IT was a wonderful, clear, starry night and Graham was overcome with wonder and joy. Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed by his smallness and insignificance. Was he alone in a vast, unfeeling universe? He was afraid, very afraid.

Graham's life was so busy that he had never considered such big questions. He struggled to make sense of it all. Why is life like it is, with all its contradictions, joys and tragedies?

Either we are here through millennia of chance reactions with no ultimate purpose behind existence; we are alone in an unimaginably vast, uncaring universe. Or there is a purpose because someone planned it; a mind, a creator.

Those were his choices, with no easy proof either way. Where could Graham make a start?

Why not try his local church? So, with many reservations, he went to church the following Sunday. Much to his surprise, he was welcomed warmly. People were delighted to see him. He noticed something different about them. A peace, a joy, a purpose in life that he lacked, but longed for.

These people believed and knew that they were loved by God who is love, who came to us in person in Jesus Christ. Graham knew he needed to find such a hope, one which was more than just wishful thinking.

Graham discovered that “living hope” in Jesus Christ, and what better time than New Year for us to start looking for real hope?

As Minnie Louise Haskins put it: I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Rev John Benson

St Austell Parish