connections, tenuous as some of them are

It is now nearly a year since I have attended church, and, for much of that time, I have not missed it. However, lately I've noticed a little, I don't know, forlorn loneliness creeping in. The break has been fantastic, and stepping out of the irritating infighting has been life giving, but all of a sudden I need to meet more with other people who follow Jesus. That too is life giving. It's as if I have had my time out, a season for withdrawal, and the time for re-engagement is coming. I wonder what that might look like?

This lonely feeling has put me to thinking about connections. Yesterday I realised the importance of a seemingly insignificant one. When I head out to the school I work in, I often drive past a bent over old lady. She must be around 80, and each morning she goes for a rather brusque walk. A couple of weeks ago she I noticed her sporting a plaster cast on her arm, which worried me a little - old people fall so easily! I hoped she was OK, until yesterday I realised I had not seen her for a while. She being old and fragile (though admittedly strong enough to exercise more than I do!), I worried she might have died. I've never met this lady, but I feel some kind of a connection just because I drive past her. It's a one way connection - she doesn't even know I exist - but still, she matters to me.

Thankfully, today I saw her again, head down, powering along the footpath. I was so excited I almost stopped and hugged her with delight. That might have been a little crazy, so I just drove by and grinned a little to myself.

In the meantime, instead of making tenuous connections with phantom friends, I might try and reconnect with a few real friends. That would be a lot more meaningful!