CR5 Issue 161 Oct 2018

From Distant Shores
It’s good to know yourself. To have a sense
of your strengths and weaknesses. It helps in
the navigation of life. As each year passes I
learn new things about the way I think, and
the things that are important to me. I also
learn that many of the things I thought I
knew about myself are less accurate than I’d
like to imagine!
A case in point: If I were to list my more
positive attributes I would like to think that
hospitality would rank highly. I have always
enjoyed meeting people and opening my
home. Therefore when a friend of a friend
from the USA contacted me to ask to stay for
a week whilst they carried out some research
for their PhD in London I was happy to
accommodate. The fact that I was
entertaining a stranger, unknown to me,
seemed of little consequence at the time.
Upon introduction I have never before been
asked ‘in what I am studied’ and I can only
describe the last week as somewhat surreal. I
have found the veneer of my hospitality
cracking particularly at the early and loud
starts to the day which seem to involve a
significant amount of stomping, crashing and
banging. My bathroom, usually a calm and
orderly space is now festooned with loofahs,
brushes, bottles, bags and other
paraphernalia. Yes, whatever virtue is found
in my hospitality is apparently now matched
by grouchiness at the disruption to my home
and routine!
Actually the chap is very genuine and it has
been interesting getting to know him –
though we are about as far apart in
disposition as one can imagine. He is highly
academic and slowly considered whilst I am
pragmatic and active; which leads to
conversations with lengthy pauses that he
seems wholly at ease with and I find
excruciating.
If nothing else, the experience has reminded
me that there is still a lot that I don’t know
about myself. In moments like this I am
relieved to know that God knows me better
than I know myself and yet chooses to love
me. I read in the Psalms in the Bible “You
have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you
perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern
my going out and my lying down; you are
familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on
my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay
your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
I believe that God is able to shine light on my
life to help me love more deeply, care more
genuinely and live with greater integrity.
I would hope that my guest will have felt
welcomed, and next time (!) I probably need
to realise that being kind is sometimes a little
costly!
If you want to know how you ‘tick’ I would
encourage you get to know the God who
made you – and if you can access Psalm 139
I’d encourage you to read it in full as it is
beautiful and profound.
Peter Russell
Prayer for Coulsdon & Old Coulsdon
Prayer for Coulsdon & Old Coulsdon exists to
encourage Christians to pray for the town and
its residents. If you are interested in praying
with us you are warmly invited to join us for
one of our prayer gatherings (which last an
hour) on:
Monday 8th October - 9am
– 56 Bradmore Way, Old Coulsdon
Tuesday 23rd October - 8pm
– 65 Edward Road, Coulsdon
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