Life itself is grace

Well, we’ve had the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness so beloved by Liza and now another strange year is drawing to its close.

We gathered as a family for Thanksgiving (sadly without the NZ contingent) at James and Christina’s new house and despite life’s challenges we were able to celebrate all the good things that we’ve encountered during the course of this year. Our grandson Huxley continues to battle with his health but the good news is that Christina and James have been able to rent out their house and in turn to rent something more suited to Huxley’s needs. It’s also a bit nearer to the rest of us.

You can see the latest news about Huxley here

We’ve stayed in touch with our Diocesan colleagues in Kenya who continue to work hard in both civil society and supporting people with disabilities. They achieve so much with such limited resources- it is quite honestly mind boggling! We’re hoping it won’t be too long before we’re able to join them once again for a visit. Kenya is gearing up for another election and we’re keenly aware that our friends will be continuing the work we undertook together back in 2013 working for peace as the country prepared to vote.

Sobering thought yet we all remain hopeful.

Here in the UK we’ve continued with our work- for David with the Chichester Anna Chaplaincy and for Liza as a spiritual director. David has been able to return to some face to face meetings and Liza has moved her practice completely to online for now so that she can support people wherever they are geographically. We’ve also very much enjoyed a return to in person services at our Cathedral.

We’re trying to live in the moment, facing whatever each day brings with a measure of trust and grace- not always successfully but we’re thankful for all that we have.

We remain very grateful for the support of all of you who still follow this blog and for your messages of encouragement to us. Christmas beckons and with 2022 and whatever it might hold within sight too, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

We’ll sign off for now with some words from Frederick Buechner which we have found both thought provoking and helpful:

“If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”