It's only 5am!

I am not an early riser by nature - I love the warmth of my bed and the comfort of lying flat. Now I'm reaping the consequences of heavy school bags and rounded shoulders, my neck isn't as strong as it used to be and complains after hours sitting in front of a laptop screen, writing.

Anyway, this morning I got up at the usual Tuesday time of  a little before 6am  so I could be at church by 6.30 am in time to set up for the service of Holy Communion at which our Bishop presides when he's able. I'd showered and dressed and was about to put on my watch, when I had to do a double-take - it wasn't 6.00 am as I thought - it was 5.00 am ! [and no - daylight saving clicked over the week before last so it wasn't that!]

5.00 am - I resist getting up that early but I was too far along the process to go back to bed so I took my laptop, went downstairs, sent Lara the labrador - always hopeful of  early biscuits- back to her bed and made myself a cup of tea.

There followed an hour of unexpected clarity about the next couple of sections of the book I'm currently writing - reference material, key concepts, questions, quotes - all just flowed as I spent time alternately writing [standing up at the sideboard as it's a good height] and wandering around the darkened lounge holding my warm drink and mulling things over.

Perhaps I was subject to a subtle Spirit strategy  - God knows my weakness, how I've struggled literally for years with getting up early, even naming it as my 'thorn in the flesh'!
Perhaps a moment of divine playfulness tickled my morning mind and the happy result was the gift of knowing what to write next!

Blessed be the God of surprises!

{ picture by Jean Keaton }

Ripples ...

Ripples

                                                                                                                  Photo BBC 2012

I'll bet many of us have stood at a  river's edge and skimmed a smooth stone across the surface ... there's been a a plop or two or even more to show  the extent of our skill and then the stone has sunk beneath the surface. The ripples have broken up and disappeared, but we know they were real. For a time, however brief, they were full of beauty and energy.

Sometimes I think about ripples when I'm writing - or trying to write. I think about all the books, articles, sermons and so on, written about 'listening' or 'God' or 'prayer' or 'love' or 'spirituality' and I wonder what on earth my writing - the 'stones' of books, articles, sermons and so on - could add to the world. Theologians and writers, scholars and poets far more gifted than I am have explored these themes before me - some of them making such a huge impact, it's as if they've dropped a large rock    [ with the help of a bulldozer ] into the ocean and set off a tidal wave! While I might have aspired to such an influence once, I know now that my contributions are more like the small pebbles a child might drop into the water with joy, without needing to know where the ripples end up. It is enough to know I've found and shaped a particular 'stone', and set it in motion. Its ripples will reach those to whom they will make a gentle difference, without my having to make it happen.

Sometimes I have a picture of a large expanse of water covered in circles of ripples which embrace the globe. And I begin to imagine ... you may like to join me ...

Imagine those of us who try to live a life that is kind and just, sending out ripples of love and hope and forgiveness and grace  as we go through our day ...
imagine persisting even when faced with failure, persecution, disappointment or apathy,
imagine  the Spirit of God breathing encouragement and wisdom into each of us until our ripples merge with others, and then ,
as these ever -widening circles of compassion move beyond our comprehension,
imagine  the world covered  'with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea'.

Let's see how many ripples of love and joy and peace we can send out today.