There is
no heartache without a home, no decision without a door;
no destiny without discipline, no worship without awe.
There is
no courtyard without secrets, no window without a view,
no smoke without fire of a story that is not true.
There is
no reward without risk, no rescue without being lost;
no mystery without menace, no resurrection without a cross.
There is
no joy without selfless love to heal a scattered soul;
no power without gentleness to restore a shattered bowl.
There is
no dream without desperation, bursting from inside to out;
no hope without expectation, no stairs rising without doubt.
There is
no knowledge of good and evil, without fruit, a tree, a garden;
no chance of restoration, without grace, so free, and pardon
There is
no freedom without rules, no argument without a friend;
no wisdom without wonder, no beginning without an end.
The intrigue of an open door, the view from an upper window, the lure of a new venture. Can we be both ‘with’ and ‘out’? Surely we need to choose? “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. I command you today to love the Lord your God and to walk in his ways….and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess it.” Deut 30: 15-16
Chris is emeritus professor at Middlesex University, London, specialising in leadership development. As a chartered psychologist, his recent books observe life from unique angles: 20th-century Myanmar through the eyes of a Burmese family; bible stories from the perspective of the stones present, and just published, a light-hearted collision with rural Provence. Chris lives in the UK with his wife April, and they love gathering with the extended family in France each summer.