I am now a third of the way through reworking my essay - not fast progress, but progress, and I have a clearer idea of how to do the next third. So I am allowed one post as a reward!!!
Yesterday I bumped into a couple of my folk in the building society in town where we paying money into our respective accounts. These are good, honest people in fairly lowly paid jobs (he a postie, she a library assistant) who are working lots of overtime to pay off the costs of their daughter's modest wedding last autumn. Seeing them quietly get on with life, and give to church and to charities, I found it very hard to sympathise with people striking for four days because they want a 13% pay rise. Not that the people concerned don't work hard, or work long hours or even accept some level of risk to life and limb (so, actually do posties! Beware postie-eating squirrels), it's just hard to understand how £36k - around 50% above the national average - is not enough to live on.
In a few minutes I will be walking round to deliver an 18th birthday card for the daughter of one of our church folk, so that it arrives before they all go out for the day to celebrate. This is a family that has recently taken delivery of a brand new car for the first time ever, and only because one member is now entitled to a mobility allowance because of illness. It took them many hours of soul-searching to accept this facility, rather simply buying another secondhand vehicle, because they know that, compared to many people, they are quite well off.
Tomorrow I face the task of trying to find a dentist - any dentist - who can repair or remove a tooth that broke on Friday morning. Thankfully it is not painful but the rough edges are shredding my tongue! Despite various attempts over the last four years I have failed to find an NHS dentist with any vacancies, and it seems the God who can turn fillings to gold for charismatics doesn't repair the teeth of HMF funded ministers! Recently I met someone who is an NHS salaried dentist 'and proud of it', perhaps it is no surpise he is also a committed Christian. Unfortunately he is over 100 miles away, so I can't call upon his services!!
All of this makes me think about the difference being a disicple of Jesus makes to attitudes, and how sometimes, when all is just pootling along, I fail to notice the quiet transformation of those among whom I minister.
PS I don't think God should fix my tooth, it would just be so convenient if God did!