There's a lot of power in words. In the words that we speak to one another and the words we might read or write on a page. There were a few cases of powerful words that I was exposed to recently. Both of which revealed to me an important attitude to have in life, especially for those of a younger generation.

The first, believe or not, was an audition I saw on America's Got Talent. I'm not a fan of this show, it was just something that came up on Facebook and a young girl came to sing. She explained to the judges that she was suffering from cancer but proceeded to sing an original song entitled 'it's okay.' There were two things she said that got me thinking and were so powerful.

She firstly said: 'I am so much more than the bad things that have happened to me.' Secondly, she said  'I'm not going to wait for life not to be hard, to be happy.'

The latter statement really struck me and got Simon Cowell emotional too, but ultimately it made me think. There is definitely a tendency in some people, myself included, to feel unsettled, miserable, unhappy when things aren't exactly how we would like them to be. The reality is, our lives will never be completely perfect, not in this imperfect world. So when are we going to allow ourselves to be free, joyful and at peace?

There is such freedom found in being content in any situation, as the bible says we can be in Christ. However, whether you believe that or not, we should definitely check ourselves and our attitudes towards a bad situation. Horrific things happen to people and this isn't to be unsympathetic towards that, it’s just to say that we can always do something to find some joy and happiness. Because as the closing lines of one of our iconic Christmas films says, 'love actually is all around.'

With this thought in mind, another moment of powerful words adds to this. I've been reading through the Chronicles of Narnia and in a prayer meeting, I was reminded of a powerful moment in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When the children first come to Narnia together, they meet two beavers, who are hospitable and take them into their dam. Mr Beaver proceeds to tell the children about the dire situation in Narnia under the rule of the White Witch, but then comes a breathtaking line.

"Aslan is on the move."

In the context of the prayer meeting, I was reminded of this as we were sensing that God is moving in the life of our local church. However, those words offer unexplainable hope in the context of the story. Narnia is covered in snow, the White Witch and her followers have taken the former, glorious life of the land that we see created by Aslan in Magician's Nephew. But, now that the children have arrived, Aslan is moving. When the Beaver says those words, the children's ears prick up and I remember the building music from the film adaptation too. It's a moment of hope. A moment of joy foreshadowing the restoration that is coming to the horrific situation in Narnia.

How does this link to the lady on America's Got Talent? Well, in hard situations, someone can move. I believe God moves in our lives and works everything to the good of those who love Him, but he can also guide other people to move too. When things are tough, people can move closer together. We've seen that in the pandemic and also, when it's you who is going through a hard time, you can move yourself into a position to get support and feed on the joy of being in communication and intimacy with other people. The lady on America's Got Talent also moved; she took action, that in the face of her cancer, she chose to be content and happy despite it.

It all made me think about moving myself towards hope, joy, contentment and physically moving to being there for other people, just as I know they'll be there for me.