Much good news and many nice things to report this week. I have an interview for a job next Weds in the North East which I am very very excited about. My brother has finally completed 6 years of medical study, has passed all his exams and is now officially a Doctor. Eeeek. (Don’t get ill in August because he may have to treat you!) He has a job in Sunderland and will be living nearer to us when we move to Durham. We’re going to celebrate his success this weekend with a family meal which I am looking forward to.
For Jo’s wedding, I am a bridesmaid and she and her team of sewing experts have made me the prettiest dress; there will be 3 maids in total and we’re wearing the most beautiful shade of green and the most flattering dress ever. On Weds I went for a lovely dinner at her house, good chats with her and her parents and eventually, a fitting of the dress to check/alter the hemline. Her mum, Maggie, is fabulous and in charge of pastoral care at church. We had a long encouraging conversation about counselling and she gave me some resources to look through for training in that field, something I’m considering for the future.
I’m also going to the Harrogate Turkish Baths on Saturday for a friend’s hen do. The process is amazing and relaxing; after plunging in a icy pool of water, you can either sit in the eucalyptus steam rooms or head for 1 of 3 different level heated rooms, the idea being you work up to the hottest room through a series of cold dips, showers and steams. Going there will hopefully unwind the taut muscle that is aching in my shoulder – I think I may have strained it – and the group of girls in the hen party are great company so it should be an all round pleasant Saturday. Dave is going to hear Tom Wright (his theological idol -though I probably shouldn’t call him an idol) speak tonight and tomorrow, so he’s happy.
This week, from Milton’s blog ‘Don’t eat Alone‘ and from a daily devotional email, I was prompted to read the stories of Samuel and Saul in 1 Samuel in the Bible. God is teaching me through the lessons these two characters and their experiences. Samuel, hearing God’s voice in the night, eventually recognised it and obeyed him. Saul, trying to manipulate circumstances for his own purposes disobeyed God’s orders, unwilling to wait and sealed his fate as King. In this time of preparing to move on, these stories are speaking to me about God’s great mercy and guidance. This is a waiting space for Dave and I and the temptation for me is to plan ahead, doing what I want or what I think I should do and not waiting for what God calls me to. It would be so easy to find an admin job that was well paid, comfortable and mundane but God is pushing me out of my financial security comfort zone and asking me to trust him with the next step. My lessons are to hear and respond to God and not to pre-empt Him or disobey him.
Most of all this week, in my reading and my experiences, I have learnt of God’s delight. A friend drew my attention to Zephaniah 3 v.17:
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Here we are at a crossroads, a point of change and God is working out his purposes, quietening my anxieties with his love and rejoicing over me as I learn to walk in his ways.
