Lessons from a hospital bed

I wrote this post last week whilst in hospital but as it didn’t post properly, I have decided to re-post it. It was written before I became very ill again on the Thursday afternoon and overnight, and before I had surgery on the Friday. However, it is an honest reflection of how I felt at the time…

At 10am on Tuesday morning, I was meeting with a pastor friend for coffee in the City Centre to discuss various aspects of church life. I began to feel unwell and by 1pm, I was screaming in agony in the back of an ambulance racing to A&E as the pain of a stuck kidney stone became too much to bear.

It’s now Thursday morning and I am lying in my hospital bed in the Royal Derby Hospital where I have been for the last couple of days. I was in quite a lot of pain yesterday, but I feel better this morning than I have all week. Having said that, this is not over yet and the course of treatment has not finally been decided. However, as I have laid here, there are some lessons I have learnt. So here goes:

1. I am very grateful to family and friends who rearranged schedules and changed their plans in order to help us. Family and friends are important and highly valued.

2. I can only survive for so long without my iPhone (I think I managed 24 hours!)

3. In times of severe pain or trauma when even praying seems impossible, God knows how you feel. He doesn’t judge you for not praying, he just wants to draw close as a loving Father.

4. Although I love my job leading Jubilee and the people I have the privilege of serving, it’s my family I have really missed this week. Meetings can be rearranged and emails can wait, but a hug here or a kind word or action there should not have to wait. I am looking forward to being back at home with my wife and kids. Perhaps it’s only when you’re not with those you love that you realise how much you miss them. I have realised that this week.

So what about you… who do you need to spend more time with, or show love and appreciation to today?

A visit to The Comedy Store

I like visiting other churches. I find it personally refreshing and always seek to learn something, so yesterday, I took a morning out from Jubilee and visited Christ Central Manchester. This young, vibrant church is being newly led by Jeremy Simpkins who also leads the Newfrontiers North UK Team. It was also great to see my good friend Matt Cernik of Etherscape Design, who having spent the last 10 years in Derby and part of Jubilee, moved to Manchester earlier this year to be part of Christ Central.

Yesterday was the second Sunday in their new venue, the Manchester Comedy Store in the City Centre. This is a great venue! And whilst they were working to overcome the technical challenges of a new venue, it still worked really well and they were served well by the Comedy Store staff.

Jeremy preached from Song of Songs. This is not a book most preachers preach from very often! It can be read in two ways, both equally accurate. Firstly, it is a love story of a man and woman. Most commentators  agree this is most likely King Solomon and a young woman. It is the story of their love and their relationship. It reminds us that God created relationships and marriage. Secondly, it can also be interpreted as a description of Christ’s love for the church. In the Bible, the church is often described as the Bride of Christ, and the relationship between Christ and the church is portrayed in terms of being like a marriage.

Song of Songs is certainly a book full of passion! Jeremy talked about the importance of passionate worship, and how, if our worship is not passionate, we have probably not fully understood God’s passion for us. Song of Songs talks about a kiss – an intimate expression of love. Similarly, God has expressed an intimate and passionate love for us. The question is, what is our expression of love for God like?

As a child of God, God has a passionate and everlasting love for you. So what is your response in life and worship to this wonderful, passionate love?