NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

“The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” Luke 12:48 [The Message Bible] It may seem a long stretch from the story I’m about to tell you and the passage quoted above~ I get my nails done every two weeks. This has on occasion been the brunt  of teasing, of raised eyebrows when I beg off something because I  ‘get my nails done then’,  and of people complimenting me on my nails, as if I were responsible for them. Little do they know that 10+ years ago my nails started to become weak and very soon were tearing on a regular basis. It took the skill of my beautician to restore them to usefulness. So for the last 8 years I have been fortunate enough to be able to avail myself of her expertise.  So what’s the link, you might ask.

 "But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begins." - Mitchell David "Mitch" Albom (born May 23, 1958), an American author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster, and musician…is perhaps best known for the inspirational stories and themes that weave through his books, plays, and films. ] On the day before Mother's Day this year, I was at a gathering of 200 women. One after another the speakers wished us a Happy Mother's Day- and each time it was repeated I felt myself become more and more uncomfortable. They don't know who is in the audience- perhaps their child has died, or they never were a mother…  Today (Mother's Day) I was walking around the track at the gym thinking back over past Mother's Days spent with my mom. I remember very clearly hearing over and over the story of her first Mother's Day. After 10 years of marriage, she was finally a moth

‘… I’ve wondered if this is always the way it is with God’s activity. That is, simply because God’s activity will change us, it will comfort some and threaten others. Even the promise of new life … comes only as good news to those who recognizes that the old life is not enough and only threatens or upsets those who don’t want to change.’ ~ David Lose in his blog ‘…In the Meantime’  [27/03/17] Education is crucial if we are to mature both as Christians and as human beings. Without education, and the challenges it brings, our growth will be stunted as we simply repeat the patterns we have ready learned. Adult Education can be upsetting and confusing. It often challenges thoughts and ideas we have held for well over 50 years. I remember when I was first exposed to the current biblical thinking how horribly confusing it all seemed. If I had been left to my own devices I would have given up, saying I couldn’t do it, that it was too hard. Fortunately there was someone in my lif

I often hear my mother's voice saying ‘It doesn't take any brains to be uncomfortable’. I wonder if she ever had any idea that she was giving me my first lesson in theology… I didn’t until just recently! I was the perfect model of a modern church-goer; in the pews every Sunday, active in the woman's group, the choir, the Sunday School, always ready to volunteer. But I was uncomfortable on the inside, so uncomfortable in fact that I was seriously thinking of walking out of my church rather than live a lie. I remember walking along the street in the 60’s thinking “I am just as much a daughter of God as Jesus is a son.”  But I knew better than to voice those thoughts aloud! After all women weren’t even allowed to be priests way back then. I went back to university in the 80’s, looking to the acquisition of new knowledge to resolve my troubled feelings. Unfortunately [or fortunately, depending how you look at it] that didn’t work. It just showed me that while the