Blessings come in different guises. Some people have a sense of being blessed when God appears to answer a prayer, others experience that sense most clearly through the actions of parents, friends or neighbours. And of course there is the formal blessing bestowed by a priest or bishop at the end of a church service.

In the second programme in our A-Z of Things Unseen, the Revd Sally Hitchiner, chaplain at Brunel University London, reflects on how God’s love becomes apparent through giving and receiving blessings. She recalls how lying to her English teacher taught her a valuable lesson for life, with her teacher’s forgiveness feeling like one of the most powerful blessings she has known. And she warns against treating God like a coke machine that dispenses blessings on demand.

The A-Z of Things Unseen explores an eclectic mix of ideas through the eyes of 26 people of all faiths and none – ranging from religious concepts to quirky ideas that have a surprising spiritual dimension for the speaker.