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Rector's Letter, July 2005 Dear Friends, Are you planning holidays? Are you planning to spend time in the garden – hoping for some sun to sit outside? Planning picnics or visits? Whether we have a good summer or not, most of us look forward to a bit of a change in routine. We make plans. It can be fun planning for things. Why this thought of planning? This last week my life seems to have been a bit erratic. I have my diary with engagements all neatly written in. Most things seem relatively under control even if there are often too many activities involved for the time available to do them all. First our house in Blairgowrie was broken into, which necessitated a quick change of plans as we had to go and sort out the mess. Now, instead of enjoying a school BBQ, we’ve had to whip through to Edinburgh to collect small grandchild, as my middle son has managed to break both his arms. He was never one to do things by halves. I’m typing this on his computer. What is coming home to me is the sheer unpredictability of life. It’s quite scary if you stop to worry about it. We make our plans, but sometimes they just get tipped over. Without a strong Christian faith, life can indeed be frightening. No wonder pagans got so tied up in the idea of fate. I always think of the lines from King Lear when musing on these things: ‘As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; /They kill us for their sport’. Sometimes it does seem as if some malignant forces are playing with us just for the hell of it. But that’s not the way it is. Right enough, we are not in control, no matter how hard we plan. No matter how many ‘i’s we dot or ‘t’s we cross, we can’t control every eventuality. There are so many factors over which we have no control and, whisper it, we can even make mistakes ourselves. Ultimately, we must just accept that our lives are in God’s hands and put our trust in him. We worship a risen Lord who shows us the way to heaven, not hell – a God who brings order out of chaos. I wish you all a pleasant summer – a time for refreshment. And I hope your plans come to fruition without too many unpredictable occurrences. Janice |