Sabbatical - Day 1

Today I start a three month sabbatical from CCC. 

My main purpose during this time is to research and write the dissertation for my MA course in Contemporary Missiology, with a focus on Vulnerable Children.

As I begin my studies today I start by taking time to read the Bible in One Year passages for today.

In Proverbs 3:1-10, verses 5-6 stand out: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

In Matthew 16:21-17:13, verse 23b says: you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.

In many ways, reading, research and writing will be based on my own thinking and understanding.  What, however, does it mean not to 'lean on' my own understanding?

In the midst of my reading around issues in contemporary foster care it will be easy to get into 'merely human concerns'.  My hope is that, as I study the person of St. Joseph, I will also keep in mind the concerns of God for the children who are at the heart of the care system.

My prayer is that I will submit my thinking to God and that God will show me where my path and my thinking need straightening.

Ultimately my prayer for the children in our care, and those in the care system, reflects that of Jacob for Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48:15-16:

May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, 
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm 
- may he bless these boys.

And may God fill my thinking and writing with the 'concerns of God' and enable me not to lean only on my own understanding. 

 

 

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