The thin line

I had an interesting (and busy) weekend where the highlight was reading through the last chapter of ' a million little pieces' by james frey. This book has elicited intense feelings of compassion for the men and women who have to hit rock bottom and then face what their  lives have become. In the book they face a variety of addictions from the different drugs to swearing and sex. The bare reality of brokenness spoke deep to my soul. I remember a time when I was broken and felt like my life and person-hood was only a bunch of fragments lying in a heap, with no sense of how they fit together as a person, or into the wider world. I suspect that was the point of the book, and I wonder how many people reading it looked back or into their lives for some introspection.

If we are honest with ourselves and others, then the brokenness is there. The truth is that on a daily basis we put on all sorts of masks in order to hide or obscure that very truth of our shattered lives. Sometimes the truth breaks through in spite of our best efforts to keep it under wraps. It is only then that we are forced to acknowledge this to others. It is only then that we ask for help, when it is already evident that we need it. The really sad side to this is that the rest of us looking on to someone else's broken life think that this will never happen to us. or we sincerely hope so anyway. We pretend that this resulted from crazy decisions made, poor character or discipline, or just plain bad luck. The truth is that we are all very close to the edge, closer that we could possibly imagine. Jesus made a number of people really cross by pointing out to them these and other facts. Their anger and rage was unleashed by this 'violation' by the tuth.

Financial consultants say that most middle-class families are only 60 days from bankrupsy. All that is required is a break in income streams for 2 months, and the wheels start falling off. You would never realise this looking at us in Woollies or Cavendish, thinking we are immune to the struggle others have. We blithely spend away , swiping those cards as if it could never happen to us.

In the same way we live frivolously with our hearts, minds and souls, as if we have endless resources. The truth is that we have a limited emotional bank account, and many of us are already in overdraft. We have to realise this about ourselves and those around us. We are fragile, fragile souls and need to treat and be treated as such. My heart breaks when I see abuse of others, and not only women and children but men too. We say things and act as if the paper thin robustness we portray is real. We know it is not so for ourselves, so dont be fooled into believing that is is any different for others.

Let other people touch your soul

Look after the souls of others

Tissue paper is a good packing material for hearts

Show people Jesus