pain

A nice leisurely start to the week?

You'd better believe it! It's been one of those days when you hit the ground running. And then soon figure you'd better pick up some pace!

George died this morning. George was a dear and generous man who's been much involved in what we're doing here for a good many years. He had a sparkle in his eyes, a delightful sense of humour and quietly got on with any number of ways of humbling serving Christ.

He turned eighty a week or two back. And having hit that notable milestone of what the Authorised Version rather quaintly calls the 'even, by reason of strength, fourscore years', his body seemed to sort of call it all a day. Time's up.

He was barely in hospital a week. And this morning he died. In some ways it's best when it's simple and quick without being in any way 'sudden'.

He lived well and he died well too.

I knew he was poorly, so I'd gone in first thing to his hospital bed. But by then he had died. His wife has been great, bearing all of the sadness and all of the care with a strength and a poise so reflective of all that is good in the faith in the Lord that the two of them both always shared.

One of her sons was with her when I called on her a little later on. It's always a privilege to share in such family life. To catch a glimpse of what a person's like from inside their 'environment', their family, instead of, as so often, from outwith. It's humbling, as well, to see how well supported and surrounded by her family Ruth is. As George was too.

It reminds me again that that's how God intends our life to be. He sets the solitary in families. That's the kind of relational environment God means us to enjoy. And it's a lovely thing to see.

But 'family' life is not, of course, without its share of tensions and disquiet. And the 'family' life of the people of God is just the same as any other family you care to name.

So I've found myself spending a fair bit of time (as in good long hours, rather than a few fleeting moments here and there), involved in seeing folk and listening to the burdens (as they feel their lot to be) and talking through the issues which have made life problematic for these folk.

It's hard work in its way, and there aren't any easy short-cuts through it all. Today's been pretty full of that, one way and another.

Right on through to the meeting we had at night, relating to the path we have to follow as we seek to move on through to a whole new way of being and doing church.

As I say, there aren't any easy short-cuts. Which is a pity, because it makes for some long days - and some pretty late nights as well!

But I'm remembering these days it took a guy like Moses almost 40 years to get these folk, the Israelites, to the point where they could enjoy life as it's meant to be.

Good things come to those who wait. And who work hard at it through the waiting days.

So I've been on my sort of 'wanderings' today. The hospital, the hospice, an office up town. East and west and north and south. All over the place. Seeing folk, talking things through.

Trying to hammer out a future for us all.

The highlight of my day? I guess it came in the evening.

I was opening up the hall for the ladies of the Guild. They had a visiting speaker who was showing the ladies some slides.

And she had her own slide projector which was heavy the way they used to make these things, weighted down with a ton of bricks (as it were) to keep them from moving around

It was stored in the boot of her car in what I thought was quite appropriately a solid wooden box. Most people the age the projector was have long since ended up in a similar recepticle.

Anyway, I brought it in from the car for her and helped her set it up. Got the lighting all sorted out; the microphones, too. Attended to all her needs. A very pleasant lady, who looked positively young beside her projector.

At which she said (not to my saying she looked so young, because I didn't actually say that to her face - I might have upset her projector!) - "How lovely it is to come to a place where you're helped in every way!"

And I thought, that's it. That's just what we're about. Creating the sort of environment where it's lovely to be, where help is at hand, where you're welcomed and served and upbuilt.

Like Jesus. He was a kind of moveable version of just that sort of place.

It was good having him around. We want folk today to discover that too.