*** FORMATTING GONE DOOLALLY ON HERE - APOLOGIES ***

No, not the five minute (or less) slot on the radio, just something that's good to do now and then.

Today I have a 'free Sunday' which, typically would allow a long weekend break before returning to work on Tuesday. In fact I have two 'free Sundays' back to back, which was meant to give me a whole week off after a very busy summer in which to gather my thoughts before the autumn session gets into full swing.

Then came the dates for a training course for a role I am privileged to have been invited to undertake within the BUS, so I felt that ought to over-ride time away and I deferred setting off south to see friends and family until after that takes place on Tuesday.

Then, last week came some very sad, if not unexpected, news that someone with a life-limiting, terminal condition had died. It has always been my policy that pastoral crises and funerals trump pretty much anything, so it was a no-brainer to enure that this was accommodated. Tomorrow we will be saying our farewells to a woman in her forties who travelled a very courageous and gracious journey with an especially cruel degenerative disease. Visiting her was always uplifting - she exemplified so much that is good, gracious and Godly (and she'd laugh if she could read that now).

Those I will be visiting whilst away all bear their own scars of 'life in all its fulness', illness, bereavement, depression, abandonment and more. Each of them has a story that could have generated bitterness and resentment towards some, if not many, others. Each of them continues to live their lives, guided by their own religious or moral 'compass'.

So my nearly-week mostly-off will be a time to relax, to laugh, to eat, to read novels on trains, to learn, to love, to share. Recent events affecting friends and church folk have been a firm reminder of the frailty of life. They have also remidned me of its beauty, tenderness and wonder.

Quiet here for a while as I won't be taking my laptop with me - but will be back soon with more reflections on everyday life.