My body feels like it is breaking down. That’s how I feel sometimes. Thankfully, I didn’t (and still don’t) always feel that way. Last week however, I hobbled around in pain, with a swell on the back of my foot, just above the heel. It looked like a heel bone spur of sorts so that’s what I say to anyone who asked why I was limping and looked to be in pain. I still got some exercise in – went into the gym and got onto the elliptical trainer and got a bit of sweat going, before I started most days.
On Friday, as usual, the energy level was way down and while the hobbling was slowly ebbing away, the pain was very much still there. Tress and I got away however, to our favourite local Thai on Mitcham Road, before coming back to watch the Bombers against the Crows. Just for a bit though, as those aren’t exactly my favourite teams. We got onto Prime and watched an English film titled The Old Oak. It was a tale of a little town in the UK (Durham in England) that was run down and then had refugees settling there. The story of how a publican embraced the new comers in spite of his personal challenges, was heartwarming. It was a slow movie but rather satisfying.
The next day, it rained and it was cold. Diabolical, really. Notwithstanding that very ordinary weather, an extraordinary day was to unfold in that Tress and I experienced a wedding of an old friend’s daughter, that was richly satisfying. We trekked southward to Clayton and battled the cold, wind and rain to get into the church, and saw a simple but so very meaningful wedding. Most heartening was the sight of the bride, seated on the stage, feverishly taking notes while a minister was delivering the wedding sermon. There’s always a first time for everything.
Later that evening we attended the wedding reception which was just down Blackburn Road, a really convenient location for us. We caught up with Joo Ming and Vivian, a couple we have known since we were kids. Just like this couple, Yoke Cheng too is someone I had known since I was a teenager. Sze Ning, the bride, is Yoke Cheng’s eldest. The note taking bride and her newly wedded husband provided such hope that there are young people out there, who still values what matters. Clearly they’re both followers of Jesus, and the one last sign of the evening was when the bride was to throw the bouquet. Instead of getting all the single ladies to wait to catch the flowers, they got married couples to be in the “waiting area” instead, and then picked out the couple who has been married the longest (over 48 years) and presented them with a wonderful bouquet. They said they wanted to honour all of us couples who have been married for a little while. What a wonderful gesture of honour. The speeches too were wonderful. Not verbose or flowery, but with a great sense of values that matter.
We came back late, and went to bed much later than usual. So Sunday was a late start and we trekked into St Alf’s much later than we usually do (about 10.15am) and sheepishly took a seat several rows behind our usual spots. There as to be a “consultation session” after the service to work through issues surrounding the search for a new vicar to replace Peter, but we skipped that. The worksheets, breaking up into small groups to work through those sheets, the collating of data from those sessions, etc., all felt way too “work-shoppy” for yours truly. After another big week at work and a long day of wedding in cold and wet conditions, more work of that nature (that also involved rearranging furniture in the auditorium to facilitate the small group works) was a little too much for me. Yes, I felt lazy and underwhelming but it just wasn’t something I thought I would appreciate. So Tress and I went to our usual place in Donvale, and after lunch, went home to do our usual Sunday cook and rest.
Late on Sunday arvo, we took the little fellow to the oval. I caught up with a couple of blokes there and talked about footy and work. Hawthorn had smashed the Pies on Saturday, but while I was disappointed to have missed the game, being at the wonderful wedding was quite the compensation. The Hawks beat the Pies by 133-67, an unbelievable win that sealed just how far the rebuild has come for us, and how low the reigning champions had sunk.
The Hawks’ win and the wonderful wedding were heart warming – much needed antidotes to a cold and wet week that saw me hobbling around in pain. The pain was thoroughly soothed and as I was walking with the little one and Tress yesterday evening, I said to Tress I wasn’t limping anymore. It feels wonderful to be healed. I am so grateful to God (yes, I had been praying for the foot to be healed).
Ante 