When you listen to current discussions or reports on the news or social media, you may have heard the term resilience used. The situation over the past year has brought this term to the fore and the importance of being resilient, emotionally, mentally and physically. And I would add, for a Christian, to be spiritually resilient

A sad piece of news I heard this week was that the singer Mary Wilson had passed away on Monday. Mary was the cofounder of a band called The Supremes together with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard back in the 60s.

We all love a well-chosen gift. For my 18th birthday my brother got me surreal, rubber horse mask. On another occasion he got me a mug with a Monsters Inc. meme printed on the front of it. My housemate, Daniel, got me a basic Casio watch that I’ve worn almost every day for the past two years, and it survived plenty of punishment as I took it into school with me every day.

If there is one household chore that really seems to divide opinions it is ironing. I quite like it, albeit in small doses, my wife however hates it and would rather I do all of it. Ironing comes at the end of the laundry process. First the clothes have to be washed, made clean, with all the stains removed. Then they have to be dried, carefully, to avoid too many creases. And lastly the ironing, folding and putting them away, ready to use again.

No one lives in isolation. All of us have and need relationships.They determine to a great extent how successful and joyful we are. Our relationships make it possible for us to pursue various goals and engage in various activities. And they play a key role in helping us overcome adversities and hardships

Many of us that are in churches have found passions within the church. We have found roles that we are really good at and we have built ministries for ourselves within church. This is a really good thing, but what happens when God moves us on or something happens to us that means we can’t serve in the same way.

We adapted, but I missed the camaraderie and fellowship and I also missed getting out and about in the beauty of the Lakes and mountains. Me and Mel made up for it with the odd walk from home, but it wasn’t quite the same grandeur.

A rocky table is annoying and sometimes no matter how much trouble you go to to even out the wobble, folding up cardboard and pushing it under one of the legs, it still doesn’t seem to be secure and stable, spilling your coffee atthe slightest nudge.

Until the New Jerusalem comes and we live in perfect harmony with our Creator, what part of His shalom can we really expect to experience in our daily lives?

Do you remember that feeling, when you expect guests for dinner? It seems like a life time ago since we last had people in the house gathered around food or since we were able to chat with new acquaintances or catch up with friends in person.