This photo shows the wall of an old house. It’s from the same medieval village tour – near Lyon, France, 2004. Aren’t those stones just perfectly imperfect, the way they’re assembled in such hodge-podge rows?This is a comfort for me. It reminds me that God uses us despite our imperfections. When I look around at …
When you're already feeling painfully low and grief-stricken, people's "helpful" comments can feel like a slap in the face, can't they Even well-meaning advice can hurt. I remember a long conversation with a friend called Rob*, in the early days of my illness
Curious to see how I not-so-perfectly dealt with Rob’s “helpful” pep-talk? You might learn a thing or two from my mistakes! The story begins here, in Part 1, in case you missed it. Putting on new clothes When my autoimmune symptoms are flaring, I find it really hard to get dressed. The discomfort, bordering on …
Today we’re meeting Carole. She’s 69 years old and has a bunch of chronic illnesses that require daily management. She first got sick at the age of 31, which means she has been unwell for nearly 40 years. Can you imagine that?! Carole, welcome to our Build a Bridge Interview Series! It’s an honour …
Refocusing on Jesus always seems to ground me when frustrations about church crop up, or when relationships with fellow Christians become strained. In this post, I'm focusing on Jesus' experiences of grief and abandonment.
How do we navigate church relationships with people who don’t seem to get us? Focusing on scenes from the Gospels, this series looks at how much Jesus, the man of sorrows, really does get what we’re going through. If you dearly love God but you struggle with church, this series is for you.
Introducing Hosea! Age: 66 Chronic Illness: I’m hampered by Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood plasma cells. I was diagnosed sixteen years ago, and by the grace of God, I’ve been a survivor since then. There is no cure for Myeloma, and there is always a risk that it will return in full bloom. …
Introducing Ally! This might surprise you, but Ally is only 17 years old… That’s right! How’s that for crushing the stereotypes? It’s easy to assume that chronic illness is just an “old person” thing, but many young people manage ongoing and debilitating health conditions too. Let’s hear from one of them now… Ally’s church …
Introducing Kristy! Age: 38 Chronic illness: I’ve had a severe case of ME/CFS for almost 4 years For how long have you been a Christian? I’ve believed in God my whole life; but I’d say age 14 was a turning point for me, in terms of calling the faith my own and making a personal …
I don’t know if you’re familiar with the expression, build a bridge. It’s a way of “encouraging” someone to move on from their problems. Well, I’m not using the expression in its usual sense. Fruitful Today’s Build a Bridge project is about walking over the bridge with a grieving person, rather than standing back while …