Category Archives: Life

by

Eye On The Ball: Inspiration from Andy Murray and Toby Mac, an Unlikely Match

Photo: Creative Commons

As everyone celebrated Andy Murray’s significant first Grand Slam win today, something in the news really caught my eye. And it wasn’t that Rado watch which he panicked over finding at the end of the match!

It’s a typical piece of photography, demonstrating the sportsman’s prowess. I must have seen similar photos a thousand times before. In this brilliant shot of Murray, he’s captured with racquet positioned optimally, yellow ball mid air, as he’s about to slice it precisely across the court. His eyes are focused intently on the ball as he readies himself to take aim and succeed against his opponent.

Murray’s impressive win would not have been possible if he had decided to take his eye off the ball, even for only just a few shots. Every shot has potential to change the course of the whole match. In his interview afterwards he shared that when he went for a break just before the fifth set, he told himself – “For one set, just give it everything you’ve got.”

At the end of it all, his body was in pain. He winced as he removed his trainers. The match had stretched his body to the limits. But it was worth it. He made history. He achieved his goal.

So what could Mr Murray possibly have in common with an incredibly cool, middle aged hip hop/ rock/dance artist from across the pond?

 

Having recently heard Toby Mac’s latest hit song “Eye On It”, I’m reminded of the parallels to be drawn from the sporting and spiritual arenas. Toby, a well known Christian artist currently topping the American Billboard charts, passionately sings:

I set my eyes to the west, walking away from it all
Reaching for what lies ahead, I got my eye on it
I see my sweat hit the ground
I put my foot in the block
This is the race of my life
And I can’t wait for this shot

As he hammers home his intent to focus on his spiritual journey, Toby highlights how the race for Christians isn’t a sprint; it’s a continual marathon which requires equal measures of concentration and commitment. Half hearted attempts at either sport or spirituality won’t stay the course or produce the desired result.

It’s easy to get distracted on the journey of life, phasing God out of our decisions or our joy. To reach that ultimate destination and to achieve the best that God has for us, requires us to do our part and give everything we’ve got (our “heart, mind, soul and strength” as Jesus exhorts us in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 20).

We need to keep our eye on the ball. The apostle Paul speaks of fixing our eyes on Jesus, the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). If Jesus remains our focus, we know that we’ll come through to ultimately achieve a far greater prize than a silver cup or human acclaim.

To quote more from Toby Mac:

I’ve got my eye on the prize, I’ve got my eye on it
I’ve got my eye on the prize and I will not quit

Both Andy and Toby demonstrate their fixation with achieving what’s important to them. Today I’m challenged to renew my focus, to take inspiration from both the sportsman and the singer.

(Link to Toby Mac’s song, Eye On It…) 

by

Candyfloss Culture

ImageToday you’ll find me over at Jennie Pollock’s great site  

I met Jennie on the online world via a writing challenge we were both completing. I was unable to complete all the challenges in a timely manner but I’m hoping to knock another two off my list with the above article…Challenge #9 Great Writers Connect with other Writers and Challenge #12 Great Writers Provoke Us.

Jeff Goins’ 15 Habits of Great Writers series certainly alerted me to the fact that I need to be proactive and get going with projects whilst also being ready to stick my neck out and take a few risks. Amazingly, after interacting with Jennie about this article that I’d had brewing in my mind for quite some time, she encouraged me to not only write it but suggested that it feature as a guest post on her blog. Rather than find a million excuses as to why I shouldn’t, I decided to seize the opportunity and go for it.

It turns out that Jennie is also a spectacular editor who worked her refining magic on the post, including dividing it up into two separate articles. I am most thankful for her willingness to offer me this opportunity as a guest blogger and hope that you will enjoy looking around her site. Jennie is also a twitterer well worth following. She can be found at @MissJenniep.

(NB – Candyfloss is our British term for  ‘cotton candy’ as it’s known in the States. Photo: stockfreeimages.com)

by

My NHS Story (That’s our free National Health Service for any overseas visitors to this blog)

IImage awaited check in at the Cambridge hospital for scheduled surgery with not a little trepidation. Would I be greeted with kindness and care or would I be met with harsh faces and uncaring nurses? I have to admit that I expected the worst. My last stay in hospital, after the birth of my third child, was  a rather unpleasant experience to say the least, and I checked myself out as soon as possible.

The NHS has had to take a lot of flack and criticism over the last few years, particularly in the area of nursing care. I was most fortunate to discover that this time I was to be placed on a very quiet ward. This meant that the nurses tending to my care were not rushed off their feet; they were very pleasant. The majority of them were not British – and it really didn’t matter. One was Romanian, one a Pilipino, one half German. They welcomed me as if I were their own flesh and blood. They smiled at me.

I wanted to hug one of the nurses when in the middle of the night I was feeling nauseous and hot, and she rushed over to me with a portable fan and pointed it in my direction. I was full of genuine thanks when another nurse earlier cleaned up my sick that splashed all over the floor. I kept apologising – that’s really not a nice job to do – and would have offered to help clean it up myself, were I not so weak.

They kept saying “It’s ok, don’t worry about it”- but I was thankful, I was so grateful for this act of kindness. You can’t legislate for kindness. You can train nurses to write essays, to be fluent in medical mumbo-jumbo speak, to follow procedure and tick every bureaucratic checklist, but you can’t really train for a natural, inherent kindness; it is for this that I am truly grateful.

They didn’t treat me as if I were a nuisance or begrudge me care for being ill. They were tender and sweet and understanding; this is priceless.

My twenty-four hours of care could have been twenty-four hours of hell – we’ve all heard the horrific stories, including the recent one of the young man who was dying of thirst on a ward and called in emergency services to alert them of his plight. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18814487)

Instead my faith was restored in the humanity of professional nurses who gave their best. They smiled, they were friendly, they asked if I was alright, they asked if I needed anything.  There were no complaints when I spilt a near full cup of tea all over me and the bed whilst in a state of drug induced delirium; they just got on with their job with a good attitude. Admittedly this was because the ward was quiet; had the five beds been full, I’m sure the situation would have been quite different.

But it renewed my hope, and made me see that, given the time and space and opportunity to care, some nurses will willingly run to fulfil their duty. I hope this may be said of other hospitals up and down the country.

I can only have good things to say about my time at Addenbrooke’s hospital, despite the gruelling nature of the actual keyhole surgery and the horrific painful after effects. The nurses I met did their utmost to ensure that my stay was as comfortable as possible. Thank you. And to the government: please let nurses return to their job of caring and being kind. Free them up of endless paperwork and bureaucracy. Allow them to fulfil their natural mandate to look after people, to show compassion, to be kind. For this is ultimately all that we really want from the NHS. (Along with a clean bed and bathroom)

I am thankful that my foreign nurses all spoke good English. I do believe that if we employ those from other countries that they should be fluent in English to minimize confusion and avoid anguish of the patient. I experienced no such anguish. They attended to my needs magnificently.

When you’re in great pain and distress, it’s wonderful to be surrounded by those who will look to your needs and try to help you as best they can when you are in such a weak and vulnerable situation. Let’s not write off the NHS just yet, nor take for granted the wonder of free healthcare.