Fight The Good Fight

Three stories I read yesterday:

Matt Willis… His parents separated when he was three… He started abusing alcohol and drugs in his teens… In 2000 he formed the band ‘Busted’ with two friends…

‘At just 18 we were signing contracts worth six figures and living a party lifestyle… by the age of 22 I was completely addicted to drink and drugs…’

He married TV presenter Emma in 2008… they have three children together… ‘Over the last two decades I’ve relapsed repeatedly and been to rehab four times.’

The documentary: ‘Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction’ is on TV next week…

We fight our own personal battles… addictions, guilt, failures, deeply hidden secrets…

Jeoffroy… ‘Tools With A Mission’ (TWAM) tell ofa man challenged by disability…

‘…Disabled Care Organisation opened in his community in Solwezi, Zambia… The centre trains people with disabilities… tailoring, carpentry, knitting, metal fabrication, computing and electrical skills…’

‘Joffroy joined the tailoring group fifteen years ago and since then has become a voluntary instructor. He keeps his own TWAM sewing machine in the centre and runs his own small business there…’

TWAM say: ‘We still haven’t won the fight against poverty… there are still so many families who need our help.’

We fight the battles of others… championing the needs of the poor, disabled, disadvantaged, victimised, marginalised…

Queen Camilla… Chris Goswami writes: ‘When Princess Diana infamously told Martin Bashir that “there were three of us in the marriage”… That BBC interview sealed Camilla’s reputation as a villain and a marriage wrecker.’

‘…Following the death of Diana… Camilla was famously dubbed “the most hated woman in Britain”…’ Camilla subsequently endured much criticism, abuse, disdain.

Chris Goswami points out that Camilla has refused to fight back. She’s never defended herself, answered the criticisms, made counter-accusations or lashed out. Rather, Camilla’s fought by ‘turning the other cheek’, quietly, gradually, redeeming her reputation and increasingly gaining respect.

We fight by turning the other cheek – choosing not to engage with hostility, accusations, personal conflict…