When Carmel Thomason wrote Anxious Times for BRF in 2018 she had no idea quite how anxious the times would become. How could she? Only a handful of the world’s most far-seeing experts could have predicted the current global crisis. Her reflections were unwittingly prescient. So was Archbishop John Sentamu when he wrote in his Foreword:

‘It is very good news that BRF recognises the need to publish some gentle and realistic Christian advice about a 21st-century virus and that Carmel Thomason has written it.’

For many people it’s the speed with which the Coronavirus has overtaken us which is so frightening, sweeping away the routines and certainties that anchored our daily lives. It can be hard – almost impossible – to find moments of calm and peace in the midst of such turmoil, but even the shortest time spent in quiet reflection can help to reconnect us with a sense of stability and hope.

Anxious Times contains 24 undated reflections drawing on a range of relevant Bible passages to offer hope and encouragement. Encompassing the very human emotions of fear and anxiety, Carmel encourages us to draw comfort and strength from God’s word even when he seems silent to us. As she writes in her Introduction:

‘My prayer is that something within these pages will resonate with you and give you genuine hope that you won’t always feel this way. …

‘As individuals, we may not be able to change the world, but we can change how we respond to the world. I pray that one by one we begin to break down the global barriers that divide us, by living with open, peaceful and fearless hearts.'

Anxious Times by Carmel Thomason
Positive help for those facing uncertainty
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