I'm not sure tapestries are woven, but never mind.

Last Sunday one of the metaphors I used was that of weaving.  One way to employ it is to see that every experience, every emotion is somehow woven into the pattern.

The last few days it has felt as if quite a few strands have been woven into my own tapestry, strands that arise precisely because of life events and choices made.

These last few weeks up to 'five years since diagnosis' are proving remarkably introspective one way and another, and I think the last few days have highlighted that...

• the privilege of being called in by a charity to conduct a wedding for someone with only a few days to live...
• ... which arose because someone I know works for that charity...
• ... and that someone knew I'd recently been asked to conduct a blessing for someone in similar circumstances

• a number of phone calls regarding my peer support  clients...
• ... to reschedule...
• ... to let me know one was unwell ...
• ... and to women at various stages of treatment, offering them a listening ear and an open heart...

• preparations to travel south to Blackpool to meet friends who have shared a common experience...
• ... and to remember friends whose lives were cut short

So many people whose paths have crossed, and continue to cross, my own.

So many lives interwoven for a reason and/or a season

So many ways in which I am enabled to make meaning of my experiences, weave new patterns, add new colours and textures...

So many ministry and (loosely) mission opportunities I'd never had imagined and would never have chosen...

Bit of a waffly post... but it makes sense to me!

Tomorrow I'll travel south to meet people I'd never have met had things been different, but who are now among my closest friends...

It's a lovely morning in Glasgow, with blue skies and bright sunshine.

The last few days have been rather on the busy side, and some of the stuff quite demanding emotionally/spiritually.  Today I am more or less on top of things again, have a draft of Sunday's service to check over this afternoon, the PowerPoint is done, the change-to-published-schedule creative activity is hopefully winging its way to me, and I can devote time later to some administrative/legal matters.

This morning I will poddle along to the Coffee Club - remembering to take my sunscreen, sunglasses and probably a sun hat too!  It will be good to slow down, to catch up, to listen and chat.  It will be good simply to take time to breathe after the busy and challenging days recently.

Oh, and remember, children, do not look directly into the sun, you will hurt your eyes!

This post comes with a health-warning... I am not pointing at any one or any church, I am not making any points about anyone or anything... Indeed, au contraire, there are lots of people I know who quietly and privately undertake vital little tasks that make my life a lot easier.

It's a little thing I remember seeing many years ago and which popped up when I was researching some ideas for Sunday's service.  So I am sharing it out of nostalgia as much as anything, and to perhaps to remind myself not to get so grumpy sometimes!!

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was a job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. 

Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. 

Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Somebody wouldn’t do it. 

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Last night I attended a service where the reflection used metaphors of a plumb line and a measure to reflect on the need to align our lives with God's law/teaching and then subverted itself with the image of a heart to signify the central tenet of love.  Very simple, very straight forward and somehow quite helpful.

Grace is about that... about love over-ruling legal minutiae when the intent is right.

Compassion is that which allows a person to recognise the need to exercise grace.

Today I encountered compassionate officialdom, grace in the ordinary, and a reminder that God's love will ultimately overcome any and every challenge.

Thanks be to God who is in all and who can use even fallible, stressy me as a medium for incarnating grace.

I vaguely remember a somewhat cheesy worship song that had a refrain along the lines of  "seventy times seventy times seventy times seven..." an extension of the Biblical mandate designed to capture its intent: times without number.

This morning we focussed our thoughts on part of the story of the apostle Peter and his stumbling, bumbling discipleship.

As much as anything I was preaching to myself... the need to kind to oneself, to forgive oneself, to believe that God never gives up on us or runs out of forgiveness for us.

I had some lovely positive feedback from many people that was really enouraging, and some conversations during the week had helped me think through more clearly some of the needs of others.

Lots of fun, and very grateful to those who are involved with various aspects of making it happen.

Tired in a good way.  Looking forward to week three and a focus on Stephen.