An American birthday ...

turned out to be very different to what had been planned.

Instead of two weeks with my daughter and her family in northern Virginia, I've ended up at her beach house on the Outer Banks (OBX) in N. Carolina - because she tested Covid positive a few hours after we arrived! Much as I longed to stay and nurse her, she banished us as I need to stay fit and healthy (See below!) So here we are, having a mini vacation, enjoying sun, sea and sand. And honestly it is EXACTLY what we need: as you may have seen on social media, the previous three weeks were solid manual labour getting our new apartments ready for the summer season! It's taken EIGHT WHOLE MONTHS for the admin/paperwork to be done - and praise God for Christian, patient vendors. Over those months, we were frustrated, impatient, and, if I'm honest, I was often shouty at God for not answering my heated prayers to Get. The. Job. Done, Lord.

But God's timing is always better than ours; looking back now I can see that for several reasons it's a good thing we only took ownership when we did. (long story!) And our first Sunday there, we went to the little Methodist church where one of our vendors was preaching (they've only moved up the road!) It was Palm Sunday and the service blessed me and his message blessed me and the Lord ministered to me.

And the work was finished with less than an hour to spare before the first visitors arrived! It was exhausting but we did it. Then we dashed home to unpack, repack and head off to the USA via 24 hours over Easter with our UK families in Abingdon before Heathrow and the USA - on an exceedingly bumpy flight.

The next morning was my birthday - she tested positive and we jumped in her car and drove a further 5.5 hrs here.

Yet again, I know the truth of Romans 8:28.

'He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.' (The Message)

I wish she didn't have Covid; I wish we could have two whole weeks together.

BUT GOD has worked the unwished-for into good; she is already getting better and we will have a week together from Monday; and my husband and I are enjoying some much-needed time R&R and date-time; and I will be rested and in far better shape to enjoy the grandsons than I might have been otherwise.

I'm learning to thank Him even when things turn out differently to what I had planned and hoped for.

**Walking along the beach in my hiking boots and gear ...**

**.... to prepare for leading a Celtic pilgrimage in Cornwall from Lands End to The Lizard May 6-13. Please pray for our little group of pilgrims - for safety, kind weather, to meet with the Lord.**

Just for readers in the USA, and just until the end of April:

I have just EIGHT signed copies of Scent of Water and ONE of Walking Back to Happiness, in the USA.

Order quickly here to make sure you get what you need.

And remember to use the code to get free shipping.

Last Friday, you may have noticed, was my 60th birthday. The worst kept secret in history, said my sister, as various schemes and plans made by the family began to leak out. I knew there was something afoot!

My husband let slip that our daughter from America was coming to celebrate with me. Happy tears poured down my face when I discovered that! A picnic lunch, a special evening out with the family, some friends coming for lunch and a walk the following day .... Gradually the plan began to emerge.

I had not expected this present, however.

Nor this at the picnic lunch

Nor the fun in the sun

(good thing we have a long driveway for cruising ...)

Saturday. And the sun shone. Friends navigated closed motorways and horrendous traffic jams to get to Mays Farm - where there was tea in the orchard following a walk.

Later, some gifts to open.

A co-mother-in-law (tongue-in-cheek?) presented me with this:

It dawned on me that I really really am SIXTY. Apparently, no longer middle aged.

Third aged.

I am privileged to be there but be fit and healthy and embarking on a new season of life, ministry, home and house.

A quick scan of the little book reveals it to be a series of reflections, mini sermons, about ageing and faith, done with humour and grace. Just what I need to face this Third Age - humour and grace.

Christ was never middle aged.

Let alone Third Aged.

He was, humanly, always young. A young man in a hurry, places to go, people to meet, purposes to fulfil.

I am privileged to be able still to do the same. But when the spirit continues to be willing whilst the flesh becomes weak, what then? What can I learn from the young Jesus Christ? A young man with a sense of urgency, of uncompromising attitudes and unrelenting purpose.

One day, one day, I will no longer be like that. I can already sense that I have lost energy, urgency - and, if I am honest, some of my hearing! But God has not changed. He still has energy and urgency; he is still uncompromising and unrelenting in his pursuit of, and love for, me.

As Reinhardt Niebuhr wrote,

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.

Meanwhile, I'm out to change the world one step at a time, one person at a time.

Coming to join me?

The birthday that went wrong ....

It's no sin to be sixty ..