DMCD Family & Friends

I won’t have time to blog properly tonight especially in continuing the fasting series although the good news is there that more material has been developed for it and I’m excited to publish it as soon as I can. Also on the good news front this is a very important week for me writing wise as I have at least three opportunities to really let that light so shine as it were. There are two articles for certain areas of the press that I’m putting together which is rather exciting. Then there’s a report I’m putting together with a friend in an ongoing series that I’ve got to knuckle down and churn out before the deadline. So this week is set up to be a challenging and promising set of days should I walk with Jesus closely through it. Your prayers are very much required in that regard.

This weekend has been a very good one for a number of reasons. Firstly it was a family weekend in a special way. I may have mentioned that my Mum’s in the country to help my brother following the joyous entry of the first child in the wonderful union of he and his beau Nicola. Recently we were able to send Abigail to spend some time with Mum in her child-minding role. This weekend we’ve gone down to MK where the second Dryden family live and have been able to spend some quality time with them.

So it’s one thing to be reunited with my Mum who I haven’t seen in a while. To top it off though my sister and her son Mattaniah were also in the neighbourhood and I haven’t seen her in quite some time. To see her again was especially pleasing and to catch up with her on how life has been was especially rewarding. The time with them all, however, showed just how much time has changed and for all the similarities and family connections that keep us tight, there is still the inevitable fact that things have changed.

I’ve changed, they’ve changed, things have happened and as a result things have changed. We are not the same three children running around our parents causing grief and mayhem. Indeed now my Mum is the proud grandmother to four of five grandchildren that she had around her this weekend. It’s a tremendous blessing and a significant landmark in how things have changed. I’m grateful for the different relational dynamics that make up family both that which makes us connect and that which apparently makes us repel against each other. It’s all a part of the mix and a good founding for similar issues that we can expect in church family and other social expressions of family.

The cake was already quite something, but what crowned everything off was a visit from an old friend who I caught up with. For privacy reasons I won’t disclose that person’s identity per se except to say it is a ‘she’ (which narrows it down significantly … not) and her impact on my life has been great in ways not known especially by her. It was so brilliant catching up on how things have … yes you’ve guessed it … changed. Also great reflecting on the challenges those changes pose for the future and those changes that lie there. It was also fascinating to explore a bit more into what makes up a person and sometimes it’s great fun realising just when you get a hang of the jigsaw pieces in your hand, another load falls into your lap and you have to work those out as well as fitting them in with the current pieces. People fascinate and it was such a pleasure and a thrill meeting my long lost friend.

So, all that to say, with the preparation for that and other work commitments, blogging has not been a priority for the last five days or so. This could also be reflected in a reduced amount of blogging this week with the things planned, but I hope not as there are so many wonderful developments to share and of course this series on fasting has really captured my writing bug and I don’t want to let that go until I’ve done justice to it. So plenty to keep dmcd busy and off the streets! As ever just keep praying, having Mum around the house should be interesting and a tremendous blessing to the family dynamic here. It is also a precursor to a very hectic end of summer affair in and among which, I really want to stay focussed on God and what He’s calling me to do and responding faithfully to that. Thanks as ever.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd