MIND, BODY & SOUL

This is my first go at this blogging lark. I’m not really sure what it’s going to be about. Is is best to have a theme, or is it ok to just ramble and hope someone will care enough about what you have to say to check in now and again? Is there any value to be had, or is it just so much self-indulgent nonsense to imagine that strangers might be interested in my musings?

I mean your friends, they HAVE to listen to you don’t they? It’s their job. But the larger world, strangers, why should they care?

Then of course, there’ll be the haters. The people who seem to have nothing better to do than leave negative, nasty and deeply unhelpful comments wherever and whenever they can on the interweb.

And the tone of the blog. What sort of tone should I adopt? Do I want to be serious and intellectual? Lighthearted and humorous (by whose reckoning) or a mix of the two? I don’t want to come off as trying too hard, but I do want to do the best I can.

Also, can I keep this up? I have a couple of blog heroes and I can’t get over how consistently they update. Do I have that sort of staying power or will I lose interest in a week or two?

Anne, my more or less best friend (she often tells me she’s my ONLY friend), has just started a blog and has encouraged me to do the same. I’m going to give it a go. Stick with me if you can.

God bless.

The message of today’s church service was ‘Recognising Your

Rachel called me today to talk about her wedding. Up until very recently, I would see or hear about a couple getting married and want to scream ‘Don’t do it! PLEEEASE don’t do it!’ After the sudden, unexpected and desperately painful break-up of my ‘perfect’ marriage, I could only view any impending nuptials as folly: utterly pointless and doomed for heartbreak and bitterness.

For some reason though, Rachel and her ‘intended’, Jonathan, have renewed my faith in marriage.

When she called two weeks ago to tell me that Johnny had proposed, I screamed, dropped the phone, screamed some more, then sobbed like a baby.

I don’t do crying. From the moment my Dad died 21 years ago, to this day, I’ve never shed a tear. A week after my 29 year old brother died, 14 years ago, I wept for one hour straight, then not a tear since. I cried a few times over my marriage breakdown last year, but you get the picture - I really don’t do high emotion. Yet, I couldn’t get a hold of myself over Rachel’s news. I cried and cried, then texted a whole heap of my friends to pass on the happy news. Granted, some of them texted me back saying ‘We’re happy for her and all that, but who on earth is Rachel?!’

Anyway, in a couple of weeks time we’re going to look at wedding dresses, and after that, she’ll probably not want to be my friend any more, because I WILL take over. Rachel says some of her friends said ‘When you’re looking at dresses, take Seiwa; she’ll be honest.’ My adopted sister, Bindi, has said to me a couple of times ‘When you said such-and-such, I felt like you’d kicked me in the stomach.’ Sheesh. I don’t want to get a reputation for being horribly blunt with people. What do people think? Would you rather have it sugar-coated, or do you want it shot from the lip?

Whatever, I’m so happy for Rachel. Thank you God for answered prayer.

God bless