chasing the shepherd

Today's my day for making soup.

And even though it's a busy week, I don't ever mind this task. Apart from anything else, I'm in before the others are here and I use the time while I'm making the soups to listen (by means of CDs) to the spoken ministry of some of today's finest preachers.

It does my soul good! An hour or so of manna for the spirit. It's wonderful and fairly sets me up for the day.

A call came in about 9am from one of the ladies who runs the Ladies' Meeting at Charlotte Chapel. She was looking for a reading from Scripture for this coming Thursday's meeting at which I'm due to be speaking.

I smiled. My week's not really running like that at all. I mean this is only Tuesday. Thursday might as well be another millennium, the amount of things I've still to attend to between now and then!

However, I knew she'd ring and I had at least got as far as having a reading prepared for her. I know the passage I'm preaching on. I've prepared that much.

Most days, at present, turn out a bit like that. They call it 'chasing your tail', but I don't think that's really fair. I'm not going round and round in circles.

It's more like the greyhounds racing, with the 'rabbit' way out there in front. Always just keeping that little bit further ahead.

But if the greyhounds keep up the pace they'll get there in the end.

It's more like that with me these days. If you can liken the Lord to a rabbit!

Because it's him I'm seeking to keep up with these days. He's hard at work and there's lots going on. And I'm glad to be out on the hoof with him.

It's just that my 'walk with the Lord' these days has become a bit of a 'power-walk'. It's a job keeping up.

You can see why these soup-making moments are actually bliss. 'Still waters' beside which he leads me: time to drink deeply from the pools of the Spirit's refreshing.

There was another service of thanksgiving today. The man who'd died was ninety five. And his wife had died almost exactly a year before, to the very day just about.

The two of them had always been close. I picked up on that in the service itself and made use of David's lament when Jonathan died the same day as his father.

"They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death they were not divided."

That, I suppose, was the text the Lord gave. And for those of us who are Christians, we're not in truth divided, neither in death nor by death.

Much of the afternoon was spent along (and alone) with my mother-in-law, taking time to work through with her all that these coming days will involve. Such times can never be rushed.

If I spread myself more thinly, and rushed through times like that and rushed through preparation and rushed through all the meetings that I have - well I guess I could doubtless do loads more.

Quantity-wise, at any rate. But quality? There wouldn't be much at all.

Most of the things I do need time and can't be rushed. Which means I'm always having to choose between all sorts of possible things.

Which is why, before the day begins, even before I get down to the soup on a day like today, I take time out to be with the Lord, to listen and learn and speak with him and to see where my priorities should lie.

It's his day after all. His work. And his story.