Unexpected bonus

Today was a glorious autumn day, far too good to get on with indoor tasks. The day has given way to a clear night with a good, bright moon for all the trick or treaters. But I'm looking forward to tomorrow - the beginning of another season celebrating the saints.

Beach time

Spent most of today at a family funeral in St Andrew's. The beach, as always, looked very inviting but there was no time for a walk. Must return soon and make the time.

Chill out

We host a monthly Taize service. It's good to continue this traditional style of worship, that originated during World War 2 in France. It's good to sing the simple chants and pray for peace. But the best bit of all is to just sit quietly for half an hour. There's just not enough opportunity for that in life.

Life is not a rehearsal

He would be 25 now. Instead I stood at his grave this morning with his mum, saying a prayer to mark the 4th anniversary of his death. And I marveled at this very intimate moment that I was allowed to share. Amazing and humbling. Amazing to be asked to "say some words" when folk are so overcome with grief that they cannot begin to describe. Humbling to be privy to the face behind the mask that is normally donned for the outside world.

Life is not a rehearsal. We either seize the moment and live life to the full or live with the regrets of missed opportunities.

Finding the end of the rainbow is a life long pursuit. Meantime, along the way, there are many stops and starts and twists and turns, each one offering opportunity, a gift of God.

New Tricks

it's alright, it's okay

doesn't really matter if you're old and grey

it's alright I say it's okay

listen to what I say

it's alright doing fine

doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine

it's alright I say its okay

getting to the end of the day

High tech, low tech, take your pick

you can't teach an old dog a brand new trick

I dont care what anybody says.

The week ended on a high note yesterday when I had the honour of being involved in a wedding ceremony.

There is nothing finer than celebrating love, especially when that love is mature and growing in folks who have seen a bit of life, who have known hurt and loss yet are not afraid of commitment.

This job is so unpredictable and always full of wonderful opportunities for learning.

Don't drop the coffin

I'm watching "Don't drop the coffin" a documentary series on TV about the work of a funeral director in London. There's always a lot of humour in the programme - as there has to be in that line of work to offset the sadness that also comes with the role. It fits the bill for me this week after a week of funerals.

Today, as we took a detour on the way to the graveyard so that we could pass the farm the grieving family had farmed for over 30 years, it seemed that even the cattle shared our sense of loss. One of the calves turned his head mournfully to watch us pass. It makes sense to lay folk to rest surrounded by the peace and beauty of creation of which they too have been a part. And, no matter how much sadness builds up when funerals come, as they often do, in batches, it is such an honour and a privilege to simply be there for folk and to be allowed, even just for a short time, to be a part of their lives.

A gift from God.

In sickness and in health

Married a lifetime

rubbing along together easily

instinctively knowing the other's thoughts

predicting their every need

sharing unconscious intimacies

that come naturally

through sharing so much

from the springtime of youth

to the autumn of age.

Settling comfortably

into a pattern

that is at once

familiar and love filled.

And then a brain attack

creeps in insidiously,

uninvited

certainly not welcome

and changes the whole fabric of life

the being

the doing

all the mechanics of everyday

irrevocably disturbed.

But not the love.

A love so deep

cannot be undermined

or weakened

No catastrophe

can reach in

and steal.

Even sadness

and pain

cannot erode

a channel of love

furrowed so deep

through the years.

What a privilege to witness

such love and such caring

such selfless giving

Something so real

it can withstand the strain.

That is the power of love.