Into the Wilderness

Several weeks ago, I started writing a post that I'd intended to share today as a kind of summing-up of the year.  I never quite managed to finish it. Now, if I'm honest, I'm glad I didn't.

Tears, Tantrums and Trusting (Part I) - Stop Dwelling in the Past

Forget about what's happened;

don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
(Isaiah 43:18-19, MSG)

I first had the idea for this mini-series of posts about two months ago, with a vague idea of the sort of thing it might be about, but nothing more. 

I'm definitely in the middle of a season of learning, and one of the main things it's been teaching me is how to live in the moment. It's something that's kept coming up over and over recently, so I thought it was about time I sat up and paid attention. 

This passage from Isaiah pretty much sums it up for me, and I particularly love the version in The Message - it packs a punch which, quite honestly, I need sometimes. 

The Bench by the Lake

It's September, and the new term has started. For me, this means a return to one of my favourite spots in the park near my office. A bench, by the side of a lake. 

It's a bench that's come to mean a lot to me since the spring brought its warmth and I first started visiting. It's the spot I've come to countless times to pray, to listen. 

Sitting back in that same spot yesterday, I found myself reflecting. Things are very different since the last time I was here, before the summer holidays.