A Woman's Place

This is a subject I have been thinking about quite a lot lately and wondered whether or not to blog about it.  Could be controversial.  Then yesterday, after the Prime Minister's ill- advised (so called) joke to a female minister on the opposite side of the house, I decided that maybe it was time to say what has been on my mind.  I don't want to discuss about the Prime Minister or whether it was a sexist remark or not.  It's more about the general attitude to women in society and in the church that I'm thinking.

We criticise those of other faiths because of the way they treat their women but traditional Christians are not always free from blame.  There are many places where they wouldn't dream of having a woman preacher or in any sort of office within the church organisation apart from 'in a woman's place' in the kitchen making the tea and refreshments or cleaning the building ready for the next service.  I have known of people who refused to take communion because it was given by a woman vicar.  In the end she was urged to go to another church!

I love the story of Mary and Martha and many read it and are happy that Jesus says that it is better to be in His presence and not always be busy, busy, busy, running here and there.  But I think that this misses the real point of the story.  In those days it was customary for the menfolk to sit at the feet of a rabbi and learn of him and the women could not be there with the men.  In the synagogue they are kept separate.  I'm sure that when Martha was telling her sister to go and help her, the other disciples would have agreed with Martha.  They were sitting at the feet of the Rabbi and this was no place for a woman.  Jesus contradicted that thought process and said that she had chosen well.  He condoned her action, not condemned her for her forwardness.  I think that this story is more about the rightful place of women, alongside the men in God's kingdom.  He broke the conventional law of separation of the sexes in spiritual matters.

There are many instances when Jesus breaks all the taboos and talks to women.  The woman at the well and the adulteress woman are cases in point.  I always wonder in the case of the woman caught in adultery, if she was caught 'in the act' then she couldn't have been alone!  So why was she the sinner and the other person not.  I think that's why Jesus looked at the men who had brought her before Him and asked them 'Who is without sin?'  Was He saying that they are as much to blame for going with such a woman as they considered her to be?  Did they understand what He meant?  Another fact we should always remember is that the first Easter message was given by a woman - the men had all fled for their safety.

Yesterday after hearing about the PMs bad joke, I read Martin Scott's blog that I follow.  He was talking about the Virgin Birth. You can see the entire entry on http://3generations.eu/blog and click on the entry for April 27th about the Virgin Birth.  In it he said:

Maybe there is a ‘no need for help from you males’ involved in the virgin birth. That would be quite like God. Marginalise the powerful. Jesus was male, but so very different.
Not so much about the virgin birth but certainly the family line was somewhat interesting. Sexual issues there and quite a bit of racial impurity. Oh boy. God does just do things his way. Doesn’t seem he flows along too well with the religious status quo.

If Jesus came to reclaim a fallen world then through him the results of the fall should be dealt with.  The subservience of women I think is one of those issues.  I am no feminist but simply a Jesus follower trying to put into practice what He taught and how He related to others.

Success or Failure

We are coming up to the season of exams.  Up and down the land, students will be revising facts and dates.  So much depends on what they remember on the day.  Their whole future could depend on it - which subjects they can then take at A level or which university they can get into.  No pressure then!!

A university education is now considered the norm, a 'must' and yet there are some great people and some very successful business people who never went to university.  There are also some very important jobs that don't need a great education.  Where would we be without refuse collectors, people working in the service industry, postmen/women - and we could go on.  Graduates wouldn't think of taking a job in some of these situations.  They want top jobs with big salaries, flashy cars and big houses.  It reminds me of what my late husband used to say, 'Too many chiefs and not enough indians.'  Someone needs to be in factories making those cars and on sites building the houses.  Someone needs to deliver the goods from warehouse to shop and someone needs to serve in the shop.  Don't misunderstand me I'm not advocating that learning and seeking to have a better income is wrong but I think sometimes we measure a person's success or failure in life by their job, car, house and so on.

Most parents will agree with me when I say that our children are different one from the other.  My two sons are like chalk and cheese when it comes to academic issues.  One will always be able to earn far more than the other one because of academic achievement.  But this doesn't truthfully reflect the effort put into their school years.  In fact, I think that the less qualified possibly tried a bit harder - he needed to in order to survive.  So as a mother, I do feel that sometimes life seems very unfair.  Why should one be thought of as successful and the other not?  As people they are both loving and caring but because of the way their brains are wired, they are who they are.

How often are we introduced to someone new, names are exchanged and then we are asked, 'And what do you do?'  It may be just conversation but then subconscious judgments are made depending on the answer.  I sometimes feel, 'Who cares?  I am me!'  Do they want to know about my job or about me and I don't think you can tell what a person is really like just by knowing their income or material wealth.

Is our purpose in life to get more things, a bigger bank balance or be just who we are and the best that we can be?  It's not about X amount of income we have but rather our attitude to that material gain.  God sees us just as we are and loves us just as He has made us, all different and unique.  Failure to accept this truth is life's real failure.

Man at Work

 Yesterday we were in town doing some shopping in the supermarket when my phone went.  I was surprised to hear a man's voice saying that our delivery would be with us withing half an hour.  The day before I had received a text to say that they would deliver between 3 and 5 pm and would phone me an hour beforehand so I thought I had plenty of time to get what we wanted and be home by 2.  The time was just 1 pm!  So I left my son to sort things out in the trolley and I just left and just got in the house when the doorbell went.  They were here delivering our new garden furniture.  I mentioned about the time in passing and the driver smiled and said that he was more efficient than they realised.  As it happens we returned to the supermarket later in early evening and it was actually better with less people around.

The driver had said that he was delivering our new hammock and I answered that I didn't want a hammock.  I had ordered swing chairs.  He assured me that that was what it was called.  So this afternoon we started to assemble the new chair/hammock.

Now where do I start?

Half way there - time for a break!

We finished it in good time and so had a good time to just sit and enjoy it, the good weather and watch the birds feeding.  It was worth the effort and hopefully will provide many an enjoyable hour in the garden.  Just what the doctor ordered - rest and relaxation.

Rest and relaxation.

Diego enjoying the fruits of his labour.

It's Good to Talk

Today's day out had been in the diary for a few weeks.  At last the bus arrived and I made the hour and a quarter journey to Wells.  Oh the the benefits of having a Senior Citizen's Free Bus Travel pass! - all the way from Yeovil to Wells and back without costing me anything.  We had arranged to meet in Wells as it was some way between where we both live.  I first met Diane a number of years ago and although I am a generation older than her, we got on so well and have been friends ever since.  The last time I saw her was at my 70th birthday get together in January.  It's good to get together with a lot of friends but you can't really talk about some private matters on such occasions.  She used to live a bit nearer (about 50 minutes drive away) but when she remarried a few yearsa ago, she moved to her husband's home nearer to Bath - a lovely small town called Bradford on Avon.  

So today we met ... ... and talked ... ... and drank coffee ... ... and talked ... ... and had lunch ... ... and talked.  You get the idea!

Diane at the gate to the Bishop's Palace in Wells.

  After a coffee and a long chat we wandered around the grounds near the Bishop's Palace.  Historically, Wells has a very important place in the Church and it's struggles through the ages.  We ended up at the cathedral where there is a very nice cafe/restaurant where we had some lunch and chatted some more.  You'd be surprised just how long a sandwich and salad can last when you're engrossed in conversation!

Diane outside Wells cathedral.

We brought each other up to date with family news (can't quite believe her son is now 20!) and exchanged notes on our spiritual journeys, gaining insight into some of the things that are happening in our own lives and in the lives of other mutual friends.  Oh, it's so good to talk, one to one and face to face.  Better still if you can do it in a nice place and enjoying a meal together.

On the bus journey home, that came all too quickly, a couple of things caught my attention and made me smile.  The first one was a street name I noticed as we were going through Glastonbury - it was called Leg of Mutton Road.  I couldn't help wondering who on earth would have, could have suggested such a name or if there was some story behind it.  Who knows?  The second thing was as we stopped at a bus stop in the next town after Glastonbury, called Street, we stopped outside a very nice house with a very nice garden but what really caught my attention was the garden shed.  Well, not exactly the shed.  That was an ordinary shed but on the outside, above the door was a clock.  I must admit, I've never seen a clock hung on the outside of an ordinary garden shed before.  I checked the time on my watch and it was the same.  The clock was going and showing the right time.  I smiled as I thought of someone gardening and looking at the clock to make sure they didn't miss their meal, or favourite TV programme.  It couldn't have been an ordinary clock but one specially made to withstand the weather conditions outside.  So where had it come from? Maybe a closed down train station?  Again, who knows?  It's amazing the things you notice when you're not having to do the driving and concentrate on the road.  I did enjoy my day out.  Here's to the next time, Diane.

A Work in Progress

I have spent the past few days mainly in the garden - working, I might add!  The weather here in the south west has been like summer.  Over the weekend you could sense a distinct smell of barbecues in the air.  I felt really sorry though for my friends Joanna and Ian who live in Latvia.  They had more snow last week and still couldn't see the grass.  Today, however, on her blog she does say that the snow is now thawing rapidly and you can actually see the road and some bushes and tractor equipment etc.  

We moved into this house in May 2009 (nearly 2 years already!) but the first year we were busy sorting out the house and renewing and changing things so we didn't give much thought to the garden.  It is quite long - about 100ft x 30ft. When we moved here it was mainly grass with a few bushes at the top and a small patio near the house.

This was how the garden looked when we first moved here in 2009.



 Last year we removed quite a large part of the lawn in order to make a good sized patio so we could have a barbecue and have friends round.  We also dug the border on the left right up to the end of the garden.  At the top and at various points in the lawn on the left we planted fruit trees and canes, some rhubarb and a few flowering bushes to attract the bees and butterflies.  We extended the patio and added a small rockery with a water feature (which the birds love). Last week I started on the right hand lawn, taking away some more of the grass to make a less boring oblong shape.

These were taken today.

Already the plum tree and the cherry trees are in full blossom.  I was so pleased to see also today that the fig tree (under the plastic covering - for protection against winter frosts - on the centre left) has got new leaves just in bud.  I thought we had lost it as it looked just like a dead twig so here's hoping we get a few figs from it this year - we only planted it last year so haven't had any fruit yet.  There's still more to do  - digging and preparing the soil, weeding and putting in new plants and bushes.  I have already bought a few that are now at the point of almost bursting out of their pots so if it's still fine tomorrow, I should get them in the ground.  We also ordered a 3 seater swing-seat so we can sit and enjoy the summer outside.

Some plants almost bursting to get into the garden where they'll have a bit more space to grow.

  People say you're nearer to God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.  I know that is theologically incorrect - God is everywhere present - but there is definitely something about being amongst nature that seems to bring us more in tune with the love and peace of His presence.  I think that maybe it has something to do with the fact that God is creator and being amongst creation it's as though we are touching not only what He has made but touching Him.  We are connecting with what God is about in a non-controlled, directed or organised way.  It's not about listening to someone else talk about Him or sing about Him - it's a direct and immediate contact with the Creator Himself.  I just love it!

Grace and Islam

Yesterday evening I watched a programme on BBC3 called My Brother the Islamist, about a young man who made a film about his step brother who a short time before had embraced an extreme form of Islam.  I must admit that I watched it primarily because it had been produced by a good Christian friend of ours living in the south west.  He is an investigative journalist who set up his own film company called Grace Productions. (Hence the title of this post)

It turned out to be a very interesting hour of viewing that brought many thoughts to mind.  If you're interested in seeing the programme you can catch up with it on BBC iplayer (click on BBC3 and My brother the Islamist) I don't want to go into the deep theological issues but some things I found a certain familiarity with.  A friend on Facebook afterwards commented that she knew a number of Christians like that and I had to agree with her.  Sometimes we don't always see just how we appear to other people by the things we say and do and see the speck of dirt in the other person's eye while unable to see the plank in our own. 

The Christian brother got very upset when his Islamist brother explained that with other people of his faith he would greet and shake their right hand but those not following Islam he would shake their left hand, the explanation being to distinguish between the spiritual brother and the 'unclean'.  So his (own flesh and blood) brother, he would shake by the left hand.  He insisted that it was nothing personal and that he wasn't saying he was dirty but that was the way it was with his faith.  Maybe as Christians, on the surface we don't make such a distinction but I think that often there is a sense of spiritual superiority and a security of going to Heaven while others who don't follow our teachings are bound to burn in Hell's fire.

The scriptures that came to mind were how God miraculously saved the life of Ishmael (when he was dying or thirst after having been thrown out of Abraham's household along with his mother Hagar) as well as saving Isaac (when Abraham was asked to sacrifice him)  He saved Ishmael not condemned him to die in the desert.The other verse is the well known and often quoted John 3:16 - 'For God so loved the world.'  I think we shouldn't forget the wording is 'the world'.

Watching the Islamists on the streets, putting stickers everywhere and giving out leaflets and urging people to convert to their way of thinking and living, I couldn't help thinking of many Christian groups doing exactly the same (myself included)  I guess to those with no religious affiliation, there is no difference between us - all declaring that they have the truth and that everyone should convert to their group.

So in the end people ask 'Who is right?'  The answer all would readily give is, 'I am, of course'.

Remember in Genesis, God speaking to Moses called Himself 'I am'.  I'll leave you to ponder!