For anyone in need of reassurance, Bonhoeffer's New Year Hymn/Prayer versified by F Pratt Green with Keith Clements...

 By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered 

And confidently waiting, come what may,

We know that God is with us night and morning,

And never fails to meet us each new day.

Yet are our hearts by their old foe tormented

Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;

O give our frightened souls the sure salvation

For which, O Lord, you taught us to prepare.

And when the cup you give is filled to brimming

With bitter suffering, hard to understand,

We take it gladly, trusting though with trembling,

Out of so good and so beloved a hand.

If once again, in this mixed world, you give us

The joy we had, the brightness of your sun,

We shall recall what we have learned through sorrow,

And dedicate our lives to you alone.

Now as your silence deeply spreads around us,

Open our ears to hear your children raise

From all the world, from every nation round us,

 To you their universal hymn of praise.

Tune: Finlandia.

This post reminds me the 'catch phrase' of one of the 'spice girls' (ministers' spouses of the female variety) who has supported me over a number of years... one who is nominally 'of great price' if you know your scriptures.

We - the church - are in it for the long haul as salt and light, as prophets and priests, as pastors and evangelists.  Sometimes we cling on by our finger nails - and any person who claims otherwise is, I suspect, very new to this, very misguided or not very engaged.  Sometimes it is a sheer slog.  Sometimes it is scary.  Sometimes, as individuals, we have to let others do the 'keeping on' for us.  But keeping on keeping on, saving starfish one at a time, transforming the world one prayer at a time, growing in maturity one step at a time - that's what we are called to do.

Hang on in there.  Keep on keeping on.  Whatever the form of words...

And behold, I AM with you always, to the very end of the age.

Last week a friend of mine very generously sent me a Wii complete with balance board and 'Wii fit plus' software.  Having set it up, I have had some fun doing various exercises and beginning to get to grips with how the balance games work - it's far less to do with your balance than about deciphering what to do given the lack of decent instructions (thus spake the reflective-theorist learner).  So, my Wii-fit age has  ranged from 42 to 73 (most of my Wii-addict friends say their age is about 20 because they know the games off by heart...) and I've had lots of messages saying "your muscles are very weak".  Then I do the aerobic and muscle-based exercises and it gives me three and four stars (out of four) at the first attempt, telling me I've got great muscles and 'unlocking' the advanced level!  I'm confused... well I'm not because I don't take it seriously anyway.  My plastic surgeon told me I have good muscle tone and I trust her over a talking computer any day!

Being able to exercise safely and at home will be great during my recovery phase (once I've checked with the physios that it's OK of course)... and if it dares to tell me I'm unbalanced (as it does regularly)  I will just say 'well what do you expect!"