time to sing, sing a powerful song.’  So The Saw Doctors reminded me last week.  It has been a month stuffed full of tragedy, horror, bad news and heart-break.  It’s seemed as though not a day can go past without something horrible happening.  You think you’ve heard the worst, and more comes to kick you when you’re already down.

In all honesty, there have been times when I have not wanted to click into BBC news, or go anywhere where someone might tell me something bad.  The initial response to everything – to the tragedy in Buncrana, the terror attacks in Brussels, the floods in Pakistan, the refugees in Syria, Greece and Turkey, the devastating news closer to home – is to scurry into a hole and never come out again.  Then there’s the anger about it all – directed towards God, the people nearby, life in general.  I spent a good deal of time there too.  The tears are held back, knowing that many are closer to the tragedy than I am.

But, that song shook me out of this self-indulgent state, and gave me the response that I needed.  The notions of ‘rallying’, or ‘bucking up’ or even ‘brushing yourself down to fight another day’ make a lot of sense, I think.  I have found in the past that a determination not to be beaten, and a chin-up attitude carry you further than anything else.  Not to show a lack of compassion or empathy, but to be strong when others can’t be, to offer help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless.  This is humanity.  This is why God keeps us here.

So, shake off your despair, stand up tall and sing the powerful song, even with tears still in your eyes and pain in your heart.  It’s time.