We’re enjoying a few days in North Norfolk…
…At church in Dersingham, Rev Mark told of the widow in debt who’s threatened by her creditors; her two sons could be sold as slaves. Elisha asks what she has; she says, ‘Nothing, except a little oil.’ She collects jars, pours oil into them, and the oil miraculously fills all of the jars; she sells the oil, pays off her debts and has enough to live on.
Mark asked, ‘How do you see things?’ The woman saw nothing; Elisha saw potential in the little oil.
…We drove down a little road called ‘Shepherd’s Pightle’. I checked. A pightle was a small piece of enclosed land – too small for farming, but big enough to grow vegetables and keep a few animals.
How did our shepherd with his pightle eight hundred years ago see things? He would never be a rich farmer, but with care and hard work he could support his family.
…I’m reading Pamela Brown-Peterside’s ‘African Pearl’. Leaving a New York career in HIV research, Pamela joins Scott and Jennifer to work with an HIV prevention programme in rural Uganda.
Pamela has just arrived. Scott describes their community health programme, their mission’s involvement in education and clean water provision… ‘We have a lot of things going on, but our main goal is to love Ugandans well.’
How did Pamela see things? Practical involvement in a medical programme or the potentially more demanding ‘loving well’?
…This morning I read ‘The feeding of the five thousand’. How did they see things? The disciples saw just five loaves and two small fish; Jesus saw the potential miracle; the crowd saw enough food to satisfy their hunger.
Rev Mark said, ‘You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed.’ An apple seed? How do you see it? One of several inconveniences in an apple, or a potential apple tree?
Do you… do I… see what’s there or can we see potential?
My granddaughter once asked me why and how do I do, or have done, so many things, like, academic qualifications, building things, writing scripts, weaving, pottery, gardening, acting, playing guitar etc. , similar to you Malcolm. I said to her “As you now Flossie, I have no belief in an afterlife, therefore, as I believe this is the only life I have I feel I OWE IT TO MYSELF to achieve as much as my mind and body can.” I than said “Actually if someone believes that a God gave them their life then surely they ought to feel that even more so.
As you wrote Malcolm, we ought to see ourselves as capable of unbelievable wonders and use that belief to achieve everything we are capable of. Possibly, like in my case, we can actually achieve an amazing lot more than when we set out.
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It’s a good point, Alan. Thank you. It shows our similarities and differences. You would talk about natural potential, and self-generated purpose. I would talk about God-given potential and discovering God’s purpose. Either way we have huge – often untapped – potential
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