Carole's Corner
Every exit is an entry to somewhere … Tom Stoppard.
Hi Folks
Phew … now I know why clergy take time out after Christmas. My first Christmas as a Curate has been brilliant but a real eye opener. I was expecting it to be busy but really hadn't appreciated just how much it would feel like being on a treadmill. Believe me, friends, when I say this vocation ain't no place for the faint-hearted. Good job God was on the case else the clergy team could have been in trouble!
And so, here we are heading into Lent, the season for gentle reflection on our lives and doing some clearing out of the unnecessary baggage we are trailing around. Start by clearing out your handbags, ladies, and see how much rubbish you're carrying about with you; gentlemen start by clearing out your tools store and get rid of all those broken bits you are never going to get around to mending.
Then, folks … do the same with your lives.
A good clear out, personal, physical and spiritual makes us healthier in mind and body to undertake the work we are required to do as Christians, preparing to transform church by firstly transforming ourselves. As we go to press, I shall have started my own reflection with some time out on retreat at Whitby. I am really looking forward to it and hoping the snow clears up in time for my journey.
Serious about health issues? …
#I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.#Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
#The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
#Health nuts are going to feel stupid some day … lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
#In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
#Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
#Never take life too seriously … nobody gets out alive anyway.
A prayer for Lent …
Lord Jesus,
You went into the wilderness to be apart,
as you so often went apart to pray,
to understand yourself and your mission.
In this world's busy ways
I seem to find time for you
only in snatches.
Lead me into prayer.
Teach me to want to pray,
to want your company -
even for a few minutes!
To enjoy your presence
in stillness of heart,
without wanting to rush away
and prefer something else.
Amen.
The Prayer Trust.
A thought for Lent …
I see the wrong that round me lies,
I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
The world confess its sin.
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings
I know that God is good!
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
May our journey through Lent be a blessing of renewal for us all.
Peace and love,
Carole.
