Posts Tagged ‘Death’
Spilling The Blood Of Our Wounds (#OutOfSortsBook)
Do you ever feel out of sorts?
The feeling that underneath the veneer of ‘togethered-ness’ you give to the majority of the world around you, you are ready to fall apart.
And that sense that all the certainty of what you believed – whether atheist, agnostic, or someone of faith, something doesn’t make sense? That there’s more than the certainty you once knew.
Or maybe, if you’re a Christian like me, that all the rigid rules, doctrines and beliefs you once held sacred just don’t fit with the material reality of your life?
Me too.
I’m pretty good at the whole, “I’ve got it sorted” routine. Sometimes, even, it’s a little true. But in the last few years the veneer of certainty has gone.
The more I’ve spoken about the way my faith is evolving, the more voices of disagreement I hear.
Read MoreSeasons & Burnout: 3 Reasons To Take A Break
Someone once said there is a time for everything in life. A time to live, a time to die. A time to work, and a time for rest.
Life is lived in seasons. And this is reflected in the life cycle of the world we all live in.
We see it through the year, from the death, cold and snow of winter to the greenery, light and life of summer. We were designed to live in seasons.
And in life, when a season comes to an end, we lament, we grieve, but then we take what we learned, and move into the next.
Right now, in my life and work, I sense a season ending. And it’s time to lay it down and begin again.
Intertwined with the concept of seasons, is the idea of work and rest. And rest is equally important as work. Whatever culture might say, being busy is not something to be proud of.
Read MoreHow I Discovered The ‘Why’ Of Suffering
Have you ever had one of those ‘why’ moments? When something happens which causes us pain, suffering, hurt, or sheer frustration and anger – and all you can do is ask ‘Why?’.
Why did that person I love have to die?
Why did my friend develop that condition or disease?
Why did that person get the job I wanted (and deserved)?
Why have I suffered so much when I know I don’t deserve it?
Why did that expensive thing I need break when I don’t have the money to replace it?
Me too.
I’ve asked the question ‘why?’ so often it’s become a chorus, a song stuck on repeat in the depths of my heart. I still do.
But recently I came about an answer, in the most unexpected way.
Read MoreThe Oxygen Of Solidarity
I hadn’t planned on posting something by myself today. I did have another guest post lined up – which you’ll now see next Monday. You see, this morning something happened which changed my plans. An experience, a story, I knew I had to share with you today.
As I write, it’s 7.26am on a cold Monday morning, three days before Christmas. I can hear the rustling of the wind outside, the quiet hollows of a force so much more powerful. But this force of nature feels as nothing right now, against the power of the many noiseless but resounding voices of support I’m feeling through social media.
The oxygen of solidarity. Shining a glimmer of hope.
And I understand in an instant the power of two of the most powerful words in the universe:
“Me Too.”
Read MoreLife Can Kill Us…But Sometimes We Must Laugh
Last year I was on holiday in Malta with two friends. We were on the bus home from one of our days out. It was an open top bus, and lovely weather, so we sat on top at the front.
Now, two days before, I’d got out the bus on another trip, and tripped over the curb, landing flat on my face. So we were, in light of this, having a chat about my clumsiness.
I was trying to argue this event was a one off, and I wasn’t clumsy. My friends insisted I was. It was all in jest of course, but nevertheless I was adamant I wasn’t clumsy. I was moving to the edge of my chair, making my point strongly and articulately. I was right in the middle of making my argument, when the bus ran over a huge bump in the road.
I fell forward, straight onto the floor of the bus, head into the lap of my friend.
And we all started laughing. Me possibly hardest of all.
Because if you can’t laugh, then you’ll never be able to deal with life. If you take life seriously all the time, you’ll be crushed.
Read MoreWhy Hope Never Dies
(Picture: Paulo Gamba through Creative Commons) Ever watched a sports game and your team seems to have everything go against it? Like there are some outside forces, beyond our control, deciding the destiny of our team? Or you see a film, or read a book, and you just ‘know’ what is going to happen? Like…
Read MoreWhy we are Mysteries Within Mysteries
Source: pinwords.com via James on Pinterest I was recently making a dent in my sofa after doing some cleaning and tidying. I felt I’d earned it. I let my body go like a sail with air through it, and just relaxed. I was tempted to turn the radio or TV on. But for some reason…
Read MoreWhy my Mum is a Spiritual Hero & Patron Saint
I’ve written about my late Mum here before. She has an amazing story to tell. But today it’s National Woman’s Day and this coming Sunday it’s Mothers Day – so today I want to tell you why my Mum is one of my heroes – as a woman and as a Christian. Was she a…
Read MoreThis is my truth
Today’s post is one of the most honest I have ever written. I wrote it as a stream of consciousness, straight from my heart. I let out what I was really thinking without the fear and boundaries I so often put up, or are afraid to go beyond. Which is really what the post is…
Read MoreSocial Media: Life without digital, death without physical
I recently went to the birthday party of a good friend. I only knew one person at the party – the person who’d invited me. By the end of the evening I’d chatted to at least 5 or 6 new people in depth – and made two new Facebook friends. I’d also managed to grow…
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