There’s a pool in Donegal that has been there for at least three years. (I’m told the storms have filled it in again now). I think the first year I tried to get down the steep hill but couldn’t make it across the sand to it. Since then, I’ve become increasingly unable to get there

That’s a sad story isn’t it? So what has happened to me that I can blog about it? I am trying to learn the gift of sharing in the good experiences of others. What odds if I can’t make it to the pool? What about hearing the happy stories of other people and sharing in their joy?

What are you missing out on? Do you feel envious or are you able to enter into the enjoyment of other people? Often I tell my mum, ‘we’ll do it in heaven’. But sometimes that feels too far off.

There is an account in the New Testament about a lame man who told Jesus he had missed his chance for many years to get into the pool at Bethesda to be healed*. Jesus healed him right there where he was.

I’m thinking that most of us would love a miracle right where we are. Moving somewhere further away makes everything impossible. I told you before about my cousin wanting to bring a bucket of pool water up to me. Can you think of anything you could do for somebody who is feeling cut off?

Being genuinely happy for someone else who can achieve something you can’t is a huge challenge, but if you can manage it, the joy you share in is a reward in itself.

What if there’s somebody else like that lame man who has been struggling and you haven’t even noticed? Remember that you are seen, just like that man thousands of years ago. God is as real today as He was back then. If you can’t believe that, then don’t forget that you can be the person who notices and acts. So take heart, have courage and keep your eyes open. You never know who will cross your path today. The reward of that encounter will bless both of you.

*James 5