A Good Death?

When we stop and consider the impact we or others have made on this earth, our first thoughts go to how we have spent our hours alive; the time we have invested in our children, our careers, our communities; what we have given to others, what we have left to those who will come after us. We give little or no thought to the impact that how we die will have. But when we look at the news or read history, we all want to know how someone died. Whatever we think now, actually it does matter. Perhaps how we view our own death is as important as how we choose to live.

Not Safe… but Saved

“But, is it safe?” The question, perhaps, that is on everyone’s lips. Is the vaccine safe? When will it be safe for lockdown to be lifted? Can it be safe to travel to other countries, safe to go out for a meal, or to be out at night? Safe to send our children to school, or our young people to university? The world does not feel very ‘safe’ anymore.

Perseverance

“How long must we hold on? How much more can we bear?” The common cries of those in crisis. Questions that demand answers, go unanswered. In times like these the uncertain resort to prayers to the God they have thought little about. “Please God!”, “If you can hear me God”, “Heal my mum”, “Don’t let my friend die”.

2020 – Extraordinary, Unknown, Unseen

As the year closes , fighting to make the most of what the law permits us to do, we find ourselves at Christmas. We are kept distant from those we are closest too, by our desire to protect and keep safe and respect the regulations that keep us apart. What divides us, unites us as we know that everyone we share this world with, is facing the same struggles and feeling the same pain as we are.

More than any other year I can remember, are the challenges of simply trying to be with the people we want to share this special time with. More than any other year, are the sales of sparkly lights, wrapped around trees, hedges and houses, as we all long for light at this dark time. For many, the days drag as the opportunities for activities diminish and our drive to do something seems to dwindle. And in the middle of these depressing times we look back at the year gone, and out at the Christmas lights.

This year has not been ordinary…

Dales Faith Foundations – Foundation Stones

It seems that as humans we have always expressed our creativity through the buildings we construct. In a dales cottage, a country house, a village church or a great cathedral, can be seen, not only the builders skill, but an aesthetic that warms our hearts and lifts our souls. They connect us with generations past and yet are an essential part of our everyday.

Buildings that last are the buildings that have been built well. Structures thrown together with little care, from poor materials, may serve a purpose for a season, but they, along with property that is neglected, share the same fate, pulled down to be replaced by something new.