Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Hmmm....

Wow how time flies. This is already a few weeks after my last post. Since then, I've been back to Crawley *again*, this last weekend. I'm on Half Term (reading week) as we speak, and I am actually doing work now! I've started reading for one of the essays I need to write (Pastoral Care) and am starting to worry about the other one (Ethics).

Other than that, life's been hiccuping along reasonably. I feel a bit tired and jaded at the moment. It was lovely to go back to St A's at the weekend, but I have to face the fact that I don't belong there anymore. It wasn't anything anyone said or did, they were all lovely. It was a simple fact of life. I've been away for 6 months now and it shows. People move on, but it's kindof painful. Facts of life?

Part of the reason I feel jaded is because I just put down a good book. I read "The Time Traveler's Wife", and whenever I come to the end of a good book for the first time, I feel bereft. I go through a mini grieving process for the characters etc. That never happens to me when I re-read books, only the first time I read them. So anyways, I finished it within two days - be warned if you plan on reading it, it's addictive! That's another part of the reason why I don't like reading books for the first time - everything else vanishes out of life until I finished that book. It's a bit like a drug. Hmmmm....that's a bit worrying really...only happens with novels....any thoughts?

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Debrief

Well it wasn't that bad after all. I sat next to a lady in the morning service at the hospital who turned out to be on 'my' ward, so at least I had someone to talk to who didn't think I was totally bonkers for wandering onto a ward and chat to strangers. We chatted for a little while, the only interruption being her neighbour who interjected about halfway through "I don't like mash, me. I much prefer roast potatoes!". We had been talking about the bendy television sets that were connected to each bed...never mind.

Tomorrow I'm going to Glory for about three days (oh ok, or the 'Grace and Glory' conference in Tonbridge) and from there on to my sending church in Crawley (in case you don't know this yet guys - I'll be there on Sunday!!). Then back here late Sunday to dive back into Spirituality on Monday. Yes, we have a scheduled Spirituality slot every week. The last one was about finding God in the Eucharist.

This is dedicated to all you Calvinists out there:

"For this very familiar comparison penetrates into even the dullest minds: just as bread and wine sustain physical life, so are souls fed by Christ. We now understand the purpose of this mystical blessing, namely, to confirm for us the fact that the Lord's body was once for all so sacrificed for us that we may now feed upon it, and by feeding, feel in our selves the working of that unique sacrifice.
John Calvin, Institutes, Vol. 2, Chap. 17