08/03/2008 by David.

Just recently I have been calling at the vet often. It is always a four stage process: I go to collect a cat carrier and take it home until the time of the appointment, then I return with the cat in the box to the vet. (It’s only just round the corner so its a short walk.) I come back home, and then I return for the final step to return the borrowed carrier.

I made the journey this morning and then took Charley to the vet. But this journey was different - I would come back empty handed.

After deteriorating quite suddenly the cat had lost the use of her hind legs, become confused, and was not eating. A hard but necessary decision had to be made. Whether it was a stroke or a brain tumour we’re not sure - but Charley needed to be put down.

At first I was all for leaving her in the hands of the vet and walking away - but I stayed so as to be there at the end. It was swift and compassionate - but heart-rending too.

First Bosley and now a few months later Charley. I know, only pets but part of our lives none the less.

Making this kind of decision is never easy. But it is part of our responsibility to our animal companions.

Such decisions are acts of life and death. Thank God we do not have to make them too often - and thank God that the timing of our own departures is entirely in His hands not ours. As Good Friday approaches I remember that Jesus did what none of us can do - he voluntarily surrendered His own life for us.

There is of course no comparison at all - but there is a profound lesson:-

^6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ^7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ^8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:6).

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05/02/2008 by David.

A quick walk up through the cemetery this afternoon established that the daffodils are about to bloom, that the walk is still steep and demanding, and that there are signs all around of an awakening of nature.

In my town back yard the Mimosa is flowering. It usually celebrates my birthday in a flourish of yellow “pompoms” - and this year it has not disappointed, despite the winds.

Even in the depths of winter there is always evidence that new growth is developing. The birds are in song, the squirrels are more active, and the colours are appearing in the urban gardens.

I thank God for this reminder that His promise still holds - that while earth remains, seedtime and harvest, summer and winter… will not cease.

This is not just a turning of a printed page in the calendar, it is a vibrant colouring in of previously dull vegetation.

And as the first Sunday in Lent comes round, I realise that the Easter truths of resurrection and transformation are still present in this world.

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31/12/2007 by David.

New Year is a strangely arbitrary festival. It is merely the end of one year and the beginning of another.

Already the fireworks are being set off as if the locals here were going by New Zealand time.

Sometimes the significance of this shift in time is underlined by something that happens at one time but has its effect later: Yesterday I shared a sermon on rebellion in the Christian community from Luke 15 - and then this morning a letter arrived in the post complaining about problems in the fellowship. Had the poster waited they might have wanted to reconsider their words. It is sadly disappointing to address an issue one day only to find it resurfacing the next.

I have this problem with the Send button for emails. It is too easy to reply without real forethought. Perhaps at New Year we should take a deep breath. Save the noisy fireworks for a real celebration rather than sounding off at some smouldering resentment.

I am glad that God holds the key to the unknown in 2008 - but I wish we could avoid trying to turn a key of our own.

God bless your New Year!

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20/12/2007 by David.

Charley my cat has an interesting habit at this time of the year.  She finds the woollen nativity figures and selects one.  She grabs it in her mouth and carries it away - often leaving it half way up the stairs.

So it is not unusual on a morning around Christmas time to meet a shepherd or a wise man on the stairs.  This is one of the markers of this festive time.  Strangely she avoids doing this with either Mary or the infant Jesus, or even the lamb - possibly because they are smaller.  I wonder what she thinks she is doing.

What she is doing is making Christmas memorable.

Recently she had to have several teeth removed - but she is still carrying the figures around.

Have you met a shepherd or a king on the stairs this Advent? No?  Then I commend to you a re-reading of the real story in Luke and Matthew.

Better still - meet the Living Christ at this Christmas time.

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09/12/2007 by David.

Someone told me they had seen an unusual instance of parcel wrapping. A bicycle wrapped up in Christmas paper - but in such a way that it was clearly and obviously a bike! Not much difficulty guessing its contents then! I would be disappointed if I got my present like that - I want the pleasure of tearing the wrapping off and revealing the surprise.

When God sent His Son He came all wrapped up in the common towelling of infancy. “All meanly wrapped in swaddling bands and in a manger laid…” According to the custom of the time - and still used today - the Lord of Glory would be seen and yet not seen.

What would you have seen? Just a bundle - and a face, an infant face. What an amazing thing - “My God contracted to a span, incomprehensively made Man” (Wesley)! Just a face showing - and shepherds invited to peer would see Jesus - just like any other baby - and yet, and yet…

This is what Paul meant when he said:

“For God, who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4 v6)

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22/08/2007 by David.

It has been a while now - but I could not bring myself to write the blog about Bosley. His condition deteriorated and we had to call the vet again.

This time there would be no “bell test” - simply the desire to say goodbye to a well loved friend. It is hard to say goodbye. His going was gentle - but he has left a shadow behind him which does not easily disperse. We keep looking for him in the place where he usually lay. He didn’t do much those last days - but his just being there was a comfort.

I believe even the cat has noticed. She sits in different places now and is able to eat from the kitchen floor - whereas before she had to eat up on a shelf - or outside, to prevent the dog from eating her food and doing his insides more harm.

How we miss the bark when we come home, and the need to take a walk regularly. Adjusting to the loss of a pet is surprisingly difficult. And how much more a dear friend or relative? There is at once no comparison and every comparison. There is loss and finality.

I do not expect to see him again - except in the many photos I have taken over the years - but I do expect to see my relatives who died believing in my Saviour. Grace changes everything!

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09/07/2007 by David.

Just over a week ago we called out the vet to see our ailing dog. His breathing was ragged and shallow and he looked extremely poorly.

The vet and assistant duly arrived - prepared to put the poor animal down. Valerie couldn’t agree to this. She had seen him recover before - even though she admits that he looked very ill indeed.

“Ring the door bell,” she said, “If he barks we’ll not put him down”

I rang the doorbell and Bosley lifted his head ever so slightly and woofed gently. That was it! So the dog’s life was spared and the vet administered an injection to make him more comfortable. By the next day he seemed to have made almost a full recovery!

Today however it is clear that he has further complications with the symptoms of diabetes.

I’m not sure how long we can go on like this, nor indeed if the dog’s quality of life (he is 14) is sufficient. Animals, like people, can be very resilient. Today we will have to consult the vet again about the latest symptoms. I am not looking forward to it.

Can we pray for our pets? Of course. We have to be responsible owners too. It isn’t easy.

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25/06/2007 by David.

I have not written a posting for some days now - and in the meantime the summer solstice has come and gone. I always find that day rather depressing. From now on the summer is in decline and the days are getting shorter again. All over our land there are solid calendars of standing stones pimpled about the landscape giving testimony to the importance of knowing when that day was reached - and, not far away from Weston, Glastonbury has just finished a celebration of music, solstice and mud.

I suppose the problem is my attitude. I don’t believe a Christian should be pessimistic - but I’m one of those who tends easily to see the glass as half empty rather than half full. The reality is that in my little back yard the plants are a veritable forest, and the great tits are busy with a second brood.

So I ask myself again - why is the solstice so important? Why does Stonehenge command so much attention? The length of the days is written into the fabric of our solar system. It is not arbitrary - but evidence, less of the laws of gravitation, and more of the promise of God.

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04/05/2007 by David.

Well the local elections are finished. The councillor who yesterday was a chairman of a committee and someone of significance – has become just another member of the community. It must be hard making the adjustment.

I am concerned because one candidate was a person of dubious honesty and integrity. I raised objections to his being put forward as a candidate of a political party – but the party knew best and ignored his past failings. Now I see he is elected to represent the people of his ward. I wonder about the real value of the democratic process. But there is nothing I can do about it. The people have spoken. The die (however distorted) is cast!

Does being elected make us different people? Does being chosen by a majority mean that I am a better person?

Many would say it doesn’t matter. They would say they are all “rogues”. I wonder what God thinks. I commend to you the story of Haman as told in the book of Esther – and a sermon on Sunday morning.

http://www.bristolroadbaptist.org.uk/Esther%203%20One%20bad%20apple.doc

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04/05/2007 by David.

Picture if you can a Victorian terrace of houses with a lane at the back. It has a locked gate at the end. The back yards of each of the houses in my terrace lead into this lane.

Recently my neighbour kindly replaced my gate with a high gate and a latch and bolt low down so that it can’t be reached by putting an arm over. He made a really good job of it. Trouble is - Val went out through the gate to see a nest of great tits in the big wall that runs along the lane - and the new garden gate swung to with a click.

I was busy in the front of the house and didn’t hear her shouts. My neighbours were out. She had no way back in. Tried the other houses to get attention without success. In the end she entered our other neighbour’s back yard and scrambled over the party wall falling with quite a jolt! (We are relieved we took away the pyracantha bush from that part of the yard.)

Now we have pinned back the latch so that whilst you can bolt the gate for security - you are less likely to lock yourself out.

We take all kinds of steps to secure our property. But as Jesus said of the sheep thief there is always the possibility of climbing in “some other way”. Be advised - don’t let your desire for security catch you out. You might have to fit a door bell to the back gate!

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