A Shower

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I’m not talking about rain, but a shower I can stand under and be made clean. Yes, my bathroom is now finished and fully operational. One does not appreciate something until you don’t have it. A shower is definitely important in my life.

But as I write I realise not everyone has the luxury of running water. Water has to be collected from a well or nearby stream. Life is so unbalanced. Why should I have water and not others? Realising the countries that some of you come from I realise how fortunate I am. Why should life be so unequal? I can give some money for aid but it might not reach the right place and it might not reach my readers.

We need water, yes, but we also need the eternal life-giving water that God gives. That water will never run out or be stale. It is always available.

My Tree

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I think I’ve written before about the tree outside my house. I can’t be technical and tell you what kind of tree it is; it is just a tree which is very much appreciated by me. During lockdown, in the last twelve months I have been photographing it at regular intervals. At the moment it is at it’s best; all the leaves bright green and healthy. Fortunately autumn is still a long way off.

One of the reasons I started to photo it (there wasn’t much else to see) because it is increasing greatly in size. I’m afraid the council might cut it down, or at least cut it back drastically. If there was no tree I would just be looking at the house opposite and a tree is always more beautiful. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. It will be too late to take a picture of it then.

This has happened before. I came home one day and a tree had been cut down. It was too late to do anything about it. Nature and of course, God gives us something that nothing else can.

Gardener

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Oh dear, I’ve got to the stage where I can’t cut my own lawn any more. I think it’s called old age. I have a poor record in regard to gardeners. I lost my last one just before the beginning of covid. Others I have lost, one went to New Zealand, one retired, one had a breakdown, and one became a long distance lorry driver. (No of this is anything to do with me, I assure you)

I now have Stephen and have high hopes of him being satisfactory. He does have to travel 30 miles but spends one day a week in my area. My grass is now so long that tiny animals can hide in it. I do like neat and short lawns, but am doing my bit for the environment by having one of the lawns as a short flower wild meadow. Well, I should be. It was planted six weeks ago and so far there is no evidence of wild flowers, or any other flowers for that matter. It must be the fault of our very cold autumn. I’ll let you know when I have a lawn to be proud of.

New Wet Room

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After fifteen months, it’s finally happening. I’m having a new wet room. Strictly speaking, it’s not a new wet room, it’s a shower and bath removal being replaced by a wet room. With a broken shower door and a bath which I couldn’t get out of, a change was necessary. This was the third manufacturer I had contacted, and then there was the delay of covid, but I’m here now.

I am conscious that some of you reading this would be happy to have a bathroom of any kind. In fact, you would be happy to have running water. Life is unfair when some countries have so much and other have little. I don’t think God ever said it would be fair.

Moving Mountains

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Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:21 that if we have enough faith we will be able to move mountains. I firmly believe that in the power and strength of God we will be able to move mountains and do the impossible.

But I’ve also found that often He expects us to climb the mountain rather than move it. That takes a great deal of effort on our part.

To Hug or not to Hug

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We are now faced with another problem. We have permission to hug. The trouble is I’ve forgotten who is on my ‘hug list’. There were some people I hugged, some I shook hands with, some I tapped on the shoulder or put my hand on their arm. With one lovely friend who came to Spain with me, we have a double kiss. That was how we greeted in the Spanish church by dozens of people. I’ve never been kissed by so many men in one day!

Some of my friends have mentioned that they don’t like hugs. That’s fine, but what about the others. Will they think me unfriendly if I don’t and they do? Or will they think me forward if I do and they don’t? OK, kissing is out with masks on but I still have the problem. Do I hug or not hug?

Mobile Phone

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The battery in my mobile phone was not holding the charge well. A quick visit to the shop to change the battery was all I expected to have to do. Oh, no. I needed a new phone.75 minutes later i walked out of the shop with this new phone. Now I’ve got a few actions I don’t understand, so another visit to the shop is required. Why is nothing simple these days?

Like my phone, my body is wearing out. I can have a few replacements parts but they’re never as good as the parts God gave me. Roll on the day when I have a new body in a new world.

Inside/Outside

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It has been hard in England not to be able to invite people into our houses. Thank goodness this rule has now been relaxed. It has been fun but now the novelty is wearing off to have people sitting in the garden under their umbrellas and having to cover the snacks so that they don’t get soggy. It didn’t always rain, but it seemed like it.

It made me think about the homeless people. I’m used to walking in my front door and shutting out the bad weather. They don’t have that luxury. Rain means soggy bedding, frost means intense cold and a wind means there is no comfort anywhere. Oh Lord, have mercy on them.

Borders

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Borders between countries are a necessary evil. They keep people out, they keep in, they keep people separated.

In my own small way I’ve been affected by a border. Living only nine miles from the English/Scottish border, for the last four months I’ve not been able to go into Scotland. Now the border is open and a relative has been able to come down to see me and soon I will cross the border to see him. The current rules are so different. In Scotland you can eat a meal inside a restaurant but not have a drink. In England you can’t eat inside a restaurant but you can have a drink. We obviously took advantage of the drinks part!

The Israelites had their own problems with borders. When travelling to the Promised Land they crossed many borders and fought many battles. Do we have borders in our lives; do we have borders with people?

Hair Cut

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I’ve now joined the ranks of those who have shorn locks. At first it was a novelty for me to have long hair but it soon became a problem as to how to wear it. I now feel I can face the world again looking smart. It is important to me how I look.

But maybe I need to forget my looks and think about my heart and soul. We are often told in the Bible that the outward appearance does not matter, it is the heart and soul which is important. So I’ll continue to feed that, but meanwhile I’m very happy to have had my hair cut.

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