Wearily upward

What is the bravest thing you've done today? Bravery and courage can take on many forms. What might be extremely brave for one person may be a regular, everyday thing for someone else. The fundamentals of bravery and courage, though, remains the same: going on in spite of danger or pain. Here it is important to recognise that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather doing what needs to be done, or going where one needs to go in spite of fear. So... what is the bravest thing you've done today? My four-year-old daughter got a bicycle for her birthday three weeks ago. She loves it. It has become her preferred mode of transport to nursery and back whenever the opportunity affords itself. It's amazing to see her, slightly out of her comfort zone, relishing the sense of possibility and freedom that riding a bicycle gives. I miss feeling that sense of freedom and adventure, but seeing her going for it is a blessing in itself. However, it's not always a smooth ri...

About a year ago I was invited to go on a BAP (Bishop's Advisory Panel) as the final step in a two-and-a-half year discernment process for possible ordination training in the Church of England. In others words, I was on my way to become an Anglican vicar. Everyone involved thought I was as well prepared as I could be, ready as I'll ever be, the BAP being a mere formality before getting to decide where I will start training in September. It didn't quite go according to plan. Out of the nine criteria I had to meet fully (with various sub-criteria under each heading) and prove that I meet each fully, I only managed to meet four, according to the assessors. This obviously raised a couple of questions. Not only in myself, but also in those who knew and supported me throughout this endeavour. Most of these questions I was, and still am, unable to answer. Questions like: Did I mishear God for two and a half years about my calling to ordained ministry? Did everyone (and there wer...

There is a common myth doing the rounds about every cell in our bodies being replaced every 7 years. This is untrue, of course. Or at least, it's not completely true. The cells on the inner lens of your eye, for instance, have been with you since you were a fetus, regardless of how old you are. Your tooth enamel is never replaced, and neither are the neurons in your cerebral cortex (the wrinkly bit on the outside of your brain in charge of processing various sensory information). Colon cells refresh every four days or so, and you get an entirely new skin every 2 - 3 weeks. It also takes an average of 10 years for you to grow a completely new skeleton. So when people say: "New year, new me..." I can't help but think to myself: "Yes, but not quite." At least not in a physiological sense. However, change is inevitable. We change, whether we want to or not. Our circumstances change, whether we want them to or not. Life happens. People make choices that influen...