Blog
Scott Peck's book "The road less travelled" begins with the cheerful observation that "life is difficult". We know this to be true! Ronald Rolheiser (in his book Sacred Fire) offers a list of "commandments for mature living" that invite us to live differently in the face of life's challenges. I have found these really helpful (not straightforward, but helpful nonetheless).
Maya Angelou gets right to the point when she says "what you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain."
Our body language communicates so much about what we think about ourselves. I had a conversation recently with a woman whose job involves important work, but work which has a low status in our society, and her whole demeanour made it clear that she knows this. On this day though, something was different. I needed assistance with a problem beyond my ability or skill to solve and when I asked her for help, something changed in her. She drew herself up to her full height, thought intently about my problem and then confidently suggested a solution. It was a wonderful transformation to witness!
I recently heard someone say that reading is an opportunity to enter into conversation with the dead. That wasn't meant to sound as spooky as it might - the point is that books enable us to benefit from the wisdom of people who may have lived centuries ago. We get to enter into conversation with remarkable people all these years later - what a gift!
The church now has a WhatsApp number (081 885 4928). You can send messages to the office (we will only see them between 08h30 and 14h00 on weekdays) but hopefully this will be a more convenient way for you to stay in touch with us.
From time to time I recognise that I need to re-examine my relationship with the Scriptures: Am I spending time in the Bible outside of Sundays? Am I becoming more familiar with its key themes, as well as its obscure corners and hidden treasures?
Frederick Buechner defines calling as something that emerges from our joy, our passion - "calling", he says, "is where your deep joy meets the deep need of the world".
Before Jesus ascended, he left his disciples (and subsequent generations of Christians) clear final instructions, which we call the Great Commission: "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20)
How am I spending my days? Am I being intentional about the way that I am living? This is not to suggest that we have to cram endless activity into each day - after all, we have just been on a Sabbath journey together that has reminded us of the wisdom of stopping, resting, delighting and worshipping. But Dillard does encourage us to reflect on how we are using our time.
I heard an expression this week that was new to me but immediately made sense. The phrase "friendship recession" is used to describe a clear trend today that sees more and more adults (men particularly) finding that they have very few or no close friends. If this is true, it means that we have a diminished support structure to carry us through difficult times, and that loneliness is becoming a very real experience for more and more people.