Day: January 26, 2021

“David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’” 2 Samuel‬ ‭12:22‬

Although he was called a man after God’s own heart, David was far from the stellar example of spiritual or political leadership that any of us would aspire to. His statements above, come as a result of a scandal he caused that would rival any political or religious scandal today. David had an affair with a married woman who got pregnant. He murdered her husband to try to cover up his actions. When confronted by a prophet of God, David was informed that the baby would get sick eventually die. God keeps his word. When the baby became sick David went into a state of mourning. He fasted. He prayed. He wept. He begged God for mercy, grace and forgiveness…

“And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.” Revelation‬ ‭21:6‬

“It is finished.” Those words bring a variety of emotions. If you’ve been working on a project it brings the satisfaction of victory over all the frustrations it took to get to the point where all your efforts see a great result. Sometimes, the phrase “It is finished” can bring pain and anguish, such as when a relationship ends, a career suddenly is taken from you or a loved one passes away. But when Jesus says “It is finished”, it says completeness. All the sorrows you’ve endured? Relief! All the fear and anxiety you harbor? Comfort! The pain of broken relationships? Healed! The frustration of addiction? Release! You’re anger over unfair treatment? Satisfied!…

26 years ago today my Mam passed away. It was sudden and the event blighted my life for almost a decade. I wasn’t unexperienced in matters of loss, but that loss and the manner in which it struck, completely blindsided me. Looking back, I was completely unaware of all the ways my life changed. I couldn’t see beyond my grief and I didn’t pass through mourning until I dealt with my ghosts many years later.

Now I am a very different man. The chocking hand of grief no longer controls my ability to move through the world and there is a lightness about such freedom. That being said, today I am sad. It has been a long year for all of us and the natural sense of sadness that decends on such a memorial day, has been underlined by the challenge of these past months.

My daily me, the waking…

Hi-Viz jackets and de-culchification has ruined the way we look at the police in Ireland. I was stopped recently by a young lad who looked like he was embarrassed to ask me a question. There was a time when a Garda was seen in an altogether more respected light.  If you come from outside these shores, I should explain that in Ireland the police force is called “An Garda Síochána” translated to the guardians of the peace. A single one is called a Garda and the plural is Gardaí (Gard-ee).

Now you see, back in the day you’d be afraid of your sh**e to cross a Garda.  He’d give you a puck at the very least and you’d soon be put in your place. I say he for while there were female officers, (Ban Gardaí) they were another thing altogether for which I think I’d need a whole other blog…