Happy Birthday

Today is my wife's birthday, so please forgive me the self-indulgence of giving her a mention.
Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived, said, "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour from the Lord". Notice he didn't say, 'he who findeth a girl prepared to sleep with him, or a one-night stand, or an illicit thrill, or an ornament to hang from his arm at parties or to drape over the passenger seat of his sports car'. No, he said 'he that findeth a wife'. These things are cheap; but a wife is a treasure with a value "far above rubies".
I'm still quietly amazed, even after all these years, that she said 'yes'; that such a remarkable woman would close off all other options and dedicate herself to someone like me for life. But that's what it's all about; the greatest gift she has ever given me in all our twenty six years together is the one she gave on that first day, when she stood and publicly professed a love so strong that she was prepared to seal it with a binding, lifetime commitment. I don't take that lightly, and I never will. That is a treasure beyond price, and that's why Marriage will forever stand head and shoulders above every other human relationship.
Happy Birthday, gorgeous. I love you. And thank you for everything.

Gail Trimble

This year's University Challenge quiz has been won by Corpus Christi College in Oxford, who beat Manchester University by 275 points to 190 in the final. Amazingly, Corpus Christi has less than 400 students, but what's even more remarkable is that the team owes its success to its captain, 26-year-old Gail Trimble, who single-handedly scored two-thirds of her team's 1,200 points in a stunning performance described by the BBC as an "intellectual blitzkrieg". This achievement has thrust the bemused Miss Trimble, a Latin scholar, into the national media spotlight and seen her hailed as a sex-symbol. She's even had an offer from Nuts magazine for a "tasteful photo shoot". Yeah, right.
This, of course, got me thinking. Would the BBC be so fascinated by her if she was just a good student quietly getting on with her Latin? I doubt it. Would Nuts magazine be craving her body if she'd never been on University Challenge? Probably not. Gail's achievements haven't changed her innate worth or beauty as a person but they have changed the way people see her. Every day we evaluate people on the basis of their celebrity status, health, wealth or outward appearance and, without thinking beyond what we see, we label them. Jesus never made that mistake and neither should we; whether with Gail Trimble or anyone else.

In the Garden

I finally got out into the garden the other day for the first time this year. Though I didn't do much or stay long it felt so good just to be out there; a mini-victory over the long grip of winter and a celebration of better things to come.
I love gardening. As therapy for the soul it has no equal; it slows me down and helps me reconnect with the realities of the human condition that get lost so often in our hectic digital lives. The garden reminds me that I'm dependent on nature and on God. I can't control them; I have to humble myself and work with them. Whenever I watch a seed grow I'm reminded that it is not me that performs the miracle, all I do is plant what God has given me and stand back in awe. The weather, the seasons, rain and frost and sunshine all show me my true place in the divine order of things and I'm glad that they do. It's a sense of humility and worship that is becoming increasingly lost in our atheistic generation, and the further we stray from things that show us who we really are the more soul-sick we become.
I thank God, literally, for my garden; though it's not much to look at and probably wouldn't impress you if you saw it. But for me, it's an encounter with the divine. Genesis records that one of the first things God did was to plant a garden, and it was there that "Adam walked with God in the cool of the day". If you're a gardener, open your heart to the lessons all around you and you too can walk with God. It might surprise you to find that He's been in your garden all along.

Jade Goody

In case you didn't know (where have you been?) Jade Goody, a media celebrity here in the UK, got married today. Unfortunately though what should have been a happy occasion was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that she's been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. Do you have important things to do and to say? Let us attend to them now, while we have the opportunity.

Political Correctness

This seems to have become a requirement for modern life. What you write, what you say and even the opinions you hold had better conform or you'll soon find yourself in trouble. Don't get me wrong, I strongly agree that we should respect and value others regardless of who they are, what they are like and how they choose to live. After all, every single human being on the planet is a unique creation of God with their own hopes and dreams and just as much right to a place in the sun as you and I. The problem comes when political correctness is stretched until you become afraid to speak the truth, express an opinion or call something by its real name because that may offend. This is just another way of saying "I forbid you to say anything about me I don't want to hear" hidden under the noble-sounding premise of "respect my feelings and don't offend me". What incredible self-centred pride! And what a sad place to live. The truth hurts sometimes, but faithful are the wounds of a friend. Jesus said that when we know the truth, the truth will set us free. Unless we allow others to tell us the truth about ourselves without crying foul, we will never see ourselves as other see us and we can never change to become better people.