I parked my car in the Tesco Extra car park and headed off into Slough town centre. There were a few errands I needed to run before picking up a few groceries from the supermarket. The sun was shining brightly, unusual for such a cold afternoon, making it difficult to make out cars and people up ahead. As I made my way to the main crossing, a man handed me a leaflet and responded with “God Bless You Son…” as I accepted his offering into my hand. I was half expecting some commercial sales blurb on a retail establishment or service but instead, was greeted by an interesting angle on taking a path to Jesus.

I would be lying if I said I have not thought the very same thoughts as the man pictured on the front cover of this leaflet. We tend to live our lives based on the material items we have amassed or the holidays we have experience or even the woman we may have married. To say I have no regrets would be foolish but to say I have too many would also be completely untrue. Perhaps my biggest flaw as an individual (now I know I have many) is to look too deep into things. I read too much between the lines, with a constant need to analyse every word, be it spoken or written. In recent years, I have calmed down a great deal. I recall one of my good friends in 1999 saying that I would have a heart attack at the age of forty, as I tend to get worked up about even the little things far beyond what is necessary.

This leaflet landed in my hand by pure coincidence. I had popped into town to get a few things but originally had planned to walk but only drove as I had little time in the afternoon to get everything done before a cinema trip with my wife, brother-in-law and mother-in-law in the early evening. Now this is not to say I am now going to convert to some form of Christianity. Not at all, but the leaflet and the kind words of the gentleman who handed it to me, brought home an important message, a week or so before Christmas.

All that matters to me, is the love of the important people around me. Everything else is purely temporary. Jobs will come and go, as will material possessions. The only constant will be the love of the people I care for most. At this time of year, this can all be easily forgotten as we rush to splash the cash. Does that truly make us happy? In recent weeks I have increased the number of people I follow on Twitter. Not just the geeky people you would expect but footballers (current and ex) but movie stars, TV stars and even the odd HipHop mogul. In fact I believe my count of followers has gone from around fifty to now eighty-five! Has ever there been a better tweet than this!