LOST, FOUND AND WANTED - Thoughts from the Patio Doors

I sat down over Christmas to start one of those really big puzzles, you know the sort; a seascape with yachts, only to find, upon completion, that there was a piece missing, moreover it was a piece of sky missing, you know, that piece, which is a perfect blue, which looks exactly like all the other bits. Well I checked and double-checked the box and the wrapping for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Then, in a moment of panic, I puzzled as to whether or not it had been thrown out with the Christmas gift-wrap that was on the floor at the time. Now, that would have meant a trip down to the local recycling skip, and I would then enter the realms of “needles and haystack” time, Oh, I felt so lost, so very lost.

Therefore, I resolved myself to the fact that my puzzle and my predicament would have to remain one of those mysteries of Christmas that remained unsolved forever.

I seem to have had to resolve myself to the fact that I have lost quite a bit throughout 2006, some things for the good and some things not so. My memory is appalling, if I tidy up one of the children’s rooms, all I get from them is “Where did you put?” Well I honestly cannot remember, but the little tinkers seem to take advantage of my predicament, and play on it a little, but I honestly cannot remember and the ensuing discussions become a little, shall we say, heated.

Another for instance; with the help of the three younger Akerman’s (see they have another mention) , I’m quite sure I have acquired numerous ‘sprouting’ of grey hair, and not all on my head, they seemed to have crept down towards the chin. Therefore, I am not so sure that they are welcome visitors to my outward image, but I will have to live with them all the same. Someone asked why I have started cutting my hair so short, “well”, I said, “would you want to look at all that grey everyday?, I‘ve lost my old hair colour, I can‘t even remember what it looked like, so I might as well start all over again.”

2006, as you will know is the year that we, (St. Mark’s church) started our “Yeast” programme. I am sure if you have been ‘reading and inwardly digesting!’ my other letters, you will understand all about the 4 W’s (The Welcome, Worship, Word and Witness). Well, if you have, you are a better person than I am. Each fortnight, we have been exploring a different ‘morsels’ of a meal, which, with the addition of the friends in our groups has multiplied like yeast several fold. I believe in the parish there are 60 plus members now, all in individuals and multiplying.

I can’t even start to express the feeling I have had of suddenly finding something that might have been lost for so long, each week is a revelation, and credit must go to the group (The Yeast Steering Group, or as I like to call them ‘The Yeast stirring Group‘) who formulated the initial programme.

Just before Christmas, we were looking at “Doing Evangelism”. During the Word ‘morsel‘ we looked at people in our society who were lost and Jesus’ attitude to those people. We thought about those whom we knew, who need someone to find them and tell them about the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I pondered more about the things I had lost during 2006, and realised that the scales were out weighed by the things I had found during the year. Through the love and support of the Yeast group, I had found a connection, a feeling of being part of something, that I was no longer lost.

During my section (I can‘t remember if I volunteered or had my arm twisted), ‘Witness in the World’, I wanted to think about bringing together in prayer, all those people who were apart from their families, who might have a feeling of loss, so that they might come to know Jesus more deeply. (John 4:35)

Every fortnight, I look forward to the next Yeast session, and the one we have to look forward to on 9th January, is titled “Encountering Jesus”. In that session we will be looking “at how we should have Jesus at the centre of our lives and how that can empower us to join him in his mission in the world”

This looks as if it could be a real meaty morsel, as the first part, the Welcome, asks us; if we could spend the rest of your life doing exactly what you wanted what you would do.

Help! I am feeling lost again, where do I start, I feel like I’m on that Desert Island, that was mentioned in session 2 of Yeast. But, if I broaden my horizons (session 2 again) I should be able to find exactly what I would like to do.

In closing, I hope that I remain forgetful of those things I lost during 2006, thankful for the things I have found (as long as I can remember I found them) and grateful for the fact that there will be plenty of other mysteries to explore and find during 2007, some perhaps wanted, some not.

I hope you have a bountiful New Year, and I promise to write more frequently than I did in 2006.

Shalom and God Bless

Paul