What A Funny Old Day

What a funny old day I had. The blog is not a diary, I’m not into that kind of journal-taking online, it’s not my style, but this day is worth recording for some interesting themes that emerge.

I enjoy waking up at the latest at 6:45am. It gives me time to get ready and then also get breakfast for the womenfolk before setting out for me train. Now since the clocks went back, my body clock has been a little bit out of sorts. I got to bed at a really funny time earlier in the morning, I think at about 1:30am. In any case I woke up at 6:40am – so for all that I still got up in fair time.

Sadly, however, my wife, who woke up a bit later, pointed out some discrepancies that I interpreted in a rather negative light, which didn’t lead to the most pleasant of morning exchanges between us. Nothing too hostile, but enough to even get Deborah and Abigail taking sides as to who they they believed. (It was obviously me, but I don’t like to boast, you know.)

As I made my journey to the railway station, however, my mind was taken up with other thoughts and by the time I settled in the station I was reading more on Reimagining Church by Frank Viola. A book I’ve read already, as I’ve blogged previously, but I was reading it again in the light of having just finished Viola’s Finding Organic Church. It’s not about believing everything people say, but it is about testing what has been said to scripture and taking it from there. I shared some of the questions the book made about aspect of church life with my sister and a mentor and left it at that as my fill for the train journey.

I have always enjoyed getting to work early. My previous work ethic from my pre-Stoke days was all about getting to places early to prepare myself for whatever I was about to do. That went by the wayside a bit when I was in Stoke, but thankfully since I’ve been in Bletchley and working Northampton, I’ve got back in the groove and it is good. I don’t understand looking to get to your place of work at 8:55am if you start at 9am – that’s as good as late to me. In any case I got there early and so was again able to prepare my mind and material for the course of the day.

I do a workshop in the morning and supervise a jobsearch session in the afternoon. Despite my industrious approach to getting going in the morning, it is not often shared by the attendants at the workshop. It’s obviously worse on a Monday morning when the talk is all about those Monday morning blues where people are not up to much. Tuesday mornings can still be a challenge to get participants engaged and active with the material.

The deal is those who take part have been out of work for six months. They have issues as to why they are out of work. Some to do with confidence and self-esteem. Some to do with lack of motivation. Often it’s a case of lack of knowledge about different things to be aware of in the jobsearch journey. The workshop in particular is there as an aid to support people with that information aspect of things for the journey. For example a number of those who attend have not had a job interview in months, and as we uncover their approach to the whole jobsearch journey it’s clear to see that with an amendment here and a bit of thought there their issues can be resolved.

For that to happen, however, requires a great deal of co-operation from the participants. That can be a challenge for a group of people in the same boat and especially with some attitudes that border on sheer apathy and indifference to the efforts being made on their behalf. It is my challenge to ride over that and deliver the material in interesting and engaging ways so that at least the majority of those in attendance will get something. That challenge can be particularly trying depending on the mood of the group. The mood of the group today was trying.

By God’s grace I was able to negotiate the storms and complete the session. I looked though with great frustration and exasperation at certain people who obviously didn’t look for or need the help and yet were in desperate need of it. Not bad people, per se, just didn’t want to engage in that method of learning. A great shame, made worse by the fact that it often comes across as though you efforts are wasted on them. With the monitoring of the jobsearch session in the afternoon, the same people who disregarded the effort being given, will then look for help with their own jobsearch journey! It’s like telling a child not to take any chocolate as it will make them sick, only for them to take the chocolate and then ask for your help because they feel sick. Of course you help, but you want them to act wisely in the first place.

As I sighed in exasperation I thought again of the song People Make the World Go Round and then reflected again on how really it was the love of God that stopped me hardening my heart against these people and just think that they were taking the whole benefits process for a ride. Only the love of God, because in the same way I recall how many times I was like these young people taking His grace for granted and disrespecting His way and His wisdom, yet He would unfailingly continue to offer it to me by His grace and sometimes I would actually wake up and smell the roses (don’t like coffee you see. Having said that I’m not a big fan of roses either, but you get the point).

That thought allowed the afternoon session to go well as people got on with their jobsearch and I was able to offer what help I could with a clean conscience and compassion towards them.

On my way home I read more from Reimagining Church and also engaged in a positive text conversation with my dear friend Rob. I love the rapport we have and the banter we can share about our family and our lives together. And that relational feeling seeped into a phone call I had with another good friend, Ray. We talked about the Word of God and what it means to claim to be a Bible-believing Christian (as well as a Bible-believing church) and how that has to be sourced and centred on who Jesus is and the wider implications for every day living.

That conversation inspired me to dwell further on that amazing love of God and how He would consider me in spite of what I did to Him. That in turn lead to a walk to the local Co-op to get some gas for the meter. I love those kind of walks where I move from How Great Thou Art to To God Be The Glory to Behold What Manner Of Love The Father Has Given Unto Us to Beloved, Beloved (Now We Are The Sons Of God). It’s not just singing those songs, but engaging in the truth that songs deliver about the nature of god, His greatness and how that propels me to love Him more and share that love with others.

As I returned home I was able to share that with the girls as well as they had their evening devotional and it was a wonderful time to be had with them. Better still though was what took place afterwards, where all the adrenalin of praise to God flowed over into ecstatic praise and prayer. It’s really good to feel liberated to express such behaviour and engage with God and funnily enough also remind the enemy how pathetic his efforts have been to put me off. For in as much as I helped him with some blundering moves, the grace of God has been greater and He has got glory – Him and Him alone – for rescuing me from myself and establishing me in the position to passionately convey that to others.

As I said – what a funny old day.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd