Waiting… With Frogs, Red Oak, and Job

Yesterday at church Beth told the story of Nehemiah… waiting…

…We emptied our pond. The frogs and news went. We replaced the pond liner, refilled the pond… waited… Frogs and newts have returned.

… We had rats in the garden. The bird feeders came down. Many birds no longer visited… The rats went. We replaced the bird feeders… waited… goldfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, woodpeckers have returned.

Apparently lifeless dahlia tubers have been in our shed throughout the winter. We planted them two weeks ago… waited. Our dahlias are now 6 inches tall.

Musing… We’re active in our garden… We wait… Things are outside our control… Good things happen.

On Friday our local Red Oak Primary School organised and hosted the UK’s first ever #SchoolsAgainstRacism football festival.

‘In the morning, our Year 6 football teams took part in workshops, learning about the racism suffered by footballers such as Viv Anderson… John Barnes…

Children learnt about internet trolling and how to be responsible when using the internet and they learnt about why footballers around the world are taking to the ‘knee’…’

In the afternoon there was the #SchoolsAgainstRacism football tournament… Red Oak won!

Musing… Education often involves waiting for children to learn. Red Oak aren’t prepared to wait for positive attitudes to develop. They’ve been proactive and taught them.

I’m reading the story of Job. He’s sick, bereaved, alone, suffering physically and mentally, waiting in a very dark place… With only his faith in his God to cling to, he says: ‘But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me I shall come out as pure gold.’

Musing… friends who are waiting in a dark place like Job. They don’t know what the outcome will be… Life’s out of their control… helpless and sometimes hopeless they cling on to their God who knows where they’re going.

Musing… Waiting… with a joyful smile like the frog… with determined hard work like Red Oak… with tearful confidence like Job.