Radio Shropshire- Pause for thought

Radio Shropshire Pause for Thought I did on Mike Georges breakfast show this morning.





14/09/2010



I peered into the large card box my mum had given me. It had obviously been in her garage for years
I began to pull out a few big brown envelopes.
Opening the envelopes I also opened a window to my past
There were myriad things from decades ago

There were old school reports containing remarks like a disappointing terms works then finishing rather ominously I give this warning now before it is too late
Other contained letters I had written to my parents .In fact I think my mum kept every letter I ever wrote.Decipering the rather scrawly handwriting , awoke memories deep within me of spending tedious Sunday afternoons at my boarding school, being supervised as we wrote letters home. I suspect any letter that was critical of school food would have been censored but we had to write something I solved the problem of filling a page by addressing the letter not just to Dear Mum and dad but also to the cats rabbits]s and dogs naming them all personally- we had a lot so problem solved
In another envelope there photographs of me in some I was in a pram, in some I was on the beach or in the garden one has me sitting proudly behind the wheel of my first ever car an old Austin A40 which was a bit of a rust bucket and if you looked towards the floor you got a great view of the road beneath you

What fascinated me even more were the even older photographs some of my mum as a young girl, others of her mum on the beech at St Andrews, yet others of a group of nurses on a hospital picnic in the Scottish countryside and others taken by professional photographers in New York, Carnoustie and Dundee; of people who died long before I was born

I have always loved history and really enjoy the series who do you think you are, but the old black and white family photos awoke in me an urge to find out more about my ancestors, and I have begun a journey of exploration and discovery which has brought home to me the truth of Leslie Poles Hartley's words “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

Now I haven’t yet got back very far at all -about 200 years- and I know very little about the Alfred Crosland living in Huddersfield in the early part of the 19th century but I have thanks to census records and then the magic of Google’s street view been able to see where they lived.

My journey to the past has taught me a few things but I want to mention just one this morning and that is the brevity of life
Here they are generations of my relatives they come they live and are no more as the old funeral service puts it
Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live ... He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.

A little bleak perhaps, but a stark reminder of not only the fragility of life but its transience also Frail as summers flower we flourish blows the wind and it is gone

This thought of how short and indeed uncertain life is should not lead us to despair but it should lead us to action
I was once associated with a school whose motto is Carpe Diem Seize the day


Are there things that you are putting off? Perhaps volunteering to help a charity or a book you want to write? Relationships you want to improve with children or parents or friends or even with God Himself?

Seize the day! Act now! Make a difference!

I have recently been reading biographies One of William Wilberforce who did so much to abolish slavery
The other is of Shropshire’s own Eglantyne Jebb the founder of The Save the children Fund

Both seemed to understand life was brief and both therefore had an urgency to get on with the work they believed God had given them to do

God give us knowledge not just of how short life is but how precious time is
May we act- right here right now, and seize the opportunities we have to do well and to serve God

Radio Shropshire talk 7th March 2010

I really enjoyed Michael Portillos series on great British railway journeys being repeated on the bbc at the moment and am delighted to hear they are planning a new series to be shown I think next year
I don't travel on trains often these days but I enjoy it when I do
One of the things I love is the chance get a coffee from the trolley, lean back in the seat , gaze out of the window and watch the world go by at great speed without moving a muscle ! to coin a phrase it really is letting the train take the strain!
Travelling on a summers day say from Shrewsbury to Hereford is a wonderful opportunity as you pass between Church Stretton, Craven Arms Ludlow, Leominster to enjoy the staggering beauty of the English countryside, but what I really enjoy is people watching! What are those people talking about at the allotment? Where are those walkers heading for? Who is that meeting the old lady at the station?,
You see people are fascinating. Rich people, poor people, old people, and young people - they're all fascinating. Everything about them - from the way they dress to the lines etched on their faces acts like a magnet to us. If we love people watching, it’s because we're naturally curious about other human beings
Curiosity may have killed the cat but we can't resist a peek at each other's lives we're drawn to each other - its part of being human.
God is fascinated with us one of the things that spooks people about God is they imagine that He looks at us like some terrible spy in the sky ready to step in if were having too much fun
But God is fascinated with because He cares for us - He loves us
The Bible stories prove that to us On one occasion a guy disfigured with leprosy comes to Jesus -This guy was a mass of sores and ulcers ,but the social consequences were much worse Leprosy was considered contagious. Lepers were ostracised from society, out cast ,untouchable- a man avoided by people he did not know and rejected by those he did , The leper comes to Jesus with faith, and says Lord you can make me well -What happens next is extraordinary- were told Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man I am willing Be healed!!!
The untouchable is touched by the hand of Jesus .Everybody matters to Him.you matter to Him
That is a demonstration of the love of God for all human beings and a sign that through Jesus- God longs to be in relationship with us
I suppose relationships of all kinds with other human beings are what makes the world go round

In my experience what really makes human beings happy is good relationships with other human beings and what makes us unhappy is bad relationships with other human beings
So perhaps we should all invest more time ,in our families ,our marriages .d our friendships ,our other relationships .that is a vital part of the secret of happiness but since we are all made in the image of God we should also seek to be in relationship with Him
After all didnt Jesus say that all the 2 greatest commandments are these?

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself

Do that and we will certainly stay on the rails!

Pause for thought!

Did My Radio Shropshire "Pause for thought"
Like Mike George who presents the show, very easy to get on with and knows Ross on Wye well!

text below
I am not a great gardener but I do like to have a go, so one blustery autumn day last year my daughter and I wrapped up warm- put our wellies on and headed down the garden armed with a trowel and some daffodil bulbs acquired from a local gardening centre .It took us a while, but eventually we had planted the bulbs near an apple tree, in a sunny spot about 8 inches deep and 6 inches apart as per the instructions on the bag. Job done we headed back to the house for a nice warm cup of tea!

In the recent cold spell I happened to be in the same spot, the ground was covered in snow and rock hard with frost. It was so cold the local brook had partially frozen over .I glanced down at the ground and right beside my feet just peeping up above the earth almost covered by snow; I was amazed to see one of the daffodil bulbs which had now become a tiny and seemingly fragile bud.

It hadn’t yet opened but despite the arctic weather it had survived, and one day in the not too far distant future it will flower and herald the fact that winter is ending and spring is on the way!

That small bud pushing its way up through frozen ground reminded me again of the value of perseverance

One of the books I was given for Christmas was the biography of the former England fast bowler Harold Larwood a shy young lad with little self confidence and small physique who became one of the best and fastest bowlers the world has ever seen. How did he do it He practiced for hour after hour after hour day after day so he could land the ball on a sixpence not once but time after time ....that is the value of perseverance as has been said genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration!

Inspired as I am by Harold Larwood;I am much more inspired by Jesus who persevered through hostility, opposition, hunger and even betrayal, yet all the time he kept moving forward towards the cross. Indeed on that cross his last words before he died were “it is finished!” Not a cry of despair but declaration of victory The task is done the goal is reached!

Nowhere is perseverance needed more than at times of difficulty and disaster
The people of Haiti in the midst of tragedy are demonstrating this perseverance but we in wealthier parts of the world must persevere in our attempts to help and alleviate such dreadful suffering

But we need perseverance on a personal level too

What do you want to achieve in the next year? What are your hopes and dreams for the future they are very unlikely to come easily they will probably need hard work; perseverance .the ability to keep on going on no matter how fragile the dream and how hard the ground to be covered! A person who perseveres does not stop till they reach their goal.

The Bible tells us to ``run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us'' It tells you to do so by fixing your eyes on Jesus!

As the bulb becomes a bud that becomes a flower that heralds spring is on the way so the perseverance of Jesus through death to the resurrection should give us hope for the future and should encourage us to keep going now

Radio Shropshire Pause for thought

Do this Radio slot every few weeks and though as it was Christmas I would put my script here

"Christmas always makes me think of my favourite Uncle Dieter
Uncle Dieter was not only very tall but also very large. A German Jew who had fled the Nazis to avoid the holocaust, he had a fine sense of humour ,a determination to say exactly what he thought,a love for good food and wine and a penchant for quoting and invoking the names of Catholic saints
Nearly every Christmas he and Aunt Dorothy and their children would come to our childhood home in Wem to celebrate Christmas with us.
Like most children we would get up very very early on Christmas day ,open our stockings and feast on the chocolate Father Christmas and obligoratory Tangerine Then still dressed in our pyjamas and saying sssh! to each other in loud whispers-we would tip toe down the stairs as quietly as we could and dash over to the heavily decorated Christmas tree and start to prod and poke at all the presents under the tree, discerning perhaps a toy gun from mum and dad here, and the usual socks and postal order from Granny over there
I vividly remember being totally focused on this enthralling enterprise one year -I was what sports people describe as being "in the zone"
When a booming voice came from the top of the stairs in a thick German accent
"Get Back to Bed " No not Father Christmas Uncle Dieter had caught us again!
We didnt want to wait -He ensured we did !
We are moving quickly now through Advent the waiting is almost over,the excitement is rising The shopping days are running out ,the tree is up ,the cards should have been posted,the presents should be wrapped the day is almost here!
But what does Christmas mean to you? For some of us perhaps more than we care to admit Christmas is a sad time. sometimes its simply the season cannot bear the weight of expectation that is placed on it. In a recession there is no extra money to buy presents without getting into serious debt For some of you the pain of bereavement is even sharper at Christmas than at other times; for others relationships are put under enormous strain, and perhaps some of you have sons or daughters,or parents in Afghanistan
For others Christmas is great fun ,a time to eat drink and be merry , a time to party, enjoy family and friends ,food and laughter

And for Christians ,the clue to the meaning of Christmas is found in those simple words, that invite a lifetime's profound reflection, found in Johns gospel 'The Word was made flesh'.
thats the key to the authentic meaning of Christmas -the word became flesh -God became a human being he doesnt come to crush ,or dominate he comes as a vulnerable human being motivated by an awesome love
People often say if there is a God it is impossible to know Him
Christmas means If you want to know what God is like look at Jesus
His very name Jesus means -The Lord saves and that is truly good news for all people
When I am woken up early on Christmas day by children eager to open their presents I will get myself a cup of coffee , think of Uncle Dieter and smile
But I will also take time to reflect on the most profound truth of all ,That the word became flesh and dwelt among us and I invite you this Christmas to do the same