An Unexpected Read

Last weekend, I took my son to some climbing training in England. He has been a keen climber for some years now and we were scheduled to do some training in the University of Warwick, near Coventry.

Unfortunately, our flights were delayed in both directions, which meant we spend considerably longer in the airport than we were expecting. It’s one of those situations where you can’t really do very much. You can’t go back through security and head into the city for a few hours, you never quite know when the situation will be resolved and you will get on your way.

As an avid reader, I always like to bring with me more books than I think I will need. I keep books in the car for when I’m on school runs, or when I’m asked to sit in the car and wait for people at appointments, or whatever. It’s like an unexpected treat when you sneak in a few pages or a chapter while you are waiting for a meeting or an appointment.

The unexpected delays to our travels meant I got a couple of books read, both of which touched me very deeply.

I have a love of sport and enjoy autobiography, and it’s always a sense of getting a little window into the mind or emotions of our elite sports’ performers in whatever field they pursue.

I brought with me the autobiography of 7 time World Snooker Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan. What a fascinating read. His mental health struggles have been well documented, but this book allowed the reader to see his obsession with the sport. His commitment to practice and becoming the best he can be, the cost of giving his best at every tournament and the pressures of fame can, be overwhelming.

He spoke of the help he had received from psychologists who have helped him at times to cut back the amount of tournaments he plays and to pursue other interests, especially running, and how these actions have helped his performance and enabled him to stay at the top of the game for over 30 years. I was moved by his awareness of how shallow victories are when you are struggling with your mental health. He would rather lose in the early rounds of a tournament, playing the game as he believes it should be played, than win tournaments playing more defensively and grinding out victories.

He speaks of the power of communities, like the running community, to keep him grounded when he plays around the world, and how those experiences have often been even more meaningful than his achievemtns on the snooker table.

John Mark Comer is an incredibly insightful Christian writer. His book ‘Practicing the Way’ of Jesus, helps to set out  a framework for what we call ‘discipleship’ or following Jesus in our daily lives. He describes it as learning to be an apprentice of Jesus. He helps us to think of why we might want to do this, and explores many Christian disciplines which can help, everything from observing Sabbath in a deep and intentional way, to Bible reading, prayer, acts of service, the practises of praise and gratitude and developing a personal rule of life.

This is like a framework which helps us to move towards our goal of becoming more like Jesus and spending more time with Him. One of his simple practices was to slow down and to enjoy nothing more than being in Jesus’s company. I found the advice very helpful when I was getting all uptight about travel delays and what I intended to be doing in my day. Sometimes you think to yourself these things may have happened for a reason.

So, just a couple of excellent book recommendations from an unexpected feast of reading.

We have received news this week of the funeral arrangements for Pat McCurley. The service will take place in church next Monday 7th July at 12.45 pm. Please continue to remember Pat’s family in prayer at this sad time. She had a very significant impact on people through her gift of friendship and warmth.

Don’t forget the wonderful concert tomorrow evening at 7.30 pm in the church with the choir of Wadham College, Oxford. All are welcome.

Looking forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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