Happy Mother's Day

The Norwegians had their Mothers' Day while we were there in February, and most of Europe will celebrate it in mid-May, but tomorrow is Mothers' Day in Scotland, where my Mum lives. Happy Mothers' Day to you, Mum, and to other mothers in the UK this weekend.

Meanwhile, back in Spain, Mama Tamba is being kept very busy. The kittens are four weeks old tomorrow and, having recently found their legs, are beginning to scurry and stumble around all over the place. I'm kind of sorry that I'll miss the next two weeks of cuteness, but Sue will be playing grandma while I'm away in the Netherlands for two weeks. Here's a picture of the proud Mama with one of the month-old babies. 

Of disks and diagnoses...

Well, thanks for your prayers. I saw the doctor again today, and the good news is that the disk isn't torn like it was three years ago. I won't need to spend any time in bed, and it won't prevent me from travelling to the Netherlands next weekend.

The doctor scared me at first, though. When she held my x-rays up to the light, she looked at me and just said, "Lo siento mucho," (which means "I'm really sorry.") Then she went on to tell me that I have chronic arthritis - together with a form of lumbar degenerative disc disease - and that all of the disks she could see were affected.

"Lo siento mucho," she repeated two or three times. Basically, there's nothing that can really be done at this stage, other than taking painkillers when it's unbearable, and trying to get plenty of non-weight-bearing exercise, like swimming, so that the surrounding muscles are kept as strong as possible.

Of course, I already knew that I had some form of arthritis; two doctors in South Africa had given me this diagnosis at the time when I was experiencing so much pain from an old neck injury. But I had seen a huge improvement in mobility and a considerable decrease in pain during 2007... and so it was rather disappointing to be reminded today that the condition of my spine still seems to be deteriorating. (During my last year in Cape Town, I needed to take painkillers almost every day; in contrast, I've only needed to take them a handful of times over the past eighteen months.)

The good news, however, is that I don't need to worry that I'm causing further damage by sitting too long (it often hurts when I sit) or by lifting my suitcase at the airport. I am thankful to the Lord that it isn't as much of a handicap now as it was just a few years ago, and I can only pray that it won't continue to degenerate too quickly. Thanks again for your prayers as I travel over the next few weeks.

Secrets and lies...

We watched an impacting film this week: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It's the story of a little boy, the son of a Nazi kommandant, who strikes up a friendship across the barbed wire fence with a little Jewish boy in an extermination camp. In case you haven't watched it yet, I won't give away the end of the story, but the movie is an interesting study of the nature of prejudice... and rather a graphic illustration of how keeping secrets from those closest to you can ultimately destroy them and lead to the loss of everything that you really care about.

The film-makers had made much use of vertical stripes - in the fence, on the banisters, in the trees of the forest, and in the uniforms of the camp inmates - to highlight the idea that secrets and lies can hold us prisoner just as much as prison bars can. It made me think again of the words that Jesus said in John 8 vs 32 - that if we know the truth, the truth will set us free.

Healthy Development

Thanks for your prayers while I was in Barcelona. I'm pleased to report that my disk injury didn't cause any trouble while I was there. It's still a little painful, though, so I'll try to rest it a bit more this week.

The seminar went well, and it was a privilege for me to be able to reach and influence Spanish families in this way. The short time available allowed us only to give a brief introduction to the vast area of understanding human development, and so they've asked if I could perhaps come back some time in the future to offer a longer seminar on this topic.

I've always been fascinated by the fact that God's plan for our healthy development as human beings seems to be the same, no matter what country or culture you are in. Whether you are in Africa or Asia, in Britain or in Spain, children develop in the same way and have the same needs at their different stages of growing up. As we understand these ages and stages, we can be more effective in sharing God's love and truth with them.

When I lived in Cape Town, and we got our two border collie puppies just fifteen months apart, we watched the similarities in their growing up and we used to joke that we would soon be able to give seminars on canine development too. Now, thanks to Tamba, I may soon be able to add feline development to my repertoire!! Did you know that newborn kittens double their birth weight during the first week of their life? They're typically around 3 - 4 ounces (100g) at birth, and have reached around 200g by the end of the first week. So it was kind of cute to come back home after Barcelona and see that the new babies were slowly beginning to look like cats and not just fur-balls. By next week, their eyes should be open and they will be beginning to stand up.

Recently I was reading the New Testament letter to the Hebrews. In chapter 5 vs 11-14 and chapter 6 vs 1, we see that God doesn't only have a plan for our physical development, but He cares about our healthy spiritual development too. He doesn't want us to be spiritual "babies" for our whole lives, but wants us to grow in knowing Him, understanding the Bible, hearing and obeying God's voice.  As we spend time with Him and read His Word regularly, He will help us to "grow up" in a healthy way and reach maturity in our relationship with Him.