Pomp and circumstance

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah." Jeremiah 31.31

Yet there is purpose behind what happened in the Albert Hall last night, which dovetails with what happens on countless parade squares and training bases throughout the year. Drill and turnout, like field exercises and operational rehearsals are what prepare our service-women and men for the real situations when the bullets are flying and the pressure is on. Discipline builds capacity and resilience., Covid, drug cartels...

Yet there is purpose behind what happened in the Albert Hall last night, which dovetails with what happens on countless parade squares and training bases throughout the year. Drill and turnout, like field exercises and operational rehearsals are what prepare our service-women and men for those real situations when the bullets are flying and the pressure is on. Discipline builds capacity and resilience.

The same can be said for life in general. Perhaps we would face the reality of our own challenges differently, if we understood them as more than random circumstance but as opportunities to prepare for more effective service of our ultimate Commander-in-Chief, who calls us to follow him through the immediate strife we face and into the glorious future he is preparing for us on the other side...