{"id":1056,"date":"2017-08-19T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=1056"},"modified":"2021-03-29T13:02:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T13:02:36","slug":"vicars-page-august-2017","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/vicars-page\/vicars-page-august-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Vicar’s page – August 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Previous month<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0Next month<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0Monthly index<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Maureen’s Musings’<\/h1>\n

The Vicar\u2019s monthly letter for the Parish News<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"TheAugust 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have often heard it said, \u201cif you want to make God laugh, make a plan!\u201d<\/p>\n

So there you go, maybe I just had everything planned out too neatly, thinking I could get my knee surgery done during the summer when things were nice and quiet, and then be ready for the fun of the Autumn when it came around.<\/p>\n

Well, it was not to be \u2013 so rather than July 15th, my operation is now scheduled for August 11th, but that is up to God (and the NHS!) who alone knows for certain when it will take place.<\/p>\n

All I can do is adjust my plans, reorganise the rotas and hope for the best!<\/p>\n

Many, many thanks to all of you for your good wishes (my smashing \u201cGet well soon\u201d card from the School), and for your sympathy as I break the news that we all have to wait a few weeks more.<\/p>\n

On the plus side \u2013 I got to watch the broadcast of Ladies Final at Wimbledon, I can now go to the Trysull Deanery Barbecue in Kinver on Monday and I get to go to the Leavers\u2019 Service for the school at the end of term… all of which I thought I was going to miss. So nothing is all bad or all good!<\/p>\n

And watching Gabarine Muguruza unexpectedly beat Venus Williams was a lesson too, in not jumping to conclusions but waiting for events to happen in their own good time.<\/p>\n

I have always found it amazing that whenever I have been really disappointed in something, it is amazing how God \u2013 in the fullness of time \u2013 makes something even better happen than I had thought possible. I remember being devastated when I was first offering myself for ordination and was not immediately accepted for training. In the end I was delayed by a year or two, but had I not been, I would have missed out on some wonderful friendships and certainly on getting the best curacy going, and probably on moving to the Lichfield diocese…. which means I might not have been here in Pattingham. So you see, things have a funny habit of working out for the best \u2013 even though it is hard to see that at the time.<\/p>\n

As we approach the time when in households up and down the land there will be anxiously waiting for the results of important exams, it is worth reflecting on that. Our disappointments can so easily become the best things that could have happened to us. We just need to learn to trust in God and in his promises to us. However difficult that may be at times!<\/p>\n

So I continue to trust in you all and in all the wonderful colleagues who will, I am sure, be coming to provide cover for me while I am away…. even if it is a few weeks difference from that we originally planned (!)<\/p>\n

Talking of plans \u2013 big congratulations to David Challinor and the Fabric Team for patience and perseverance in finally getting all the paperwork in place for our heating work to commence in October. Well done. I hope to reap the benefits when I return to work!<\/p>\n

Every blessing<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previous month\u00a0\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0Next month\u00a0\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0Monthly index ‘Maureen’s Musings’ The Vicar\u2019s monthly letter for the Parish News August 2017 I have often heard it said, \u201cif you want to make God laugh, make a plan!\u201d So there you go, maybe I just had everything planned out too neatly, thinking I could get my knee surgery done during the … <\/p>\n

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