Here we go!

To write a book, you have to start with a few words. To climb a mountain you have to start with a few steps. To write a blog you need to, well, just do it? To ride a roller-coaster you have to queue for hours, get strapped in, wait a bit more, feel the tension build as the coaster climbs the inevitable steep incline before helplessly being tossed from side to side as the cart goes round a predestined route for 30 seconds then you get off and work out how your legs work…

OK, not the best example (but seriously, some people do that for fun multiple times!) I’ve got a friend (let’s call them Jo) who would spend all day every day riding roller-coasters if they could. And to spend time with them, I occasionally go on roller-coasters too. Sometimes I even enjoy myself! But I will never be able to appreciate them in the same way Jo can. And there is a lesson in that for me. Jo is tidy and organised, and has a process for how things should be done. Like the roller-coaster with it’s path, if things are planned then what follows should be a smooth ride. (I am aware that things don’t always go as they should with roller coasters, but bear with the simile) There are twists and turns, climbs and plummets, jerks, spins, times to scream, moments of elation, excitement, fear and a photo that will probably not catch your best side. It’s like a shortened version of life, except strictly planned out.

I am very different from Jo. I have piles of papers and books. If you need something from me, I will have put it in a safe place and will be able to lay my hands on it. Eventually. I approach things with a more open approach. I know where I want to get to, but I’m open to creative ways to get there, taking each challenge as it comes. If Jo’s approach is like a roller-coaster, wild and exciting but organised in advance, mine is like a treasure map. I know where I want to end up, and I’ll set off with a back-pack of provisions, but I won’t plan the whole route before I start.

And neither of these is wrong. Jo has a real gift for AV stuff. They are great are programming things. I do not. I do, however, have a burning desire to write, and a gift for story-telling. There is a verse in the book of Ezra (it’s just before Nehemiah in the bible). The Israelites have returned to Jerusalem and Ezra is praying and confessing on behalf of them all. Ezra mourns and confesses on behalf of the people of Israel because it is what is in his heart to do. And in chapter 10, verse 9, it says ‘Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.’

The circumstances are very different, but I also want to find a way to bring people back to God. I have a flame of hope in my heart and I can’t just let it sit there. I need to speak out and share that hope. Especially now, when I see some people start to falter and doubt. I can’t explain what is happening now. I don’t understand the suffering I can see. A wiser theologian than me could probably dig through the bible for some sort of explanation. Another theologian could use the same bible and come up with a different explanation. All I can say is I trust in the God I believe in. I have faith that things will get better. And I hold onto hope for the future.

So here I am, plucking up the courage and doing it. I am stepping out on the next little stage of my journey, armed with some tools to help me along (namely a pen and paper, and a computer), knowing I will need to learn some new skills as I go. Using the bible, the things I have experienced and the things I see around me, I will write the reason I hold onto that hope.

My question to you is, what matter has God given to you, and do you have the courage to do it?