For much of my adult life I have shied away from, and quite vocally declared an aversion to, using contacts or “names” to benefit my life.   I would like to believe that this came from a deep seated belief in the value of all people, and a desire for an egalitarian society.   I could declare the benefit of taking someone else’s name as a woman means that it is possible to lose the name connection to your parents and siblings, and therefore you have to learn to survive based on your own talents and abilities – not on inherited credentials.   However reflecting further, more often than not if I have known anyone who might be able to “better” my position in life then I probably would have been too embarrassed to ask or not very sure what it would achieve for me anyway.

At some point before the end of this year, I may get round to saying what a fantastic year this has been.   But at the moment I just want to rejoice in the fact that I do know some people.

This family have been able to enjoy a fantastic holiday because the wife of another minister happens to worship with us, and that minister felt able to ask if I could preach in their church so they could go to a meeting.   The only cost to us was flights and spending money.   Accommodation was comfortably provided in the manse.

It has meant we have had the opportunity to visit a part of the world that we probably wouldn’t have gone to as a family.   Instead it was a city that would have remained the stuff of dreams, and young people probably would have encountered on world tours while older people would be waiting to be child free.   However the trip offered just a taste, for 5 days means that you can’t cram everything in and most of us want to head back to discover more.

However the trip was made even more enjoyable by the caring neighbour who emailed on the day they knew we were travelling home to offer a lift from the railway station back to the house.   We had planned just to walk, but as I sat looking at two tired faces opposite I suspected my luck would be out for no complaining and accepted the offer.   The kind neighbour did more than collect us.   For there was a cake to welcome us home, and lights on.

So sometimes who you know does matter, and I am delighted to find that my life is full of kind and amazing people.