The Gift of Time

Available for over a year

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Ameena Blake, Muslim Chaplain at the University of Sheffield Good Morning. This week, as we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice—the people who gave their lives in war—we’re reminded that sacrifice comes in many forms. Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh soldiers fought in both world wars. Most weren’t from Britain, yet they sacrificed their lives for strangers they’d never meet. As a child, I remember my Dad raking the autumn leaves from our neighbours’ paths, not just ours. Back then it was a neighbourly sacrifice everyone did. It sometimes feels like our world’s focus has shifted. As a University Muslim chaplain, I see students carrying different types of trauma, often pain that might have been eased through sharing it sooner. But in a society that focuses on the individual, all too often students feel reluctant about either sharing themselves or encouraging others to unburden. Often, the students I see simply need someone to listen: no judgement, no rush, no phone in hand. I see that gift of time transforms lives. We need that community, where it feels natural to want to sacrifice our time and be there for people. Yet so often we seem to be rich in possessions but so poor in time. When we are falling, who takes time to catch us? Who sacrifices for the disabled lady next door whose path is never cleared of leaves or the Grandfather in a care-home nobody visits? Why can’t we be the ones to hold our arms open; ready to catch others when they fall? A knock on the door. A cuppa. A smile; sacrifice can be seen every day through the gift of time. As we pray for fallen heroes, I ask the Almighty to awaken the inner chaplain in each one of us; to be warmth and comfort for those who need it, whoever they are. Ameen.