I’ve always looked at peoples posts featuring a pile of books they’re intending on reading over the summer, but I have very rarely seen a follow up post once they’ve finished, giving a review or explaining what they’ve discovered as a result of reading it! I wanted to buck the trend and post part way through my pile, with what I’ve learnt so far, what’s challenged me and what’s inspired me:
Jay Blades - Making It
I don’t know if it’s an age thing, but I love watching The Repair Shop on BBC. From an early age, I’ve always been intrigued by history, even though I only studied it to ‘O’ level standard (for the youngsters out there, that’s a secondary school academic level from way back in history - it comes after the Stone Age, but before the digital age!). Plus, I’ve also always been fascinated with building/diy shows. The Repair Shop brings both these interests together, presenting us with real stories about real people, whilst showcasing the amazing skills of these master craftsmen (& women).
The presenter Jay Blades, comes across as someone who is genuinely interested in talking to people, in finding out the stories behind the objects brought in for repair. So when I heard him being interviewed about his new book which details his life, the racism he’s faced, his severe dyslexia, his mental breakdown, I was keen to read it to find out more about him, so I added it to my birthday list. (Warning - it’s an excellent, though at times an emotionally difficult read, but it does contain quite a lot of swearing, but if you see past that, I can recommend it.) Though Jay doesn’t appear to have a personal faith, it’s interesting that he acknowledges a number of Christians who have helped him or had an impact on his life. I was challenged to look beyond the exterior and to see the whole person. One surprising thing you may not know about Jay, is that he continues to support and mentor many of the young people he’s worked with over the years, sending out inspirational and encouraging text messages to them on a regular basis.
Dan Walker - Remarkable People
Like many of you, I share my breakfast most mornings with the BBC Breakfast Time team. I knew that Dan had published a book of stories of people he’d had the opportunity to interview over the years, ordinary everyday people who had extraordinary stories, but I hadn’t considered reading it until I received it as a birthday present. Wow! I found it inspiring, challenging and a real emotional rollercoaster. It’s one amazing story after the other.
In telling the story of a lady in South Africa, who’d started feeding a few local children, which developed into her feeding hundreds daily and setting up a home for them, Dan shared the famous story of the little boy who was standing on a beach after a storm throwing starfish back into the ocean, when challenged about what difference he could make to the thousands that had been washed ashore, the boy says “I made a difference to this one” as he threw it into the sea. It’s a great challenge to each of us to do what little we can, as though we might question what a difference we can make, it will make a difference to those we help. But Dan doesn’t leave it there, he continues the story, what if the man tells others about the boy? The story begins to spread and within hours there are others on the beach helping to put the starfish back into the sea. Over a short time, the helpers grow to a crowd, as pictures and videos begin to be shared on social media. The story is picked up by the press and TV and the numbers helping continues to grow.
As I read this new part of the story, I felt a little shiver go down my spine as the realisation hit me, that we are like that boy standing on a beach covered in thousands of starfish, only our beach is covered with church leaders, exhausted from the storm of life. We can’t help them all, but we’re doing what we can to support and encourage those that we can reach. Hoping and praying that others see and hear about what we’re doing and be encouraged and challenged to get involved themselves. Remember, a kind word, text or email will encourage and build up a leader, it’s a easy as throwing a starfish back into the ocean!
We know, that even when we have the Time2 house, we will still only be able to reach a small fraction of those who need support, but we will continue to make a difference to all those we can reach.
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