It was late. I was tired, sitting out in the warmth of the summer night. The men had been drinking. Good wine, it was. Everyone was happy. A wedding is always cause for celebration, the joining of two families, the promise of babies. And just as oil makes faces shine, so wine gladdens the heart. … Continue reading
These are the days of small faithfulnesses. A season of nearly six months where it is enough to have worked all day, to have ploughed through task after task until eventually it is time to sleep and begin again. Days when progress against the task is small. That though I work hard and fast, without … Continue reading
He called me friend, that Man. He called me friend and I thought I knew. No longer slave, for I know what the Master is doing. Friend, because all that he has heard from the Father is now made known to me. He holds nothing back, itself a mystery beyond fathom. I am friend, his … Continue reading
Oh, how I wish you would submit to my boxes. And how I delight that you sidestep them so sweetly. With a smile which is a cross between mischievous and pleased with yourself. The person contemplating can have no control over the other… If the other is a person, then all we can do is … Continue reading
The presence of silence can have a thickness like incense hanging heavy in the air. When silence appears as a spirit, a presence, then a great deal can be learned if silence is willingly embraced. In these gifted moments, the presence of silence must be listened to as if it were the greatest sage of … Continue reading
That Man, the one who told me to be as cunning as a serpent, as innocent as a dove… He told me something else too. Let your Yes be Yes, and your No be No, he said. He said it to us all. But I think we stopped listening halfway through. Let your Yes be … Continue reading
I played my cards, I said. She knew what I meant. I’d used that worldly-wise part of me. That part which knows when you’re playing games. That part which ill-tolerates being taken for a fool. I’d smiled the sweetest of smiles and I’d countered his check with a checkmate. I’d enjoyed playing my cards too, truth … Continue reading
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Mary Oliver, ‘Wild Geese’ Three months ago I called this. It would be a season of … Continue reading
I never was a seasoned pastor’s wife. We were church planters and that is scrappy work. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert I always thought I’d be a terrible pastor’s wife. I don’t fit the stereotype. And whilst there are so many pastors’ wives out there who don’t either, you know exactly which … Continue reading
Not so long ago I was faced with a choice. An attractive offer, in some senses, I suppose. And it came with a large side order of encouragement. But I said no. I said no without needing to think. My brain engaged only concerning how to communicate the why of this no. How to do … Continue reading
