I had reached the end of 2007 having had a year that was not so much a change to all previous years but a heart stopping, gut wrenching roller coaster ride. I’m not referring literally to the worlds tallest bungy jump or my white water rafting experience but rather the world being completely different to what might be expected. At the top of the things I’ve had confirmed this year is that there is always more to something than immediately appears. It’s never simple. People can surprise you by being more genuine than you can believe. Equally people can stick their foot out by being more fake than you can fathom.
Love is essentially the answer that the world is missing. I’m not big on quoting the bible at the moment, but 1 Corinthians 13 really defines love from a biblical and almost philanthropic view. I recently discovered and have been reading James Cary’s amazing Best of Both Worlds whose link is newly added to my own blog. It is resources like his website and other sensible books on the way Jesus really taught Christianity that are helping me through a time recently spent panicking and recoiling. It all comes back to love. Not only that, but love in action through our everyday and normal lives. Not superfluously sacrificial lives, not extraordinary lives; but ordinary lives.
One example. Referring back to James Cary’s recent posts on the state and family makes me realise just how far away from God’s intended perfect world we have become. Bizarrely it’s not exactly through lack of care - it is simply because well meaning people created a welfare system for those who fell in the gaps between families that could care for them. Now the welfare system caters for everyone so naturally the gaps become a lot larger and families become smaller and less important. I’m beginning to hope that it changes again by the time I get old.
Now then, I had some drafts of posts that never became. They were festering away being information to no one. One was about the Human Rights Day in South Africa; remembering the Sharpeville massacre. Another about a health clinic in Uganda near Jinja. Yet another being a celebration of finishing my final course in Cape Town. Finally, and more recently, was the beginning of a rant about the forest consuming Christmas card religion we find ourselves congregates of.
So I have now spring cleaned my blog for 2008 to make room for resolutions heading into the new year.
The final resolution(s) are not yet decided but in the wake of a most amazing Christmas and New Year in Europe I know that it can be as different again as last year. Intriguingly, I’m happy for it to be; even if it means another roller coaster of a year is ahead. Last year I posted a link to Jude’s blog which once again sums up my feelings as I head into the unknown abyss. Once again, scroll down, read the lyrics and listen to the song on my space (you can’t download it any more). It’s worth every mouse click you make.
Happy New Year, Bonn Annee!