Struggles of the Body. Mind and Spirit.

Yesterday…

…I read: ‘I’m a person who wants to do a lot of things trapped in a body that doesn’t’.

…Considering the many garden jobs… 40 years ago I would have been well motivated and acted speedily. I put in a new fence panel – they seem to get heavier; I tidied up old tomato plants – jobs take longer. My body and mind struggle with each other constantly!  

…Catherine chatted… Catherine’s struggling with a course she’s recently started. It’s many years since she studied; years of perceived mental inactivity make her think she’s incapable. Catherine’s bright and intelligent; I join her friends in believing she’s more than capable. Catherine struggles to believe it.

…Alice chatted… Alice struggles with her impatience. She wants something done and it has to be done immediately. Alice struggles to understand… why others have to discuss things… why some decisions take time… why her God doesn’t answer her ‘urgent’ prayers, immediately!

Today…

…Early… Barbara chatted… down on the sea front. In the summer she joined a group of all-year-swimmers each morning. It was good on warm summer mornings. This morning was damp and grey. Soon mornings will be cold and dark. Barbara’s struggles… will she continue her daily swim…?

… My anorexic friend Kim wrote… about today’s meeting: ‘I’m over a stone less than I was this time last year which doesn’t bode well… We’re also talking about palliative care… it’s gonna be tough.’ Kim’s struggles…

 Musing…

…St Paul’s words: ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.’ (Romans 7:15)

…Jesus words: ‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’(Matthew 26:41)

…The old hymn:

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt
Fightings and fears within without…

…Charlotte Elliott, facing mental and spiritual struggles, wrote these words nearly 200 years ago. Bringing her struggles to her God she responded: ‘O lamb of God I come.’