For a few short moments at the beginning of lockdown I imagined having an abundance of time to sit down and write daily reflections. The reality has been somewhat different! Almost two weeks of staying at home has now passed and I have only written one blog post! So, what have I been doing?!
Well it would be fair to say that getting up and running with the online services has taken considerable time. We have learnt a lot along the way and are becoming more efficient. This week we added a recording studio and decided we would produce our own backing tracks for the hymns. Jeff has been busy recording the tracks at home and sending them to us so we can add some vocals. It really is amazing what’s possible with all this technology! I am very thankful that Nick is home and has time, inclination and skill to get it all working. I am learning but it is a slow process! I am ok until something doesn’t work and then I am stuck!
So, over last couple of weeks I have combined preparing and recording the services and providing backing vocal for the hymns, with home schooling, cooking creative meals with leftovers to make sure we don’t waste any food, practising my home hairdressing skills (ladies trim and Men’s grade 2 all over!) along with spending more time on the telephone and computer than I have ever done before.
The seeds that we planted have now all germinated and are ready for moving on. The green house has been cleared and the plug plants transferred to bigger pots. If all goes well then in a few weeks we will have lettuce, basil, strawberries, mangetout, tomatoes and potatoes and then a bit later in the year carrots and leeks! I will keep you posted on how much we manage to keep alive and protect from being munched (or as last year, completely decimated!) by slugs and snails!
I am also trying to keep fit. I have been out for a walk most days. I tried the Joe Wicks workout with the children one day and felt it on my legs for several days afterwards! Some months ago, I downloaded the Couch to 5K App. I didn’t get any further than downloading it! But on Friday this week I made a start! I managed to complete the session running around the garden, drive and church carpark. As my son keeps reminding me, I am scheduled for session two today! Having started this with all the family home, there is little chance they will let me forget when I am due to do another session!
I have watched very little television in the last few weeks but under the guise of English Literature I am introducing one of the children (the other was not persuadable!) to the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It is one of my all time favourites and I have not seen it for some time. I had forgotten just how much I love it! I watched all 5 hours of it during the early stages of labour with Jessica. I wonder if it is coincidence that Jessica is disinclined to watch it with me now! Apparently it’s not really her thing!
In the midst of such challenging times it has been important to find moments of joy and refreshment and activities to provide structure and rhythm. This week the father of a dear friend died from the virus. There are no words that can express the awfulness of the situation and the isolation that must now continue for some time, precisely when the family would usually be together to comfort one another and mourn.
There are no words of comfort that can take away the pain and loss. What does it mean in the midst of such pain to speak of hope? As Christians we often say that we are called to be a people of hope. Trusting in the God who brings hope to even the darkest situations. Not by taking away, or protecting us from the pain but from entering into it with us. As we enter again into Holy week we are reminded most powerfully of a God who came into the midst of it all…..encountered the joy, and the pain of human life and death. A God who stays with us in our darkest hours. A God, who though the power of the cross and resurrection, brings hope and life and light.
I have often found the Psalms to be a rich source of comfort. They contain a raw honesty that convey many of the emotions of the human soul, elation and desolation, fear and hope and much more beside.
I will leave you with a few verses from Psalm 139 a Psalm that reminds us of God’s unfailing presence with us no matter what.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Lilliput Vicar 
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