by James Webb
Six thick, long ropes of licorice. I’ve never seen the like, and neither have the children. They can barely contain their excitement. The red one is strawberry, the green one apple, the blue one blueberry and so on. Five different children and six different licorice ropes. Read more
Today I am repenting of my bad memory. I had allowed myself to forget something important.
I had not forgotten that God is kind, or that He is generous, or that He loves me. No, it was something else. Read more
So how was your 2018?
A while ago I suggested that there was only one question worth asking myself in any end-of-year reflection. It’s not so much about what happened, but rather how I responded. Did I grow in 2018?
As for those things that did happen, the last quarter of the year was hugely significant. We’ve been back from Australia for four years now, and most of that time has been spent waiting for God to make clear what kind of things I should be doing next. Every now and then I would try to take matters into my own hands, and bring order out of chaos. It didn’t work. God pushed back. But since the summer, the wheels have been turning.
Since the end of August, I have started (and finished) the first draft of a novel – something I have avoided for years, because writing a book that was just one story seemed so intimidating. Since the end of August, we’ve moved into a new home that is much more suitable for our oversized family. Since the end of August, I have been offered a position as an ‘Associate Bible Teacher’ in our church, and as of January will be working part-time in this role. In other words, the days since the end of August have been constructive, focused and have given some shape to the coming months of 2019. I like shape. It agrees with me.
Seeing things fall into place has been satisfying, like placing the final piece of a particularly awkward jigsaw puzzle, but that’s not the most important thing is it?
Have I grown in 2018?
I think so, yes. I’ve had my faith stretched in some good ways, and I’ve seen God work. 2018 has not left me unchanged. And that is, as always, the most important thing.
When you move to a new house, you have to decide where to put the heavy furniture. The goal is to put it somewhere good, so that you won’t have to move it again. If you play your cards right, you’ll end up with a nice, eye-catching feature than defines the room and serves a purpose. Over the years that piece of furniture will become a comforting, familiar presence, perhaps soothing you as soon as you enter the room. Get it right, and you won’t even want to move it.
But eventually it will need to be moved, and then you’ll discover the delights of what lurks behind a heavy piece of furniture that has lain undisturbed for many, many months. Cobwebs and dust, yes, but also missing toys or coins, or carelessly discarded raisins and bits of dried, shriveled orange peel. There’s almost no limit to the surprises waiting for you behind an immobile piece of furniture.
Now where’s the heavy furniture in my soul? What are the things that I’ve plonked down and left untouched for years, either because they look nice where they are or because I just can’t be bothered to move them? Maybe it’s something that’s actually impractical or even dangerous, but its constant presence has become comfortingly familiar to me. Is it time to shift something, either to get the vacuum cleaner in there, or just in case I happen to find some sparkling treasure that I thought was lost forever many years ago?
I have been journaling on and off since I was 18, and recently I decided to read through some of my old notebooks. There are some gaps in my history, where I had a year or so off, but on the whole it’s a reliable screencap of my mental state over the past twenty years. Read more
Being a dad is tricky, and I don’t always get it right, so when I do it tends to stick in the mind.
One Australian summer’s day, at the local pool, a young Calvin came to me with a two dollar coin that he’d found. “What should I do with this, dad?“ he asked, and in a moment of inspiration I replied, “Well, what do you think you should do with it?” Read more
There was a very small window when Ruth was the more prominent one in our relationship. We were newly married and she got involved with the worship group at church, while I sat in the pew saying and doing nothing worthy of notice. In those days I was known as ‘Ruth’s husband’. Eventually I began preaching, and even ended up working for the church for a few months, so that was the end of that. Since those days Ruth has mostly been ‘James’ wife’. Read more
This post marks the first year anniversary of The Listening Book blog. I’ve been scribbling on this page once a week for a whole year now. It would be a good time to stop and reflect on what’s happened over the past twelve months, but I’m not going to do that. “What has happened in the past year?” is a good question, but a more important one is “Am I a better man than I was this time last year?” Read more
