Raison d'etre - hope this is spelt correctly and apologise (for those in the know) for the omission of the accents.
After collecting my new glasses yesterday -following a(nother) most provoking drive(because full of traffic lights the wrong colour etc etc, no near parking place so a long walk ) I was pondering. I thought, 'I have no idea what these glasses look like, but I am more concerned about how I see than how I look. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. If I were more concerned about how I looked I might make a more concerted effort to join the current (annually returning) trend to 'lose weight' or 'get fit'. My first visit to Tesco after Christmas reminded me of this recurring event because in place of all the wines and stuff to indulge ones body one is, instead, confronted with a barrage of 'yoga mats' and other much more tortuous-looking 'fitness' equipment. Seems like quite a racket. Tesco enables us to indulge ourselves (at our expense and to their benefit) for a couple of months, then Tesco offers the opportunity to feel guilty about our indulgence and tempts us to assuage our guilt (once again at our expense and to their benefit) - but only until the novelty wears off - then we can go ahead with our customary high-sugar, high-fat purchases until next Novemeber when we can be smoothed into justifying our annual binge.
Do I sound like a cynic? Oh dear, I am not meant to be that. Perhaps I should resolve to be less cynical.
I also resolve that whatever a person says to me or about me will not be taken 'personally' - I shall hear it as from that person (Proverbs 16 v 2) - s/he evidently feels justified in what he said (as do I when I say things) but the Lord is the one who judges the motives of the speaker and hearer alike. More than that, He is compassionate, loves us boundlessly, knows our frailty and has our spiritual growth and eternal benefit in mind as He speaks words of Grace to us - must spend more time aquainting myself with what He says about us too.
One of my favourite bits of the Bible is where the Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon - whose covenant head was an idol-worshipper - (while he is hiding because he is scared to death of the Midianites) and declares "Hail, mighty man of valour" - the fact that Gideon was so NOT a mighty man of valour almost has me falling about laughing - but if God declares you to be something, then you ARE. Just because HE says so.
Praise the Lord.
Oh, I have a 'blog' which I started to write (as in real pen and real paper) as I began to recognise that I wasn't going to have time to get to the computer at the close of the year. Must track it down and blog it. Off to take Lucy back to Leicester soon.