Solo Swan

The solo swan glided sedately across the harbour. Few fishing boats to avoid; lots of yachts in the marina but few out sailing this early in the season. I know what they say about ducks – looking serene but paddling frantically below the water line. This swan revealed no such feverish activity. 

A sense of serenity rose up within me. The assumptions which I have allowed to freeze exploration of possibilities seemed to shift ever so slightly. I began to think outside the box, to expand my horizons and let my imagination run. I felt as if my moorings had slipped, just a little.

Jesus came that we might have life, life in its fullest sense. I know it’s Mel Gibson who is most celebrated for his cry of freedom, but freedom is what Jesus gives us when we step into his grace. We so often nest into our comfort zone. It’s good to think outside the box.

Snowfall

It has snowed all afternoon and looks beautiful. This is the way I most enjoy snow: inside by the fireside, looking out at a winter wonderland.

But I know that if I were to venture out, the magic of the winter weather would be spectacular rather than just beautiful. There would be the soft swish of snow landing on branches (and my face); the mesmerising effect of the steady, gentle fall of the snowflakes, and the hushed atmosphere indicating the world has hit the Pause button for a few moments anyway.

Life is so like that. I might elect to remain a spectator on one of the many screens I can access, and I might appreciate it at a detached level. It is only when I plunge in and get busy, though, that I really appreciate the resonance of life – the feel of skin on skin in a handshake or a hug, the sound of tinkling laughter and the warmth of a smile.

Jesus came to give us life in its fullness. It’s a pity that so often I remain by my cosy fireside. I miss so much.

Measuring a Life

Life is not measured by how much you own, but by how much you owe. Jesus paid it all.

Adverts twist our thinking and distort our desires so that we imagine we need things which, when we do acquire them, we discover do nothing to enhance our lives. The more we have, the more we crave. 

The word used for ‘window-shopping’ by a South American indigenous people tribe is ‘lust’. We can be content with what we have until we see something which is an improvement on our technology, or looks newer, brighter, shinier, whatever. How do we live in this consumer-oriented culture where we all marinate in the underlying commercial matrix, without falling prey to the temptations? ‘We deserve it’, we are told, with regard to some magic potion which will enhance our skin or hair. ‘Treat yourself.’ 

Acquisitions and possessions end up possessing us. Those who own much, spend much time on figuring out their taxes, figuring out where the best interest is gained, figuring out the safest or most beneficial investments. Is that life?

A dear friend has just passed away. She shone with the light of Christ though she walked a very dark path of disease. In these last years, her quality of life was dictated by the rhythm of thrice-weekly hospital visits for dialysis and the day needed to recover following each trip. And yet, she lived a victorious life, a life of quiet trust in her Saviour and awareness that he was her close companion. She died in peace, slipping quietly into the arms of Jesus. 

I’ve no idea if she owned much of anything at all, but I do know that she possessed life in its fullness and that now, she is gazing on the face of her Saviour and Lord. If I were able to measure a life, I would certainly say that hers was a ‘life well-lived’. 

Patricia was an inspiration to all who knew her, and she will not be forgotten.