Near Restful Waters On my first attempt at writing this blogger crashed and I lost the post. Now I’m trying to piece it together from the fragments of my own memory. It was meant to be about water. So, here goes... As we walked the Camino Portugues I became very aware of water. On day one, we walked from Porto to Vila de Conde, and did so by the sea. On many days we passed pools, fountains, ponds, brooks, streams and rivers. At times these waters seemed to call out: “Stop. Be still. Come and rest by me.” We also became aware of basic needs that water slakes. Walking in the heat, where hard surfaces deflect the sun back towards us, our thirst became greater. We needed to drink more water. On the two days I felt the affects of dehydration, I noticed how debilitated we can become. But water has a blessed relieving function too. Oh the joy of the shower at the end of the walk each day. Washing away the dust and sweat and grime and just invigorating t...
In our local Church this evening we had an interesting visitor. This person must have felt safe to join us. They were burdened by a severe mental health episode. It was lovely to see how our people kept him, and each other, safe until more qualified help arrived. It reminded me of an earlier reflection in We Are More . It is reminder to us of the delicate balance of our health and our need to support each other.
Restrictions and Rations Then and Now Last weekend I recorded a message that referred to Paul Byrnes' book The Lost Boys (pictured). It is an historical account of young men, indeed teenagers really, who went away to enlist in the armed services in World War I. I had opened the pages of that book because it was Anzac Day weekend and, as is often the case, was trying to enter into some of the original ANZAC experiences. As a youngster, I recall my own parents talking of their experiences during World War II. They used to talk of restrictions, rations and coupons. They usually had their own cow or chooks, so they didn’t need coupons for milk or butter or eggs. So they would swap with other families for coupons like flour. As we begin to understand what it feels like, what it seems like, in these days of the restrictions of COVID-19, I was wondering how some of the restrictions, including the struggles to buy some goods in the shops, was in someway similar to wartime ...
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