It is time for silence to do its work. I knew that it would be so. That for too many months I have been running at a pace which would be arrested by only one thing. And so I planned it, weeks ago, when I knew that this moment would come. Two days and two nights … Continue reading
Photo credit Present to God and present to my self, then only out of that to be present to others. That’s what I came away with at the end of my retreat. In a week which was all about an inner work he was doing in my very being, I saw this more clearly than … Continue reading
I had an ambitious sabbatical list. Only six things on it but they were six BIG things! The thing is, God has more than given me what I asked for. Not, of course, that it was looking good even three weeks ago! God is like that with me. He keeps me waiting, the girl who … Continue reading
January was dark this year. Whether it was darker than usual I don’t know. But it was dark outside and in. Pitch-black mornings and drawn-in evenings. Sleeping for hours and hours and hours. Yet always tired. A tiredness which is almost like an itch, a physical sensation, a mental weariness. No tears but a heart … Continue reading
On Friday, I had a beautiful day here… …and having first drunk coffee at Tyndale House, I took advantage of a lifetime of free parking in central Cambridge before going straight to a pub for lunch. I then went immediately from there to coffee and cake in a stunning church cafe before going to evensong … Continue reading
I have received a gift. A gift I had asked for but, nonetheless, a gift. I’d begun to think about it eighteen months ago, when ministry became more painful than it had ever been. Around about that time I finally accepted what had been staring me in the face for the preceding few years. My … Continue reading
Scripture is not set deep into my heart the way that I think it should be. Yet the years of reading the same text has caused resonances deep within me. The other morning, as I experienced yet another attack over my research – a deep and nagging fear that I had no hope of ever … Continue reading
I learned something very useful in the last few weeks. It started with that week, the week when – for a moment – I lived at less than my usual hyper-speed velocity. A beautiful week: of peace, of calm and stillness. I had space to think and space to be. It was possible to live … Continue reading
I have fallen into this week, stumbling on to my face, slamming on the brakes. The pace has slowed, yet how long it takes for my heart to still! One week every four to six months. One week of relative stillness, of solitude, of a diary largely scrubbed of obligations. One week of living slow, of … Continue reading
Image credit I am not an extrovert. I knew that already, of course. But this week has driven it into me in a whole new way. I do not thrive if I cannot be alone at relatively regular intervals. And this week, although filled with wonderful things, has not been an introvert’s week. Recently, I … Continue reading
The Art of Steering 