One of the treats of our trip to Wales (amongst many!) was seeing an otter. Dave & Hilly had told us of their joy of seeing one the last time they were there, by their bench (as they called it) by the River Wye. Dave had uttered a simple prayer - 'Well, Lord, now would be a nice time to see an otter...' - and what do you know? They did!
It seemed too much to hope that we would be able to share the same experience with them - in the same place. I mean, what are the odds on that?! (I used to be a betting man in my youth - and let me tell you, it's very, very unlikely, when you take into account that otters don't run by timetables etc as we humans do...!) So, on our first evening at the caravan site we took a walk by the river...got as far as the bench...saw some birds...but no otters. We ambled back slowly, a little disappointed, if I'm honest...but a river is a river, and there was still hope...we were about halfway back when I saw the otter. A very quick glimpse, mind...but I was the only one who'd seen it. But it was only a few seconds...Then Dave saw it on the rocks further back! Our gazes were turned there instantly...but too late...it was gone! We lingered in hope by the river...and we were not disappointed! The otter came back to where I'd first seen him - popped his head up (we all had a clear view!) as if to say 'who are you guys?' - and then being satisfied with his curiosity, disappeared for the last time. Believe me - joy is best shared! Seeing it on my own was one thing - but for ALL of us to see it...well, you can't beat that!
After that, I was determined to try & see the otter again. Each evening & morning I would take a walk...and yes, Petra & I were rewarded with getting up at 6.00am (!!) to go down by the river - not only for the beauty of the misty morning...but at Dave & Hilly's bench, we saw the otter downstream - this time he was clearly fishing for his breakfast...diving up & down like a roller-coaster in the river... We didn't see him catch anything, but we did enjoy the beauty of watching him.
As I said earlier - what are the odds of that?! Not just once - but twice! I have only seen an otter 3 times in my life before that - and one of them was a sea otter in Scotland! But I do believe that God gives good gifts, and part of this is being in the right place at the right time. You just can't plan that kind of thing - it doesn't work that way. But I can trust God's character - that is far more reliable.
I know some people might think, 'well, nice story...but it's a bit of a coincidence, that's all...' I gave up believing in coincidences a while ago - now, for me, there's only God-incidences ;-)
The art of thinking...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Friendship...and how I became a birdwatcher...
We recently enjoyed a wonderful week in Wales with our old friends, the Burridges. Dave was my very first Christian friend, all those years ago on Castle Vale back in 1983. I was best man at his wedding to Hilly - they have now been married 24 years! Wow! It makes me feel a little old, I guess...but also very grateful for our friendship. We certainly don't see each other as often as we'd like to - distance, jobs, life etc - all of it seems to combine & means that (in the words of Jim Croce's 'Time in a Bottle')- 'there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them...' But the wonderful thing about friendship, especially our friendship, is that when we do meet up, it's just like putting my slippers on. It's comfortable. I feel relaxed. I don't have to impress, prove myself, pretend - all of that other stuff that we often have to plough through to find our way to a truly good & open friendship.
I remember the first time I met Dave. I was at a prayer meeting at the local church which I'd just joined. I was fresh from making my first step as a follower of Jesus (having gone forward at the Billy Graham Rally at Villa Park). I discovered that there were to be 2 separate prayer meetings - one for the 'more solid/mature/regular' believers...and one for us 'novices' ;-) Needless to say, our meeting was a quite affair. Half a dozen new believers with little idea of how to pray, what to pray etc can only make for a time that is less noisy than a trip around the local library...
However, that in the next room was Dave. Unbeknown to me at that time, this was Dave's first visit since he'd recommitted his life back to Jesus. He'd been involved in drugs - hard drugs...and God had healed him, taken him through the horrors of cold turkey without so much as a sweat...and he was, back on the road again. I heard him pray, "Oh well, Lord, here I am again..." - and that was the beginning of a really open prayer. I mean, I just did not know you could pray like that...I just had to meet this guy. And so began a very long friendship. I have know some people longer than Dave - but I have to say that the friendship with Dave is surely the deepest and the longest that I have. We've been through some things together...
Interestingly, it was Dave who ignited my love for birds. We were out walking at Plants Brook Park in Birmingham (when it was rough & ready)...a keen birder, he had his binoculars with him. We were talking about lie and stuff when he suddenly stopped and adopted (what we call in the trade) the 'twitching pose' - he'd seen something & was gazing at it through his binoculars. It was a kingfisher. He handed me the binoculars. I saw the most beautiful bird I'd ever seen - electric blue, glowing orange...diving into the water and back up to its perch above...I was hooked! Since that day, my love for bird-life has grown. Indeed, it was something of a compliment to be told on this trip by Dave that now perhaps Petra & my knowledge has surpassed his (though I doubt that...).
Certainly, my best friend is Petra, my wife - and that is how it should be. But I realised on this trip that what I have with Dave (& this includes Hilly, his wife) is something that can't really be measured. It grows, even if we don't have face-to-face contact. I am thankful for the wonders of modern technology - Skype, Facebook, E-mails, mobile phones...but you can't beat real friendship. It takes time. It sometimes comes where you don't expect it. And yes, it continues to grow. We all need close friends - I remember this every time I watch 'Shawshank Redemption' - and I'm glad for my friends...especially Dave. :-)
I remember the first time I met Dave. I was at a prayer meeting at the local church which I'd just joined. I was fresh from making my first step as a follower of Jesus (having gone forward at the Billy Graham Rally at Villa Park). I discovered that there were to be 2 separate prayer meetings - one for the 'more solid/mature/regular' believers...and one for us 'novices' ;-) Needless to say, our meeting was a quite affair. Half a dozen new believers with little idea of how to pray, what to pray etc can only make for a time that is less noisy than a trip around the local library...
However, that in the next room was Dave. Unbeknown to me at that time, this was Dave's first visit since he'd recommitted his life back to Jesus. He'd been involved in drugs - hard drugs...and God had healed him, taken him through the horrors of cold turkey without so much as a sweat...and he was, back on the road again. I heard him pray, "Oh well, Lord, here I am again..." - and that was the beginning of a really open prayer. I mean, I just did not know you could pray like that...I just had to meet this guy. And so began a very long friendship. I have know some people longer than Dave - but I have to say that the friendship with Dave is surely the deepest and the longest that I have. We've been through some things together...
Interestingly, it was Dave who ignited my love for birds. We were out walking at Plants Brook Park in Birmingham (when it was rough & ready)...a keen birder, he had his binoculars with him. We were talking about lie and stuff when he suddenly stopped and adopted (what we call in the trade) the 'twitching pose' - he'd seen something & was gazing at it through his binoculars. It was a kingfisher. He handed me the binoculars. I saw the most beautiful bird I'd ever seen - electric blue, glowing orange...diving into the water and back up to its perch above...I was hooked! Since that day, my love for bird-life has grown. Indeed, it was something of a compliment to be told on this trip by Dave that now perhaps Petra & my knowledge has surpassed his (though I doubt that...).
Certainly, my best friend is Petra, my wife - and that is how it should be. But I realised on this trip that what I have with Dave (& this includes Hilly, his wife) is something that can't really be measured. It grows, even if we don't have face-to-face contact. I am thankful for the wonders of modern technology - Skype, Facebook, E-mails, mobile phones...but you can't beat real friendship. It takes time. It sometimes comes where you don't expect it. And yes, it continues to grow. We all need close friends - I remember this every time I watch 'Shawshank Redemption' - and I'm glad for my friends...especially Dave. :-)
Blame...
I haven't posted for a while...there's lots of stories to tell & hopefully they will spill out over these pages in the coming days, but there is one theme which is sticking itself into my mind like a thorn - blame.
Over the last week I've heard a couple of 'personal' stories which are based on situations (for reasons of privacy, I won't reveal too much detail) where injustice is at work. Two people have been accused of doing something (in isolated incidents) which is almost certainly not true - one is to do with a 2-yr old driving accident, & the other is over something medical. What is clear to me is the need on the part of the 'accusers' to blame someone for the results of each incident - or 'alleged' results...(depends on the point of view, of course...)
When life is so 'random' (which it clearly is, if you have no belief in God), and things just don't work out as you think they should, then what do you do with that? It seems like an integral part of our human make-up - we have to find someone to blame. We can blame family, extend it to friends, generalise it to include the government, society...hey, even the dog/cat...weather?! There seems an inability to take responsibility for our actions, or even our part in something...it's always someone else's fault...
As a Christian, I am aware that this characteristic has been around for a very, very, very long time. Way back in the Garden of Eden we can read of the first instance of blaming someone else...
Adam & Eve have been advised by God that they can pretty much do what they want...BUT they 'should not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden'...not even touch it...or they would die. Fairly clear instructions. Along comes the serpent (representing the devil, or evil one) and he puts the seed of doubt into Eve's thinking...'Did God really say that?' The seed finds root...Eve takes a bite, gives some to Adam (who is standing there)...he takes a bite...and it's game over. God comes along, asks what's going on...(like he doesn't know!) - and Adam's reponse?! “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” In other words - 'Not my fault! Nothing to do with me! You put her here with me! It's your fault!' (At this point in the story, I wonder what would have happened if Adam had have said 'Fair cop! It was me!' ?? Better still...if when Eve had passed him the fruit he would have said, 'No way, lips that touch that shall never touch mine!' :-))
Eve's response? “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” - and there we have it - the first & original example of blame-shifting! :-) And who says that sin is NOT hereditary...?! Be honest with yourself - when was the last time you DID NOT blame someone else for something? Better still - when was the last time you took the responsibility for some 'mistake/error/fault'?
The horrific events over the weekend in Norway also highlight this tendency of the need to blame someone. Well, you would think it was cut & dried. They have the mass killer (for once he hasn't killed himself). But no. Now people want to blame the police (they weren't quick enough), the organisers of the camp (why was there no better protection?)...on and on it goes...And I wonder how many of the families concerned are blaming themselves for letting their children go to the event...?
A quick search for some quotes to do with this subject has brought up these:
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until... we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it." ~Sidney J. Harris
When you blame others, you give up your power to change. ~Author Unknown
I know I'm probably just rambling & my thoughts are not as coherent as I would like them to be...but I leave you with this one:
If you mess up, 'fess up. ~Author Unknown
Over the last week I've heard a couple of 'personal' stories which are based on situations (for reasons of privacy, I won't reveal too much detail) where injustice is at work. Two people have been accused of doing something (in isolated incidents) which is almost certainly not true - one is to do with a 2-yr old driving accident, & the other is over something medical. What is clear to me is the need on the part of the 'accusers' to blame someone for the results of each incident - or 'alleged' results...(depends on the point of view, of course...)
When life is so 'random' (which it clearly is, if you have no belief in God), and things just don't work out as you think they should, then what do you do with that? It seems like an integral part of our human make-up - we have to find someone to blame. We can blame family, extend it to friends, generalise it to include the government, society...hey, even the dog/cat...weather?! There seems an inability to take responsibility for our actions, or even our part in something...it's always someone else's fault...
As a Christian, I am aware that this characteristic has been around for a very, very, very long time. Way back in the Garden of Eden we can read of the first instance of blaming someone else...
Adam & Eve have been advised by God that they can pretty much do what they want...BUT they 'should not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden'...not even touch it...or they would die. Fairly clear instructions. Along comes the serpent (representing the devil, or evil one) and he puts the seed of doubt into Eve's thinking...'Did God really say that?' The seed finds root...Eve takes a bite, gives some to Adam (who is standing there)...he takes a bite...and it's game over. God comes along, asks what's going on...(like he doesn't know!) - and Adam's reponse?! “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” In other words - 'Not my fault! Nothing to do with me! You put her here with me! It's your fault!' (At this point in the story, I wonder what would have happened if Adam had have said 'Fair cop! It was me!' ?? Better still...if when Eve had passed him the fruit he would have said, 'No way, lips that touch that shall never touch mine!' :-))
Eve's response? “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” - and there we have it - the first & original example of blame-shifting! :-) And who says that sin is NOT hereditary...?! Be honest with yourself - when was the last time you DID NOT blame someone else for something? Better still - when was the last time you took the responsibility for some 'mistake/error/fault'?
The horrific events over the weekend in Norway also highlight this tendency of the need to blame someone. Well, you would think it was cut & dried. They have the mass killer (for once he hasn't killed himself). But no. Now people want to blame the police (they weren't quick enough), the organisers of the camp (why was there no better protection?)...on and on it goes...And I wonder how many of the families concerned are blaming themselves for letting their children go to the event...?
A quick search for some quotes to do with this subject has brought up these:
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until... we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it." ~Sidney J. Harris
When you blame others, you give up your power to change. ~Author Unknown
I know I'm probably just rambling & my thoughts are not as coherent as I would like them to be...but I leave you with this one:
If you mess up, 'fess up. ~Author Unknown
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Teacher SGO
