Have you been checking the time?
When we were being taught how to tell the time way back at school we had the analogue clock and the digital clock. That digital clock was a twelve-hour clock. It was a little later on that I got into the twenty-four hour clock. I gotta say, I like the twenty-four hour clock. I like it a lot. I’m not in the military or that kind of thing, but I do like it when people refer to time in the twenty-four hour kinda way.
However, when we had the analogue clock I was intrigued with how the time was spoken about. There was what was past the hour and then there was what was towards the next hour. After half way through, everything was geared towards the next hour. I didn’t pick it up at the time (no pun intended – though it’s a good pun now I think of it), but there’s something very good about that balance. We enjoy what we are past the new hour for a season and then there’s time to look ahead to what is to come. Ever ticking on, ever keeping things ticking on and progressing.
2018 has been a very interesting year so far. With three quarters of it complete so far, I can definitely say the following – there is no dull moment following Jesus. There are mundane moments, but not dull moments. There are frustrating moments, but not dull moments. There are pensive moments, but not dull moments. There are sad moments, but not dull moments.
You might think I’m being a bit picky saying mundane and not dull. I know what I mean though. Washing up the plates looks dull, but it’s really a mundane task. It’s something that you do as a regular thing – but why it’s not dull is that even in retrospect when you reflect on the day with Jesus even washing the dishes wasn’t really dull. There was a rhythm to it. There was a need for true cleanliness for it to be effective. All of a sudden that which remains mundane is seen for not being dull when Jesus is with you on it.
There have been some really exciting developments in the third quarter of 2018. Brilliant relationships opportunities have come into being. Our home has hosted some amazing people who have been a tremendous blessing to our family. That’s been great, because of the simplicity of it and the profound impact it’s had. We’ve witnessed some incredible moments where God has knitted hearts together in a love that we know only comes from Him. People sharing stories, being vulnerable and pointing to the incredible grace of God to rescue, sustain and provide.
Audio work is something that I have a massive passion for and it’s been bubbling underneath for a long time. Of late I’ve been delving more into podcasts, listening to them and enjoying the simplicity of them and how they can deliver great content for something more than entertainment. There are pointers that this could be an avenue I can pursue further in the final quarter.
The family are doing great. The children have started a new academic year and this is one of the first times that there’s a season of consolidation rather than a massive shift. The two older girls are continuing in the same school and the youngest is likewise continuing in hers. So they are in a familiar place as they continue their academic progress. More than that, they’re exploring their interests and hobbies and it’s great to see them inch out and do things.
My wife enjoyed her birthday in the last quarter. She did something really good for charity to mark the occasion. Someone needs to tell her looks that she’s getting older, because they still haven’t got the memo. We had some interesting times in the last quarter and not everything was smooth at all, but particularly in the last month there was a strength I saw in her that truly made me marvel and appreciate how blessed I am to be her husband.
Of late, the blogging I’ve done has been rather distinct and sharp. I have not been so deliberate in expressing myself over the blog as I have over the last month or so. By that I mean, there are inner conversations I’ve been wrangling over and the blog has been the platform to express those wranglings. That’s why throughout the month in particular the key tags has been about wisdom and direction. That could still possibly be the case in upcoming entries, although I do sense another key theme that will inform what I’ll share in whatever entries I may share if time allows. Put it this way, this is something I will make light of …
Anyway, that’s a lot of writing for the blog to update you with what’s going on with Christopher Dryden. I am grateful for you for reading this entry – I am grateful for you reading other entries that have been posted and leaving likes on them and leaving comments from time to time. Very grateful for that interaction. Who’s to say, there might be another means of interacting and engaging with this here blog … we shall see. What you can see now, though, is great thanks for your time in reading.
So as time goes on, let’s be grateful for what has been past. Here is to having a mind eager to see what will happen in the quarter to come.
(Photo by Hao Feng on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 