Losing our way
‘Ringer’s blank’ can happen to the most confident of ringers and can be extremely embarrassing. Especially if it happens when you’re assisting learners and you find yourself crashing through the new learners, knocking half the band out of place and confidently telling the treble to dodge, only to realise that everyone else is ringing plain bob and you’re ringing something completely different! Even more embarrassing is when you were the one that called “Go Plain Bob” and you have to then admit you were in the wrong.
The evangelist Paul had a similar moment when he lost sight of God. The book of Acts Chapter 9 tells the story of Paul going blind, and how through the trials of losing his sight he gained a new spiritual insight. Paul, known as Saul at that time, thought he had all the wisdom and knowledge needed and believed he knew God’s will; he had become too self-confident, possibly arrogant. Humility was not a fruit that the young Paul possessed, but the experience of going blind gave him new insight and self-awareness, it changed and transformed him. So blank moments can be useful, they remind us that trusting in our own confidence and wisdom can be dangerous. Admitting we have lost our way is often the start of a new journey of self-awareness and we too can become changed and transformed much like Saul.
So, praying God blesses you in your blank moments!
Simon White
Morpeth