Stories of life, faith, singleness and chronic illness
Why are married people so threatened by the idea that singleness might be equal to marriage? Equally valuable. Equally good. Or even, (shock! horror!) better? I was hopping mad after Morning Prayer on Zoom one morning recently. (Which makes a change from half asleep. It really isn’t my best time of day!). We had a … Continue reading Singled Out
Where do we find abundant life in lockdown in the midst of a global pandemic? What does abundant life even look like in this situation? Is it possible? On Wednesday evening my church had a reflective service (on Zoom, of course!) of words and music in which we thought about the story of the Wedding … Continue reading Abundant Life?
It is forty five days since another human being touched me. Six weeks and three days. I am alone, but I am not alone in this. Many of us who are home alone during this lockdown are counting the days since we last touched another person, and comparing, and wondering when we will next be allowed … Continue reading Home Alone
Because He Lives (Amen) by Matt Maher, sung by the West Coast Choir And if you'd like a whole Easter Sunday playlist click here.
Holy Saturday has particular resonance this year. It is the day in the Easter story when everything stops, including the narrative of events. It is the day when church services pause and nothing seems to happen. A day of silence. A day of waiting. Here are the disciples confined to an upper room: shut indoors, afraid … Continue reading Holy Saturday
Who do you think you are? I wrote most of this last summer, some of it taken from an article I wrote in 2004, and a later assignment on the impact of chronic illness on identity and the sense of self which I wrote for my MA in counselling in 2009. Somehow last summer the … Continue reading Who do you think you are? (Identity)
For those facing two weeks in isolation, or twelve weeks mostly stuck at home, or a lifetime of chronic illness...***** It is ok to grieve It is ok to grieve,to mourn the small things and the large: to shed your tears for cancelled plans and missed events, as well as jobs, or people, lost; for … Continue reading It is ok to grieve
Apologies for the long silence. I have been writing a Lent course... I set my timer for 30 minutes, knowing that this is my limit for sitting up, looking at a screen, writing - aided by a neck brace and blue-light-filtering glasses - without repercussions which will prevent me doing anything else for the rest … Continue reading Writing a Lent Course
‘I can only ever be resilient if I’m allowed to fall apart and not cope in the times when I can’t cope…most of the time I reckon we just need lots of hugs.’ Words of wisdom from my friend Tanya Marlow, a writer and fellow ME sufferer, in a Facebook comment, June 2019. You can … Continue reading Rising (I will go on)
This isn’t the post I was expecting to write. I’d started a different one and stalled. Then yesterday I read this very interesting article about disability theology and I immediately felt compelled to write about my own unhelpful experiences of healing prayer (there have also been many good ones). I fear it is maybe more … Continue reading Healing (?) Prayer
Dancing in the Dark 