Tag: life

In this place

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Some days the first words we read resonate & reverberate within us- marinating throughout the day in our minds like dinner in a slow cooker! The words cause reflection & one thought ignites another.

I read a devotional based on Genesis 39 on the first 5 app. It was entitled ‘God is with you in this place.’

The story told how God was with Joseph in prison (v21)

Of course God is omnipresent-everywhere & all around:
‘We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.’
(CS Lewis)

And there are times when we are deeply aware of God’s presence. We may have an extra-special sense of God being with us in church or elsewhere during a time of worship.

I remember one Friday afternoon when the band were practicing before Focusfest, beautiful words & music filled the Waterfront auditorium:
‘We bow down & confess
You are Lord in this place’
(Viola Grafstrom)

The awesome sense of God’s presence was palpable. I acknowledged ‘You are Lord in this place’

But sometimes,like Joseph we find ourselves in unexpected & difficult places. Even in those dark,unwanted places, God is there.

Since being reminded of Joseph’s story, I’ve recalled some of the places this journey has taken me to so far:

I’ve felt under stress at work. I felt utterly spent & at the end of myself. I declared to my empty room & computer screen that I just couldn’t do this any more. Not. Even. One. More. Day.

God was with me in this place.

I’ve obeyed & gone where I believed God wanted me to go. But it was more difficult than I imagined & I felt more useless than ever before.

God was with me in this place.

I’ve had sleepless nights caused by uncertain diagnoses & worrying about precious family facing major surgery.

God was with me in this place.

I’ve been confined to the ward with devastating postnatal illness. I’ve faced the aftermath & painstakingly slow road to recovery.

God was with me in this place.

Throughout the pages of the Bible, there are many true stories of God being with His children in unexpected places:

In the flames of a furnace,
God was with Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego in this place.

In front of a giant,
God was with David in this place.

In the stomach of a whale,
God was with Jonah in this place.

If you are following Jesus as a child of God, He is with you in this place.

Wherever you are, He’s there too.

In this place of broken dreams & shattered hope.
In this place of grief, hardship, pressure & pain.
In this place of suffering

Wherever you are:
God is there with you & even more astoundingly within you!

This place, this unexpected, dark, difficult ,unwelcome place that you find yourself in, may be a place of blessing in disguise:

‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
(Blessings– Laura Story)

At times we may feel we are free-falling to this place, but we are being held by the everlasting arms of our Heavenly Father. He holds the planets in orbit in this universe & so, we can hold on to Him with trust & hope in this place.

If you find yourself in one of those places today, remember:
‘Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God’s plans,
but God is not helpless among the ruins.’
(Eric Liddell)

‘All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestations of His grace, power & love’
(Hudson Taylor)

Blessings,

Ruthx

Life is beautiful 

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The photo above captures what my husband Rob has {unaffectionately} christened our house tattoo.

He has minimalist ideas & was aghast at this wall art. He doesn’t realize (yet) that it’s removable, so for now, ‘Life is beautiful’ is our home’s tattoo.

‘Life is beautiful’ -not in a Pinterest perfect,whimsical,shabby-chic sort of a way.
But, ‘Life is beautiful’ in a messy,lovely sort of way-a deep beneath the surface beauty, surviving the battering storms, rising from the ashes.

My favourite film ever is Life is Beautiful -or should I say La vita e bella- for the original is in Italian with English subtitles. Roberto Benigni became an Academy Award winner in 1999 for his role as Guido.

Hearing the sunny Italian greetings in the piazza, in the film, instantly transports me to Orta. And reminiscing about idyllic holidays, counting blessings beside the blue blooming hydrangea.

In the film, Guido’s wonderful life takes a grim turn when he & his wife & young son are taken to a concentration camp. Yet, even here, he manages to make life fun for his son.

As time marches on, we have marked over seventy anniversaries of the liberation of Auschwitz. If we held a minute silence for every victim of the Holocaust then we would be silent for eleven and a half years.

While this tragi-comedy makes us laugh-out-loud in places, it in no way diminishes the horror of the Holocaust. By focusing on the devastating effects on one family it makes poignant powerful impact.

The film portrays how Guido chooses to make life beautiful in the darkest of places for his wife Dora & son Giosue

Our life is beautiful-because God is making it so:
‘He has made everything beautiful in its time.’
(Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

Everything- the good, the bad & the ugly can be made beautiful by our Creative, Redeeming God
The verse continues:
‘He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

In ways we cannot fathom, beyond our understanding God creates beauty for time & eternity-that we might know Him:
‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ (John 17:3 NIV)

In the pressure & grind of mundane, daily life, I often loose my bearings. I can’t see the beauty. I get easily annoyed by trivial problems, nuisances, & IT hiccoughs.

I can’t see the wood for the trees. I can’t see the blessings though they are all around.

‘Sometimes all we need is a little perspective’ -as Jones in the Noticer says
Somedays, I’d be transformed with even an ounze of perspective!

And God can give us a glimpse of His perspective. He can lead us to higher ground:
The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT)

He can help us soar:
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31 NLT)

From these heights:

We can see His purposes, rather than our problems
We can see rainbows rather than thunderstorms
We can see the exquisite tapestry above rather than the tangle of dark threads underneath.
We can trust His promises & trace His grace.

And truly see:
Life is beautiful

Blessings,
Ruth x


Updated from http://www.blessedme.co.uk

Just real ordinary 

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In the pre-digital days of photography when we sent off films to be developed, I often collected a packet of disappointingly bad photos with unwanted red-eyes & fingers obscuring the object!Now in our digital age we can delete them before anyone sees them & photoshop the good ones to make them even better!

Apparently, 200,000+ images make their way onto Facebook alone every minute. Yahoo! claims that as many as 880 BILLION photos were taken in 2014 (popphoto.com)

On the World Wide Web, we can project the Facebook perfect, Pinterest pretty version of our lives. Life can be bunting & cupcakes, on matching Cath Kidston & Bridgewater tableware, surrounded by our airbrushed family in colour co-ordinated clothing – a life where everything goes according to plan…

Often we are zoned into the virtual world, which exists only on our smart phones & tablets. We can become preoccupied with an edited & digitally enhanced version of reality – that is not real at all. A distortion of the truth , which in reality is a {little white} lie.

‘Stop instagramming your perfect life’ urged Shauna Neiquist in Relevant magazine.

Most of us will freely admit that our lives are far from perfect- more like an episode from the Simpsons than the Waltons (even on a good day!)

When we compare our lives to others on-line, our lives may seem:
Mundane
Routine
Normal
Uneventful
Ordinary

Our real life may fall short of our {unrealistic} expectations

On-line comparisons can affect our perspective of the snapshots in the panorama of our everyday life. Seasons of life may seem dull-black & white vistas interrupted by the odd colourful celebration. We perceive uneventful weeks punctuated by
the occasional unexpected event- compared to other’s action-packed colourful instagrammed lives!

‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ Theodore Roosevelt wrote. Conversely, gratitude nurtures our joy.

So,’Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life’ (Galatians 6:4, 5 MSG)

Also,we can be totally immersed in our virtual {unreal} world to the detriment of our spiritual well-being. I ask myself:
Are we dazzled by the eye-candy of perfect images on the web & starving our souls?
Are we captivated by God or distracted by a million & one snippets of {useless} information bombarded to us daily on our smart phones?

Hudson Taylor wrote, ‘If we are faithful to GOD in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life.’

In this age of technologically enhanced images, we need to focus on the fact proclaimed thousands of years ago that we are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27) And He is conforming us to be more like Jesus.

‘What we are becoming is more important than what we are accomplishing’ (Catherine Campbell)

‘It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with {social media & the World Wide Web} when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.’
(Adapted from C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses)

Frederick Buechner writes:
‘God is right here in the thick of our day-by-day lives… trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world.’ (The Magnificent Defeat)

‘If God doesn’t rule your mundane, then he doesn’t rule you. Because that’s where you live.’(Paul Tripp)

Jesus lived for thirty quiet years before three in the spotlight.

His birth was not Christmas card picture perfect-

His death was too horrific for our minds to truly picture.

Jesus, who knew the sweat & grim of an ordinary carpenter’s workshop, who walked the ordinary dusty Galilean roads,can infuse our ordinary days with his extraordinary presence. He can bring the miraculous to the mundane.

Because:
‘Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries’
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

‘God breaks into real,normal, boring time & makes Himself known’
(Amy Orr-Ewing)

Our God breaks into ordinary lives of working people:

The shepherds were looking after sheep on Bethlehem’s hillside, just as they had many nights before, when a myriad of angels appeared, proclaiming Jesus’ birth.

Peter & Andrew were casting nets.They had gone fishing as they did everyday.

Matthew was collecting taxes-business as usual.

They had an encounter with Jesus just where they were.

We can have encounters with God everyday- on a Monday en route to work just as much as in the church sanctuary on a Sunday. He can transform our 2D monochrome moments into 4D technicolor by His Spirit in us.

So,
‘Do the most everyday & insignificant tasks, knowing that God can see…We are doing more than we know’ (George Matheson)

We can see glimpses of God in our ordinary life!

Rather than waiting on the next big thing, we can wait on God here in this moment:
‘What we have is time. And what we do is waste it, waiting for those big spectacular moments. We think that something’s about to happen—something enormous and newsworthy—but for most of us, it isn’t. This is what I know: the big moments are the tiny moments. The breakthroughs are often silent, and they happen in the most unassuming of spaces.’
(Shauna Neiquist in the foreword Jeff Goins – The In-Between)

‘Maybe what we call “mundane,” what feels boring and ordinary, is really how we spend our lives. And we have an opportunity to make of it what we will—to resent its lack of adventure or rejoice in its beauty. Perhaps the abundant life we’ve been seeking has little to do with big events and comes in a subtler form: embracing the pauses in between major beats.’
(Jeff Goins The In-Between)

The banner outside Bethany Baptist proclaims:
‘Ordinary people worshipping an extraordinary God’

This Extraordinary God can make our ordinary lives extraordinary ,
not perfect-but real.

So,
‘So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering’ (Romans 12:1, 2 MSG)

‘Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference’ (William James)
{because it does!}

Blessings,

Ruth x

*Revised & updated from original post @ www.blessedme.co.uk

For the troubled soul

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The days feels longer & bleaker than usual -the weather, the viruses, getting through the art & science of medicine. Hearing others’ bad news on Facebook, in work,in church, on the news.

We know that nobody said it’d be easy- but sometimes life feels just too hard,doesn’t it?

“Life is hard, but good,” said one of the speakers at an OMF afternoon. I knew what she meant- hard in the same way climbing a mountain is difficult but enjoying the stunning view at the top makes everything feel good.

It tied in to the audiobook I’d been listening to en route- Shauna Niequist’s book Bittersweet -reflections on the intermingling of bitterness & sweetness, heartbreak & hope in life.

I woke up early yesterday thinking about suffering & sadness , healing & hope. This deep subject was in my pre-caffeinated mind as it spilled over from a tangent discussed at the ladies Bible study the night before.

But how can we ever begin understand the complex interplay of faith & prayer, healing & medicine& the rainbow of the sovereignty of God overarching it all?

Sometimes, in tough times we need verses with promises like Romans 8:28 read out loud & clear. Sometimes we need our reality to be validated, someone to draw alongside us with few words, & fewer answers.

“Life sucks sometimes,” was one of the most helpful empathetic statements our former Pastor spoke to Rob in our darkest chapters.

In the difficult times, it can be hard to stay positive & faith-filled.Life can hurt deeply. When our soul aches,it’s ok to trust yet doubt, to hope yet hurt. And it’s OK to go to God with our questions & frustrations.He knows our thoughts before we speak them. He knows our limitations:

We see tangled threads rather than the finished tapestry.
We see the messy middle rather than the finished masterpiece.

And we can’t make sense of it- any more than clay can comprehend the potter.
We can’t see the big picture.
The unseen.
The invisible.

Yet,
‘Each strand of sorrow has a place 
Within this tapestry of grace’
(Getty Music-The Perfect wisdom of our God)

On Sunday morning I was reading about what Celtic Mystics described as thin places. Places where heaven almost touches earth, & God meets with us. I was thinking more of moments rather than physical places- where the almost palpable presence of God touches our troubled souls.

We can experience the presence of God in the breath-taking wonder of His stunning creation.

Our quiet times can be thin places when we read with the Author.

God connects with my daily life when I truly pray. Often it’s the depth rather than the length of my prayers that matters.

Thin places also occur when we feel stretched & overwhelmed, when we experience heart-wrenching pain that comes from being as broken as this planet we live on.

‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world’
(CS Lewis-the problem of pain)

In the thin places, our God offers peace to our troubled souls 
‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’
(Psalm 147:3 NIV)

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 NIV)

We don’t have to understand.
We don’t have answers but we do have our Saviour’s presence- through it all.

Life is hard but God is always faithful & always there

‘God withholds in His wisdom what He could provide by His power. I don’t know why He does it, but I’m thankful I don’t have to’
(Dr Larry Crabb – quoted by Emily P Freeman in A Million Little Ways)

‘We commit ourselves to Him, yes; but far more important, He has committed Himself to us, & what He takes He holds,& what He holds He moulds, & what He moulds He uses’
(Norman Grubb, The Spontaneous You)

I love that image- the Potter is holding & moulding.

Even when we feel like we’re free falling & life is reeling out of control, we are held- in His hands, & He never lets go.

In this journey we call life,
‘Instead of a map, our Father offers his hand.’
(Emily P Freeman)

….’and when you can’t see His hand trust His heart’ (Anon)

Blessings,

Ruth x

PS You may also like:

Trust -choosing to see the invisible

* Edited & updated- originally posted @ www.blessedme.co.uk

Just trust- choosing to see the invisible 

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Rob & I attended a friend’s wedding on 19th July. It was a beautiful sunny day- just like our own wedding day on the same day- now over twenty years ago!

I reminisced & listened misty-eyed to Pachelbel’s Canon & to the poetic vows, promises made to stand by each other & remain true-no matter what:
For richer or poorer 
For better or worse
In sickness & health

Twenty years on, we are very happily married. But looking back over the years, there have been both the best & worst of times. There has been sickness & health. There have been a complete spectrum of stresses, and even bright sunny days can be overcast by boulders carried in our hearts.

And we are not alone in life-experiences! Indeed if we all threw our troubles up in the air ,we would probably be glad if we caught our own again!

I believe that ‘the Universe is made up of stories, not of atoms’ (Muriel Rukeyser) And over the course of time, the story of our life together has mingled with the stories of those we go through life with- family, friends, colleagues, our wider social circle & friends of friends. We hear their stories over cosy cups of coffee, via social media & prayer bulletins. The stories criss-cross with our own, & intertwine together, to form part of a bigger story that we call everyday life.

So many of these true stories are sadder than fiction:
sudden deaths & tragic accidents
babies dying before they are born, 
diagnoses that are beyond chemotherapy & modern medicine,
teenagers taking their own lives,
alcohol & drugs,
debt & stress,
mental illness,
divorce.

In the middle of difficulties, when our head is swirling, we need to focus on a still, unchanging point in our reeling world. In the ever-changing vista of the kaleidoscope of life, when life feels like its spinning out of control, we need to focus on God- the One who keeps galaxies in orbit. 

We need to be still & see with the eyes of faith 
‘ Open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.’
(Psalm 34:8 MSG)

We can have the eyes of our heart wide-open to the invisible:
‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ‘(Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

In the hard, hurting pages in the dark chapter of life, it can be hard to ‘see’ God, the Author of our life-but God is at work in our stories 

Even when we can’t see God’s hand, we can trust His heart. He is behind the scenes:
‘So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace…There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever. ‘(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG)

God can mend tattered hearts & broken dreams. He can  put the fragile, broken pieces back together again- the way they were always meant to fit together-like a brilliant craftsman forming his masterpiece.

There are things we just can’t see at the moment, but our invisible God is at work

‘So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are! will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.’
(1 Peter 5:10 MSG)

I was listening to an audio-version of Kay Warren’s book ‘Choose joy for happiness isn’t enough’ earlier this year. Her words feel even more poignant since the shocking news that her son committed suicide. In the book, Kay describes joy & sorrow like parallel tracks on the railway of life.

I too am convinced that joy & sorrow, love & suffering, peace & pain are inextricably linked –but in an even more intricate way than parallel tracks. Perhaps, they are intertwined like the twisting double stranded helix molecule of DNA – the blue print of life itself. Just as DNA is held together by hydrogen bonds, the twists & turns in life are stabilised by intricate bonds of the love & mercy, grace & goodness of God.

Just now, in this moment of time, our lives may seem like a tangled mess- but with the eye of faith, we can choose to see that even the troubles & trials, stresses & strains, the bitter & sweet are part of the intricate plans of the perfect infinite wisdom of our God.

Our God created the cosmos, designed our souls & planned our destinies. Yet He carries our burdens and collects our tears:
‘You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in your book?’
(Psalms 56:8NASB)

‘You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.’ (Psalm 56:8 MSG)

We have to choose to see the unseen-to trace the invisible fingerprints of God in our lives, as He weaves His thread of blessings through the twisting helix of life. He alone can weave all things together for our good (Romans 8:28) into the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11)

Even when things don’t seem to make sense, & everything seems random & chaotic , we can praise Him where we are at- ‘in the storm- even when our hearts are torn’ (Casting crowns) 

We can offer a ‘Broken hallelujah’ (Mandisa) & exclaim “Blessed be the name of the Lord”

We can proclaim:
‘This is not how it should be,
This is not how it could be,
This is how it is,
And our God is in control

This is not how it will be,
When we finally will see
We’ll see with our own eyes
He was always in control

This is not where we planned to be
When we started this journey
But this is where we are
And our God is in control’
(Steven Curtis Chapman)

As we open wide the eyes of our heart in faith, we will fall upwards into the arms of our Almighty Father God.

There we can whisper:
‘I know now Lord why you utter no answer. You yourself are the answer’ (C S Lewis)

And He promises:
“I’ll convert their weeping into laughter, 
lavishing comfort,
invading their grief with joy.”
(Jeremiah 31:13 MSG)

May this be our prayer:
‘O grant me wisdom from above, 
To pray for peace and cling to love, 
And teach me humbly to receive 
The sun and rain of Your sovereignty. 

Each strand of sorrow has a place 
Within this tapestry of grace; 
So through the trials I choose to say: 
“Your perfect will in Your perfect way ‘
(Stuart Townend)

But for now,
                Just trust

Blessings,

Ruth x

*Edited from post originally published @ www.blessedme.co.uk

Simply abide

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In a world that’s shaken by terrorists & when the daily news is almost too painful to watch, when hurricanes are storming across the planet,it’s all too easy to feel anxious & insecure.
But even in tumultuous times & uncertain days we can have inner peace:
‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”’
(Psalm 91:1-2 ESV)

Jesus said,”As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
(John 15:9 ESV)

Though we live in this broken,messy world we can choose to abide in the love of God & dwell in His presence. We can experience His peace.

I’ve been reading Simply Tuesday by Emily P Freeman ‘Small- moment living in a fast-moving world’ Emily tells the story of how her family & another neighbour bought matching benches & place them in their cul-de- sac. The benches provided space for them to connect on an ordinary day( like Tuesday- arguably the most ordinary day of the week!)

Emily looked out on the benches from her kitchen window & pondered ‘How can I sit down on the inside?’

When we feel overwhelmed we too need to pause ‘on the inside’ & allow your soul to breathe. We need to find a metaphorical bench to sit down ‘inside’ if we can’t locate a real one.

When life feels busiest , we often need to stop & simply draw aside and sit on the bench with our Heavenly Father who knows what we really need. And sometimes our deepest need is simply to be still, and find rest in Him alone.

Consider the Hebrew word ‘Selah’ in the Psalms. It’s more than a musical term. The Amplified Bible adds ‘pause and calmly think about that’ to each verse where ‘selah’ appears. Perhaps we need to place a bench in our day- where we pause, think & praise. We need to punctuate our life with interludes- quiet moments with God.
‘Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.’
(Psalm 46:8-10 MSG)

If we sit on the bench for long enough we may be ‘able to see the handwriting of a holy God where another person just sees the same old tired streets & sidewalks’ (Shauna Niequist)

When we’re sitting on the bench:
We’ll not just watch the world go by-we’ll pray to the One who made it.
We might count the stars- & praise the One who made them.
We’ll count our blessings- & thank the Giver
We’ll communicate with the One who can solve our problems- & trade worry for calm.
We’ll connect with our True Friend:

‘He is our eternal Friend- continually, under all circumstances, & constantly ready to prove Himself as our Friend (George Mueller)

Jesus said, “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
(Matthew 11:30 MSG)

Even in days like today?
Yes- even today. For Jesus also said,
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 NLT)

So,’Sit on a bench, count the stars & let your soul breathe’ (Emily P Freeman)

Blessings,

Ruthx

Updated & edited from original post @ http://www.blessedme.com

An empty cup

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I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again. But I did.

I drove along the Portaferry Road on the last whiff of petrol- literally running on empty. I was totally stressed out- panicking that my wee car was going to breakdown when I was forced to stop at road works. I had palpitations as I drove past the Floodgates. My car gasped its way to the petrol station where I re-fuelled & breathed a huge sigh of relief.

As I reflected on & overthought this experience I knew it was a metaphor for my life. Due to circumstances beyond my control, work had been busier than I ever intended it to be. I felt like it was overtaking my life & squeezing energy out of me. I had been running on empty & getting nowhere fast.

‘Being busy is not the same as being productive. It’s the difference between running on a treadmill and running to a destination. They’re both running, but being busy is running in place.’
(Peter Bregman)

‘Busyness is an illness of the spirit’ said the wise Eugene Peterson.

‘Rest Before you are tired’ said the equally wise A.Nonymous.

‘We must deliberately build margin into our lives, or our busy seasons will become permanent’ urged Michael Hyatt.That quote stopped me in my tracks.
  
I didn’t want to feel this way permanently. Margin was the alternative. Margin grasping the edges of our days & the chapters our lives sounded like utopia.

I don’t have as much time to read as I’d like- but sometimes even reading the title & tag line is enough to feel a little re-fuelled eg:
‘Reset-Living a grace paced life in a burnout culture’ (David Murray)

 ‘Present over perfect -leaving behind frantic for a simpler, more soulful way of living ‘(Shauna Niequist)

A grace-paced, soulful way of living is an elysian idea.

How do we exchange our emptiness for this?

‘The first step toward rejuvenation begins with accepting where you are and exposing your poverty, frailty, and emptiness to the love that is everything.’
(Brennan Manning)

‘We refuel by refocusing on God’ (Whitney Capps)

‘We can’t trade empty for empty
We must go to the waterfall 
For there’s a break in the cup that holds love
Inside us all’
(David Wilcox)

The universal truth states,’You can’t pour from an empty cup’

You just can’t.

And we’re broken people. We’re easily depleted. We don’t stay full for long. We leak.

We need to return to the all sufficiency of God whose love & grace pour out like mighty eternal waterfalls.
Just as my car needed re-fuelled with unleaded petrol, we need refilled by the Spirit of God.

‘Be Filled with the Spirit’ 
(Ephesians 5:18- NIV)

 Or as Paul literally wrote ‘ Be being filled’ – keep being filled.
In the daily grind of life, we need to spend time with the Author of Life, infusing us with His strength & Spirit. We need to bring the burdens that are weighing us down & depleting our joy. And exchange them for the fullness of His truth & grace.

There’s soothing balm in Jesus’ words:
 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Matthew 11:28-29 NLT)

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

If you feel like an empty cup, the best place to go is the Waterfall 
‘You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your word to renew me’ (Psalm 119:114)

‘Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord! 
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul; 
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more 
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole! ‘
(Richard Blanchard)

Blessings,

Ruthx

*originally posted in June2017 @ http://www.blessedme.co.uk

Embrace the detour

curlysue028

We had packed the campervan for two weeks in Tuscany via the Alps & the Med. Shorts & T-shirts & lots of sun cream. The four of us needed a sunshine infused holiday. I had researched the campsites & had planned the sights to see ( including the leaning tower of Pisa & the Duomo in Florence)

I just about got finished at work – & breathed a sigh of relief as we all clambered into the van.
Then, en route the ferry at Belfast, the van heaved & grew noisier. The Air Conditioning broke (although I t had just been fixed- apparently)

It’d be too uncomfortable in the heat sans A.C. I reluctantly agreed with Rob’s idea to stay north toward cooler climates. We turned left at Calais & kept driving! We visited Belgium, Germany, Denmark & the Netherlands. We went to the flower market in Amsterdam, got chocolate & waffles in Bruges & walked alongside the Wall in Berlin. We got drenched in Copenhagen & longed for the Italian sunshine. We drove past cornfields but wanted to see lakes & mountains after miles of flatness.

In life,things sometimes don’t work out as we anticipated. There are detours from our planned route when things go wrong- unexpected exam results, diagnoses & illnesses. Life can be interrupted by issues with our relationships, careers or health.

‘You may not want to embrace where you are.But it’s so important to embrace whose you are’. (Crystal Evans Hurst)

‘Even if it feels like nothing is turning out as you ultimately hoped, He who is Hope Himself is turning things around for your ultimate good'(Ann Voskamp)

We can trust Him in the detour.

‘Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! ‘(Proverbs 3:5&6 MSG)

And at the end of the day,

‘The good news is you don’t have to know where the trail leads in order to follow it’
(Chrystal Evans Hurst)

For,’Those who walk with God always reach their destination’ (Anon)

‘It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place’ (Elizabeth Elliot)

Blessings,

Ruthx

Life as a fairytale

curlysue028

As I started thinking about my story, I felt that God wanted us to think about the whole concept of life as a story & how our lives are part of His great story.
This is not an original thought:
Max Lucado has launched a book entitled ‘God’s story, your story’

John Eldredge wrote another book ‘Epic-the story God is telling’

These books explore the concept of how our story intersects with God’s grand epic of everlasting redemption. They look at how this narrative we call life- from time to eternity, reveals God & His ways.

It’s not a new idea. In the 1800s Hans Christian Andersen wrote:

‘Every person’s life is a fairytale written by God’s fingers’

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “My life is definitely not a fairytale!”
But think about it, fairytales aren’t all sweetness & light & ‘happily ever after’ For every damsel in distress, & prince that’s trying to save her, there are witches, dragons, wolves & allsorts of darkness lurking!

Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid- had to deal with a Sea Witch stealing her voice & adapt to life on two legs on dry land when her heart belonged in the sea! While Cinderella had ugly stepsisters, never-ending housework, midnight deadlines & lost slippers!
Fairytales begin traditionally with ‘Once upon a time’-whereas life’s story started with ‘In the beginning, God’ (Gen 1:1) God is before the beginning, & after the ending! He is the Author of life.
David the Psalmist wrote ‘You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed’ (Psalm 139:16)

Life’s story is of course true & real, fact-not fiction. Our story may at times seem simple, yet at other times be hard to tell. Words of wonder & happiness are interspersed with words of challenge & grief.

Our real story begins, when we truly start living, when we trust Jesus as Saviour- for He says in John 10:10 ‘I came so they can have real & eternal life, more & better life than they ever dreamed of’ (MSG)
If you don’t know Jesus, the Bible says that you haven’t started truly living yet- Ephesians 1:11 says ‘It’s in Christ that we find out who we are & what we are living for’ (MSG)

My story

I have to say the start of my story was quite like a fairy tale- I became a Christian aged 14 at an Easter youth weekend. I went to Dundee to study medicine- & met my ‘Prince Charming’ Rob there. And of course I also met my own real life fairy-godmother!
Rob & I married in 1997, one week after graduation. We both got work over here & settled down the Ards Peninsula. We had our daughter Caris in 2001 & I can remember feeling like our whole world had turned pink! Pink teddies, flowers, balloons, clothes surrounded our baby girl! (Now a teenager, Caris would say that I overdosed her in pink!) 
In summer 2002 we went to Lake Orta, North Italy for our holidays. ‘Ciao bella bambina!’ the Italians called to our blue eyed blonde haired toddler. At the time, I was 6 months pregnant, & felt very happy & blessed!
It’s just as well I couldn’t read the next chapters of our story at that time!
Ethan was born in Nov 2002. His birth was straightforward- but there was an eruption of stress in the days before his birth. I didn’t sleep at all in the days before or after delivery. My mind was on over-drive filled with crazy, racing thoughts. After a week I was diagnosed with postnatal  psychosis- the most severe form of postnatal mental illness. Rob was looking after me, a new born baby, a 1 yr 9month old toddler, & working fulltime! 

I would have been admitted at that time, but instead we moved in with ‘Grannie Annie’ my Fairy Godmother for a few weeks & she looked after us all (& continued to work!) My sisters-in-law Sharon & Linda were both at home at that time, & they even had a rota for bottle-feeding Ethan through the night.

Medication meant that the racing thoughts subsided relatively quickly, but months of depression followed. Chances are, statistically speaking, that more than a few of you reading thiswill know what I mean- when I talk of days of living in black & white rather than colour. Days of existing without truly living. Doing life with the joy squeezed out of it. Having ‘eyes without sparkle’ as one writer put it.

I went back to work in May- on hindsight much too early. Before long, I had symptoms of anxiety. I’m sure some of you can identify with heart-racing, sleep robbing anxiety (& I didn’t even have any thing to worry about!)

My story hit rock bottom on 16th June 2003- my 29th birthday.

For 16th June 2003 was my worst birthday, in fact it was the worst day of my life so far.
On that day, I was admitted to Knockbracken– a psychiatric hospital. At that stage, I had been struggling with severe mental illness for seven months. I was anxious, depressed and even suicidal. I felt so alone. Rob was at home with our two small children, trying to explain,“Mummy’s gone to hospital because she’s lost her smile.” Most of the family were away in America at Sharon’s wedding. I felt so low as I looked around the grey walls of the ward, wondering how I was ever going to get out of this place. For the first time in my life I felt abandoned by God. The words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” echoed through my mixed up mind.

Yet even in this deeply dark time, God’s still small voice reminded me that Jesus knew how I was feeling. For on the cross, the cry from Jesus’ anguished heart was “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) On the cross, to a much greater extent than we will ever know, Jesus felt abandoned by His Father God as He took on the sins of the world. And at that time, in the middle of my deep depression, I could take comfort from the fact that Jesus understood, that He could sympathise with my weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15)

I spent that summer in hospital in Ards. Slowly over the months with help from family, friends & my psychiatrist & of course God, I felt that I was recovering. Then, just when things were becoming ‘normal’, my mood went very high, & I was admitted for another 2 months- another summer.

Dark Chapters

I consider those times as dark, difficult chapters in my life’s story. Obviously not everyone will go through severe mental illness- but all of us have difficulties & times of awfulness. 
The relative calmness of our normal everyday life can become instantly stormy-by just one phone call, letter or doctor’s appointment.

The dark chapters in your story may include illness, eating disorders, loss, divorce, cancer, death, unspeakable betrayal. 

Perhaps no-one else has read the dark chapters of your life. Others may know your name, but not your story. Others may know what you’ve done, but not necessarily what you’ve been through. But God knows all about it-after all He IS the Author of life.

In these dark chapters, remember:

You are not alone & this is not the end of your story!

No matter how hard life gets, no matter how down we feel, no matter how much we feel on our own, we are never alone. God is there with us – in the middle of our troubles, heartache and despair.
 ‘If you are heart is broken, you’ll find God right there’ Psalm 34:18 (MSG)

Nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Life can’t. 

Death can’t. 

Sickness can’t. 

Cancer can’t. 

Depression can’t. 

Insanity can’t.

Throughout the storms of life, we are held by God- firm in His unshakable grip. 

No matter what may happen, He’ll never let go of our hand!
God’s love reaches down to where we are, wherever that may be.

Those hands that created the universe, that carved wood, those hands with the nail prints are holding us.

There are some things that can only be learnt in the middle of difficulties. When our backs are to the wall, we tend to fall to our knees. Our heart cries out to God and He hears us. There are treasures of darkness – times of feeling God close against the odds – character building, spiritually defining times.
Chesterton wrote: ‘Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten’ 

With God’s help & strength, we CAN defeat our dragons-whatever those dragons may be.

God says in Isaiah 43:2,3(MSG):

‘When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.

When you’re between a rock & a hard place,

It won’t be a dead end-

Because I am God, your personal God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.’
Why?

Often, the dark chapters of life are followed by a very long chapter entitled, ‘Why?’

‘Why?’ –a short word that can contain vast amounts of pain & hurt.

Many times, especially during my second admission, I asked “Why? Why me? Why again?”
I’m sure many of you have asked “Why?”

During my second summer in hospital, I read a book by Sheila Walsh entitled ‘Life is tough, but God is faithful’ Even the title speaks volumes- life IS tough (no-one ever said it’d be easy)- but God IS faithful.
In the book Sheila Walsh retells the story of Job.

For 37 chapters Job & his friends discuss & debate. Then eventually, in chapter 38, God speaks out of the storm:
‘Were you there when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Have you ever commanded the morning to appear?

Where does the darkness go to?

Can you guide constellations of stars across the heavens?

Can you shout to the clouds & make it rain?

Can you show the lightning where to strike?’
These rhetorical questions prove that God is so much bigger & higher than us.

I don’t actually think God minds us asking “Why?” He is big enough to deal with our questions.
Yet, in most instances, I don’t think that knowing why would help us or make things easier to deal with.
The conclusion of the book of Job (& Sheila Walsh’s book) is:
Knowing God is better than knowing the answers

But, although God is higher than us, He is not remote & removed from our suffering. He is Imanuel- God with us.
For months after I was discharged from hospital the second (hopefully final!) time, I felt so hurt by God. I wondered what He was doing with my life, what His plans for me were.

One Sunday morning during the ‘Why?’ chapter we went to a friend’s church-Woodlands. During the praise time we sang ‘Who can sound the depths of sorrow in the Father-heart of God?’ That phrase ‘the Father-heart of God’ struck a chord with me. I realised that God is our Father- the Perfect Father. Just as we are upset when our children are hurting, or sick- so God cares deeply when we, His children suffer. 

Knowing our Father God is better than knowing the answers. In our darkest hours, he is not remote & removed looking down from afar off in heaven, He is God with us, carrying us through in his everlasting arms.

When life hurts, when it feels that life as we know it has been pulled from beneath us and we are free-falling, helplessly, we are held, and He’ll never let us go. Like the footprints poem reminds us, in our darkest hour, when there is just one set of footprints in the sand, we are not alone, God is carrying us.

‘Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them’ Isaiah 40:11(MSG)
The God of all comfort, comforts His weary, hurting children.

Stop re-reading



Sometimes, in life, we keep on re-reading the dark chapters, & the “Why?” chapters. But, you can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.
Isaiah 43:18 (MSG) has been very relevant for me recently: ‘Forget about what’s happened, don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new’
So, stop re-reading previous pages! 

‘Move on. It’s just a chapter in the past but don’t close the book. Just turn the page’

Other people’s stories



Sometimes, too we miss the new chapter because we’re too busy trying to read someone else’s story. Their story seems so much better & much more exciting than our own! Maybe it has a glossier cover & seems easier to read! But if we could truly read their story, they’re probably fighting their own dragons too- dragons that we certainly wouldn’t want to face!

Ripping out the pages

Sometimes we feel so upset & hurt that we wish we could just rip out all the pages of the hard heartbreaking chapters in life.

I read this in Streams in The Desert recently:
‘Sorrow causes deep scars, & indelibly writes its story on our suffering heart. We never completely recover from our greatest griefs and are never exactly the same after having passed through them’ (JR Miller) 

Yet, God the Author of life, is such a skilful writer, that he can create vividness & brightness in subsequent chapters, arising out of dark words. He can make our story beautiful in its time. Indeed, after some time & reflection, we may be able to trace His fingerprints even the dark chapters of our story.

‘Sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy’ (Streams in the Desert)

It’s probably easier to identify with the sentiments of the first two words than the rest of the sentence. ‘Sorrows come’ –sorrows do come- & sometimes it doesn’t seem too long since the last dark chapter-too soon for another one!

Sorrows came unexpectedly for us at the end of a sunny care-free day on 11th July last summer. One phone-call changed the course of the rest of 2011. The words of this song ‘Blessings’ by Laura Story became an anthem for me:

‘What if your blessings come through raindrops?                                                                                 What if your healing comes through tears?                                                                                          What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near?                                What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?’

These words are written from experience of dark chapters. Laura Story (who also wrote ‘Indescribable’) was dealing with her young husband’s diagnosis of a brain tumour.
God’s story

I should have said this at the outset. But in case you hadn’t realised, in our story, we are NOT the main character. God is!

Ultimately, it’s His story!

‘There is an invisible God at work in our ordinary lives to achieve extraordinary things. Our story is part of a bigger story. God is not just at work in our story. He is putting ours to work in His story-for His glory’ (A Roycroft)
The future

So what about the rest of the story?

We do not need to be afraid of the futureor the next chapter- for God has already written it & He is already there! 

And He will be with us from the deepest depths to the highest heights of our story. (Isaiah7:10)
[Not] The End

When I’m reading a book, I often wonder how the story ends & I’ll flick to the last page before I even start. (Often it spoils it!) I never read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child, but over the last year or two I’ve read them with Caris & Ethan. Last week I ordered the last book entitled ‘The Last Battle’ I flicked to the last page. I was so happy to read familiar words from C S Lewis. These words t give me goose bumps every time I read them. This is the last paragraph & the conclusion of the epic seven book adventures in Narnia & also a lovely picture of the end of our story:

‘And as He [Aslan] spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world, and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no-one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before’ 

If we know the Author of life, as our God & Father, we have this sure hope- of the ultimate happy ending, in fact more accurately a happy never ending! All our life in this world, is like the title & cover page of the Great Story that no-one on earth has read!

The dragons of death, illness, sin will be forever defeated. Tears will be wiped away forever. All things with be worked together for good. And we will be forever with God, the Author of life and eternity.

So, whatever page you are on just now, remember, you are NOT alone- & this is NOT the end of your story!

Remember, whatever chapter you are at just now,

You are encircled in His love.                                                                                                                           You are held in His grace

Our God is All-sufficient
Always Enough

Always faithful

Always loving

Always there.
Soli Deo Gloria



 ‘Life as a fairy tale’ was originally posted on http://www.blessedme.co.uk & published in Wider World magazine in 2011

 

 

Life interrupted ;

curlysue028


I am 1 in 4 

i.e. I am one of the one in four whose life has been affected by mental illness.
(iam1in4.com)

But you’ll know that already if you’ve read my story.

Nowadays I don’t often dwell on my labels. But recently I have been thinking more than usual.

Maybe it’s because May was Mental Health Awareness Month.

Maybe reading others’ stories struck a chord- especially on the Have you seen that girl website. It’s all about raising  Maternal Mental Health Awareness ( for there’s STILL no mother & baby unit in NI)

Maybe it was the preacher describing a man admitted to Knockbracken Psychiatric Hospital. His words transported me back instantly-thirteen years in a millisecond!

Even reading the term Postnatal Psychosis in stark black & white unleashed emotions long buried under years of good health.

In my opinion, postnatal psychosis:

*Is a tsunami in the mind that creates chaos in everyday life – the aftermath takes years to settle.

*A happy celebration of new life in the family morphs into a life-altering nightmare.

*Everyday life is distorted beyond recognition.

*Your sleep-starved deluded self exists in a world that makes sense initially but disintegrates as thoughts clash faster & faster.

*The fabric of daily life unravels beneath us into tangles & we’re free falling from the life we love into the abyss of depression & psychosis.

I believe only God can turn our tangled mess into a tapestry for His glory ( though it often looks like a tangle rather than a tapestry from our underside perspective)

God didn’t heal me instantly like the guy in the sermon. But He was there in the middle of my story.

And ‘Faith thanks God in the middle of the story’ (Ann Voskamp)

God meets us in the mess.

He brings His life-giving light to the darkest situations.

He gives Hope to our hopelessness.

And Calm in our chaos.

He ushers in Peace to our troubled souls.

The Good Shepherd carries us:

‘He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.’ (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

His inexhaustible grace is the balm for our restless minds.

In my experience, personally & working as a doctor for twenty years, there are no quick fixes with mental illness. It takes time- much longer than we expect or allow :

‘For the longest way round is the shortest way home’                                                                            (CS Lewis- Mere Christianity)

Yes , it takes time to get truly home- to be clear in your own mind,comfortable in your own skin, present in your own life.

In my case it also took family, friends, psychiatrists, medication, support, faith, reading, running, & writing

I’ve been encouraged by others’ stories & struggles.

Amy Bluel formed Project semi colon as a social media movement in 2013 to bring hope & love to those struggling with depression, suicide ,addiction & self injury. Across the globe semicolon symbols have been tattooed as a visual reminder.

The Oxford Dictionary states ‘The main task of the semicolon is to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but not as final as a full stop’ The semicolon  is used by writers to signify that is not the end of a sentence.

When your life or the life of those you love is deeply impacted by mental illness- it is not the end. It is an interruption but not the conclusion. It’s a dark chapter but not the end of the story.

Our struggle is a crucial part of the story. Our semi colon gives more depth to our lives. We wouldn’t choose the punctuation- but we live into it.

‘God’s power is often found when we shift from begging to remove our struggle to listening to Him speak in our trouble’ (Lysa Terkheurst)

‘Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.’ (‭‭Psalm‬ ‭71:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

When we are in life’s deepest pits (often in the depths of our minds) , we are not alone.
‘All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.’ (1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

‘But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.                                                                                   For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.’‭‭.                                                                           (Psalms‬ ‭56:3, 13‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

‘So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.’
(‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16MSG)

In His grace, God is:
Redeeming our lives

Healing our hearts

Protecting our minds

If we are 1 in 4 we can trust Him with our minds when we worry about becoming unwell again:

‘You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.’                     (Isaiah‬ ‭26:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Mental illness never just affects individuals. It deeply impacts relationships, families & communities.

Amy Bleuel wrote “For we are all in this together. I ask you stick around with us for this journey. We might surprise you in the end with the outcome.”

Sadly on 23rd March 2017 Amy committed suicide.

Every 90 minutes someone in the UK or Ireland dies by suicide.

There isn’t always a happy ending in this life. As Christians we aren’t immune to the tragedy & heartbreaking travesty of suicide. There are no easy words. We don’t have answers but we do have our Saviour.

The profound truth is that ‘This world is not conclusion’ as Emily Dickinson wrote. Even death itself is not the full stop- but rather another semi-colon

Life is hard.

But God is faithful & always there.

We must trust His promises …

in the hardest of places

For:
‘He will not turn away from your questions or be surprised by your grief. He will not be repulsed by your anger or turn his back on your pain. He understands the darkest moments of human existence and enters them with boundless mercy, unending love, and amazing grace.’   (Paul Tripp-Heart of the matter)

If our own life or the life of someone we love has been interrupted by mental illness, we can bring those deep wounds to God for:
‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’‭‭                                                              (Psalm‬ ‭147:3‬ ‭NIV)

*If you’re concerned about family or friends – talk to them. They may not have the courage to start the conversation.

*If you’re concerned about how you’re feeling- speak to your GP- we can usually signpost toward the right help.

Blessings,

Ruth x

PS ‘Life Interrupted’ was originally posted @ http://www.blessedme.co.uk