When you're forced to stop
The eight-year old Mozart is said to have written his first symphony when stuck at home with a cold. Unfortunately all you're getting is this lousy blog post...
Huw Williams | 20:57, Wednesday 16 October 2013 | Turin, Italy
As I write this I have been 'off sick' for three days. Maybe it was Sunday morning's pulpit exertions that finished me off, but by that afternoon I had the tell-tale shivers and aches and pains, and I didn't need a thermometer to tell me that I had a rising temperature. The time since then has been that strange combination of haziness, fitful sleep and hopes of feeling better in the morning.
But I'm not really sick - not compared with some people. I'm not even sure if medics would allow me the self-pitying luxury of calling it “the flu”. But whatever, I have been ill enough to be unable to contemplate work for three days, and while such a forced hiatus in the weekly routine hasn't been pleasant, it has given me plenty to reflect on.
I am reminded again of how much many of us take our good health for granted
Firstly, I am reminded again of how much many of us take our good health for granted. If a few days with some kind of virus is driving me a bit potty, I really have lost some perspective somewhere. Most of us know people who live with chronic illness, even terminal illness, and yet for those of us blessed with good general health, the fact is that most of us simply assume that we will wake up in the morning fit and well, and don't give it another thought if and when we do.
I've learned again how we are made for relationships.
Secondly, I've learned again how we are made for relationships. As Ali has moved tirelessly between looking after Kitty to caring for the even-more-dependent grumpy guy with man-flu, the thought has struck me, "What would I do if I was on my own right now?" When it's seriously difficult to get to the sink to pour yourself a glass of water, you know you need people's help. Not everyone has an Ali, but we all need people who are looking for us, and not just when we're feeling under the weather.
I've been examining my own sense of purpose.
Thirdly, I've been examining my own sense of purpose. I have been feeling frustrated for the last three days because I haven't been productive. Is my own identity a little too much bound up in what I do, rather than who I am in Christ? If not, why did it only take a little virus for me to lose joy?
Well, I still hope to feel better in the morning, but let's hope that nothing is for nothing.
Document Actions
