the world they wanted prayer for. Now, I don't have a TV and I don't listen to radio and don't really read the newspapers, so I have very little idea of what is going on in the world except for what others tell me and in some ways, I prefer it this way. Because my life is relatively free of the worries of the world. But when I considered all the awful things in the world at the moment, such as the situation in the Ukraine, Syria, Nigeria (kidnapped girls), mining disaster, it's really hard not to feel anxious and worried about all these terrible things that are happening. But no, I will choose to be calm and pray until something happens! Because worrying doesn't help- it achieves nothing. But praying can do something. And this is a comfort.
Finally, one last thought: is there anything I can pray for you? No matter how small or trivial it may seem, I would be glad and honoured to.
Linking up to:
Visible Mondays with the gorgeous Patti
What I wore to church with Carolyn McAfee
and Creative Mondays with Claire Justine
oooh and
with my Cath Kidston-recycled cards from last week!!!
*** The title is a quote from Summer Magic
