Yesterday's Strange and Wonderful moments

Crystal Glass Cross with candle behind

I started my day at about 7.30am, as usual, with a shout from my wife to tell me that my coffee was in my office (the small and cluttered bedroom).  As I sat down at my desk and took a sip from my coffee, it suddenly dawned on me that I had only awoken once during the night, which is most unusual for me.  A normal night for me is looking at the bedside clock every half an hour or so, after turning in bed because of some stiffness, numbness or general feeling of being less than comfortable.  I started up my computer, lit a tea light candle behind my crystal glass cross, and started to pray.  Before I knew it, it was 9.00am and something suddenly crossed my mind.  I wondered if God had blessed me with the power of healing, and if so, could I apply this to my own body.  I was, at this time, suffering quite a bit of chest pain, so I crossed my arms over my chest, placing my hands face down upon my chest and said something along the lines of:  "If there is anything evil within this body, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to leave."  I glanced back toward the cross to see a white cloud of smoke rising from my body drifting upward, past my very eyes.  My immediate thought was, being a pipe smoker, had I inadvertently dropped some smouldering tobacco on the floor, so I checked and found it not to be the case.  I was completely taken aback by this strange occurrence and just sat there in amazement.  Then I realised that the pain in my chest was no longer there.

My wife came upstairs to let me know that she was ready for me to give her a lift to Framework at Kirkby in Ashfield, where she is a volunteer coordinator for the charity and noticed that I was looking a little distant, but I thought it better not to say anything about what had just happened at this stage, as she is unfortunately not of the faith.  The shopping, that we had bought for my parents, was put in the car and off we went to Kirkby.

Guide Dog Davy

After dropping her off with her guide dog Davy, I continued on to Mansfield to visit my parents and to drop off their shopping.  I go over regularly because my mum has early stages of dementia and my dad is not getting any younger and starting to have problems with his memory as well.  After sorting through the shopping, dad put his shoes on to take Libby (Kay's retired Guide dog, that now lives with my parents) for a walk, whilst I stay to keep mum company and ensure that she is safe, along with my border collie Jess.  Mum really loves Jess because she is so active all the while, as the breed tend to be.  Then I am told by mum about strange thing number two for today:  she is speaking a foreign language to my dad when they go to bed at night.  Apparently she believes it to be some old language with, as she puts it, a lot of ae words in it.

My Border Collie "Jess"

She cannot stop herself when it comes upon her and feels that she has to tell my dad whatever it is that she is saying.  Dad cannot understand a word of it and cannot make any sense of it at all. Mum, by the way, has never been able to speak any language other than her native English.  I asked her if it was happening when she laid down in bed and started to think of things that she wanted to pray about and she said that, on reflection, it most probably was.  So, is this the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues? and if so I pray that He gives my dad the power to interpret what is being said.  Or, is it simply another stage in her dementia - I certainly do not know.  Dad returns from his walk with Libby and I make arrangements to visit again on Friday morning to see how they are and to let dad get anything done that he needs to without having to worry about mum.

By now it is mid-day, mum gives me an Easter egg and a birthday card to take away with me, as well as giving me a small barbecue set and some unwanted toiletries for me to use as raffle prizes or similar for a new venture that I am hoping to start, a night shelter for the homeless of Sutton in Ashfield, along with the help of my wife, because of her connections with the homeless charity Framework.  Off to the car with Jess and back home to Sutton.

A tin of stewed steak, new potatoes and peas for dinner.  Typical blokes' dinner, all out of tins and warmed up in pans.  A quick wash and shave and it is now 2.00pm and time I wasn't here.  Time to visit the residents and staff of Bank House Residential Care home for the elderly on my pastoral visiting duties (more of a joy than a duty it has to be said).  I arrive at 2.15pm to find their driveway blocked by the manager's car and the decorators' who have scaffolding up everywhere and dustsheets to catch any drips from their painting of the exterior of the home.  Due to this, I have to park about 100 yards away from the home which is difficult for me as I have great difficulty in walking very far at all, due to problems with my spine.  So a few quick prayers to ask for strength and off I go.

I sign in and get a chair to sit in the lounge with the residents, after having gone around them all to see how they are.  I find that I sit there with them for an hour and a half, very little is spoken by me, mainly I just listen and watch, but the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is that, although many of them suffer from dementia to one degree or another, not a single one of them forgets their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and He increasingly works through me during these visits to bring them a peace and love that I could never offer alone.  Obviously, I cannot say anything of what transpires whilst I am there as confidentiality is of the utmost importance, but they always look forward to us calling each week.  I say us because Jesus walks by my side whenever I visit and it is He that does all the work, not me.  The time is now 4.00pm and it's time to say goodbye to my friends at Bank House, back to the car and back to Kirkby to pick up my wife from her volunteering work with Framework.  From there it is back home where Guide dog Davy and Jess greet each other with the usual play bowing and running around for a few minutes.  It is soon time for tea and I settle down to an evening in front of the TV with my lovely wife Kay.

What a strange but wonderful day it had been!!