When I was a child, my Dad, having grown up in the contryside, was good a reading the signs of the weather.  It was from him I learned the colour of snow clouds, the smell of incoming rain, and even how to check the wind direction with a wet finger.

When he died, my Mum asserted that he was now employed as 'Clerk of the Weathers' and, to be fair, important family events have, so far as I can recall, had good weather.  Even the day of my Mum's funeral where the morning was wet and forecast grim, dried and brightened up in good time for the service, and at the 'do' several relatives stood outside in afternoon sunshine.

All of which has caused me gentle amusement now that storm Diana has now arrived in the UK.  Why? My Mum was Diana, and it amuses me to imagine the two of them in cahoots redirecting the wind and rain to engineer this.  Of course I don't actually believe this is the cause, but just because something isn't fact doesn't mean it isn't true, if I may misquote a song about bumble bees and their impossible ability to fly.

Today I felt challenged by the quotation from some writing by Christopher Bamford (whoever he is)...

"The fact that we live our lives as if the Word had not come, and as if we are still in the prison of darkness rather than the freedom of the Light, is an illusion, one which can be overcome"

Quite often I hear people of faith speaking about the deep darkness of the world, that it's getting worse, that 'they' will overcome 'us', and intuitively I feel they are wrong, that if they believe what they claim to believe then, however dark it may seem, the light still shines, hope still exists, good will still overcome evil.

I think this is what Bamford is referring to - albeit I had to read it a few times!

If, as yesterday's reflection led me to ponder, God is in us, that we are ontolgoically not just practically little candles of god-ness  then we cannot be pessimistic, thinking the world is going to hell in a handcart.  Instead we have to do as Jesus told his followers, and let our light shine, right here, right now.

It's a dreich morning here in Glasgow, and I cannot see 'my' magic hills because they are shrouded in cloud.  But they are still there, and so is the hope, love, joy and expectation that arises from being indwelt (indwelled?) by God's living Word.

The prayer from the book:

Great light who shines in the dpeths of all darkenss, may I know you in my life today.  May I be aware of your Light shining in my darkness.  May I live a life in the relaity of what it means that you have come and overcomse the darkness rather than in the illusion of the darkness still having dominion.  Amen.

Before the dawn, yesterday (I'm posting a day late, again!)

I have always loved being out early in the morning when it is still dark and quiet.  For me, there is always a frisson of excitement, a sense that it is 'only God and I who are up at this time'.  And there is a sense of anticipation that I don't experience once it is light.

Possibly I am odd, but I actually never minded the days of going out a few minutes early to scrape ice from the windows of my car, nor do I mind getting up at silly o'clock to get a taxi to the early train.  The song may say that 'the darkest hour is just before dawn' but, for me, in that darkness hope always springs anew.

I'll try to catch up with the photos today.

I saw this on social media, and thoguht it was worth sharing here...

"God ran away when we imprisoned her
and put her in a box named Church.
God would have none of our labels and our limitations
and she said,
“I will escape and plant myself
in a simpler, poorer soil
where those who see, will see,
and those who hear, will hear.
I will become a God — believable,
because I am free, and go where I will.
My goodness will be found
in my freedom and that freedom I offer to all –
regardless of color, sex, or status,
regardless of power or money.
Ah, I am God
because I am free,
and all those who would be free will find me,
roaming, wandering, singing.
Come, walk with me –
come, dance with me!
I created you to sing — to dance – to love. . . .”
If you cannot sing,
nor dance, nor love,
because they put you also in a box,
know that your God broke free
and ran away.
So, send your spirit
then, to dance with Her.
Dance, sing with the God
whom they cannot tame nor chain.
Dance within, though they chain your very guts
to the great stone walls. . . .
Dance, beloved,
Ah, Dance!"

–Edwina Gateley

I have just finished reading this book, on recommendation from the good people at smallVOICE who will be reviewing it in a few days' time.  As someone who loves statistics and who can get a tad huffy when they are misused or abused, I was eager to read this book.  The great thing is that you don't need to be any good at, or interested in, number, stats, or anything mathemetical.  The purpose of the book is to help us to identify some of our unconscious biases and to think about how we might be more 'factful' in our thinking.

Of course it appealed to me to see myths debunked about things I have long known.  But it also chastened me to realise how many other myths I have never thoguht to question.

It's a REALLY accessible book, with some nice graphics and helpful anecdotes.  Well worth reading... and well worth revisiting from time to time too.

As an aside, and because of my recent reading on 'shame' I found interesting links between aspects of what we might term 'factlessness' and 'shaming behaviours' - notably generalisations and stereotypes.  Actually, this should not be a surprise - the shame culture we are alert to arises from, and is fuelled by, the myths and misconceptions that lead us define anyone as 'other' or 'lesser'.

Thank you, smallVOICE crew for a great recommendation.