I can think of quite a few situations which have caught me by surprise and touched me very deeply. I’d like to share just two such moments with you because they relate to the 2nd and 6th of August. On the 2nd of August 1975, our first child was born. It was in the days…
When David asked me to take this worship service, I immediately looked up the readings and found this old story of Jacob crossing the Jabbok River. It resonated with me immediately, so much so that I decided to paint the image. I thought of the many times that I had made river crossings in the…
This has been a really strange week. The strangest of all the weeks since this thing we have come to know as ‘lock-down’ began. It’s been a serious week. Lots of things to think about and digest. Allow me to share some of that thinking with you. This piece is a bit longer than usual,…
During ‘lockdown’ I’ve spent a bit of time sorting through most of the photographs stored on my computer as well as the much older ones kept in several shoe boxes. You know, doing the kind of thing you say you will do when you have a bit more time to do it. Sifting and sorting.…
Clouds come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some look light and fluffy, others appear menacing and apocalyptic. As someone who likes to paint seascapes, it took me quite a while to work out how to reproduce them on a canvass, and one thing I’ve picked up along the way is that while they…
How good was it to hear and see the rain on Friday. Good, heavy, soaking rain. When it rains like that you can almost sense the relief in plants as they feverishly begin to siphon up the moisture. Their leaves start to lose their limpness immediately and a brighter green returns. How the earth loves…
Just recently, I’ve noticed a few journos’s describing this time in COVID-19 as a roller-coaster ride; especially since government restrictions have been imposed again. It’s a metaphor often used to describe what life is like: full of ups and downs, sharp bends, surprising dips and steep climbs. It’s a ride that can be both exhilarating…
Fear is a powerful motivator. It can also be a powerful de-motivator. Just a short time ago, the declaration of a Pandemic sent waves of fear around the world and within weeks produced a set of circumstances very view people could have imagined. Significant parts of the world went into lockdown. Along with the loss…
Leaving home because you want to or because you can, is a very different experience of leaving home because you have to; because ‘home’ is no longer safe for you. And, leaving ‘home’ has another dimension to it. Being forced to leave home is the situation today for about 78 million people around the world…
This week has re-activated some significant memories. Memories of incidents that have shaped my life and my theology. Let me tell you about just one of them. There are others. At the bottom of this article are 2 photographs from an incident that sits in my memory as a constant reminder of what happens when…