Despite my best efforts, the technological issues continue to dog me efforts at regular blogging, althought to be fair, there have been other pressures on time that has made it harder to continue as I would have liked.
Yet here I am again taking advantage of this window of opportunity to post something on what’s going with me.
Summer.
There’s a lot to be thankful for about Summer. The warm days means I don’t have to use that much gas in the home at all. A lot of the clothes washing we do can be hung out to dry, all the more useful when the Dryder packs up and dies. (R.I.P. Tumble Dryer.) This sort of weather gives more room for walking to places, rather than depending on any other sort of transport. The children love this weather, they get to go out and play with friends, it’s the season to get invites to parties and that stuff, which is brilliant for them. Summer days also means they won’t be at school and can have fun elsewhere.
There’s a lot to be grateful for about the Summer.
I don’t like Summer.
It plays havoc on my breathing – the climate change gives my breathing apparatus little time to adjust and more likely than not, I’ll be on some sort of medication to control it. The hay fever deal will have its way with me sinuses. Added to that, a significant eczema rash has pronounced itself strongly on my neck and shoulder irritating me to scratch it despite the futility of it. And the sweating involved in the Summer. Man alive, someone pointed out that I’d lost a little bit of weight – I’ve probably sweated it away!
Then there’s these awkward months of June and July. No football, people off on holidays, pathetic attempts at sporting drama in other sports that mean nothing to me and Summer blockbuster movies that don’t so much bust blocks as disappoint with their hype and resulting disappointing eventuality. (Yes, I’m talking to you Man of Steel.)
You won’t be surprised to discover, that I am glad that this month is almost over. August will at least signify the return of Premier League football.
OK – enough of the grousing about Summer. I know you might like the season – all that sunbathing, all the chance for the Summer sun and the barbecues and the holidays and the time off and all that stuff. You might like it.
I am grateful then that God that He has seen my plight and allowed me to make the most of these summer days with the following:
– Work: I was unemployed between March and the middle of June, but praise God, He has given me a job. It is located in Stoke-on-Trent, where I used to live, so it’s not too daunting. The job itself is engaging with the lives of those who have beeene unemployed (cos God loves irony) and delivering courses to support them improve their job-search. Although there have been one or two teething issues with administrative aspects, the actual training with the groups has been a great source of inspiration for me and service to others.
– Community: I live in Derby and it’s been six months now. Settling, here has been a challenge, but thankfully a good friend has provided a breakthrough with a little project going on with some men who have lived here for a while. It’s an interesting project too taking me to places I’ve not been to for a long time. I’m singing again … no, not just singing in church, but actually singing. Not lead singing … well kinda not lead singing … but it is singing.
It’s more than that, though. It’s a chance to be a part of something special – building relationships with men at varying stages of their spiritual journeys, some believers, some former believers, some can’t be bothered with the believing business. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s just a chance to learn from them, to relate with them, and if I have anything to contribute, to share it.
– Church: This has been the most intriguing aspect. I’m still on the Acts study and exploring what would life be like full of the Holy Spirit. The church relationships bit is where the rubber hits the road. I get caught up with the drama of the Acts narrative, and there are little windows of what that would look like a possibility in the church gatherings that I attend. As we looked at recently, though, this is all built on relationships – and a depth of relationship made by the Holy Spirit. A depth that takes us beyond mere contact. A depth that causes us to open our hearts to share our lives together. Working those things through is not easy, and at the moment is painfully slow, especially when life’s issues means I don’t get as much interaction as would be healthy. The windows still make themselves clear, though. The brief encounters happen in the communal arena and it gives me hope. That gives me hope, as well as the ongoing study of words.
We are only two thirds of the way through Summer, so I must endure, but I’m grateful that in the enduring God has given good things to engage with on these Summer days.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 