Share Four Somethings: April 2023

It has been a while since I took part in Share Four Somethings, but I have missed it! It’s a helpful way to reflect on the month that is past and I always enjoy reading other people’s reflections too. Since I last took part in Share Four Somethings, it has moved to be hosted by Jennifer Goodwin, so join us there to read the other posts.

Something I loved

This past weekend was our church weekend away. It is something we’ve done every year since we began meeting as a church (excluding two years of COVID) and it is always a fantastic time of fun and deepening friendships.

This year was no exception. It was a little different as this time I was leading all the children’s sessions, so it felt more like work and not quite so relaxing, but it was still a lot of fun. The children were great, and it was lovely to get to know them better.

It was also great to have more time chatting to others in the church, and the Saturday night talent show was a highlight as always.

When I think back to my experience of church eight or nine years ago, I could never have imagined being part of a community like this or of feeling so accepted and free to be myself, so I am forever grateful.

Something I read

If you’re a regular reader here, you may remember I’ve shared before about some of the challenges facing the church in Scotland.

I wrote that post in early 2021 and, honestly, the situation is even worse now than it was then.

(Another reason why I’m grateful for my own church, which is bucking the trends in many ways.)

I was excited to see this book, Sleeping Giant by Tommy MacNeil. I heard Tommy speak at a conference several years ago, and I was so impressed and inspired by his passion for the church in Scotland. This book is more of the same.

He acknowledges the challenges the church is facing, but it is mostly an encouragement to wake up, to look to God and his power and to step out in faith to live and speak for God and to make a difference. It is a challenge to the church to take its calling seriously.

While it is written particularly about the situation in Scotland, I think it is equally relevant for many other countries.

Something I learned

For several months I had noticed that my hearing wasn’t as good as it should have been. I was struggling with conversation in noisy environments and turning the volume a little higher when I listened to podcasts or watched TV. I kept thinking that I should get my hearing checked, but I kept delaying.

There were a few reasons: I was busy, and it wasn’t too bad – I was coping. However, I think the main reason was denial. Hearing loss runs in my family, so I fully expected it to affect me at some point, but I wasn’t ready to deal with it just yet.

Then one day my hearing suddenly went almost completely in my left ear. A few days later I went to the doctor to be told that both ears were full of wax and that was likely the reason for the problem. I was told to use olive oil to soften the wax.

The problem was that as the oil softened the wax in my right ear, within a few days, it caused me to lose almost all my hearing in that ear too. I was now basically almost deaf. I could only hear people if they really shouted, and I was struggling to function normally in most areas of life. I began to question whether it was actually down to ear wax – could that really cause such severe problems?

After putting oil in my ears for a week, the time finally came when I could do something to get the wax removed, so I went for microsuction, which involves something like a vacuum cleaner being put in your ears to suck out the wax.

Twenty minutes later I was like a new person! Apparently there was a surprisingly large amount of wax in there, and once it was removed the difference was amazing. I could hear better than I have in years!

After having the wax removed, I did a hearing test to discover that my hearing is completely normal!

The lesson – don’t delay in getting things checked out. It might not be as bad as you think. I had spent all those weeks worrying about hearing loss when it could have been easily fixed without it ever getting to the stage of having to endure a week of deafness.

I have also learned to have much more empathy for others who are deaf or hard of hearing after experiencing for myself just how debilitating it can be.

Something I ate

I haven’t had a lot of time for cooking this month, but I did manage to make this chickpea and lentil curry. I’d highly recommend it – it is quick, easy, healthy and also delicious!

How was April for you? Feel free to share a highlight or prayer request in the comments.

Linking with: Inspire Me Monday, Tell His Story, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee, Recharge Wednesday, Tune In Thursday, Grace & Truth

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