This morning Elja caught a train north. She is going to see a doctor at a hospital in Netherlands and is hoping that he will agree to operate on her hip. If she can get onto his waiting list that will be a big step forward. I saw her off at the station. I very much admire her spirit going off alone to sort this out. We shall all miss her while she is away.
Ordinary life sometimes requires a lot of courage. At the moment I am doing plenty of reading and it seems to me that a great deal of what is called "spirituality" is basically courage. In the English language, to say somebody has spirit means that they have pluck, that they are willing to take on difficulties and not be daunted by the obstacles that come along. Elja was all set to go to Germany to have her operation and at the last minute it fell through. She took it all pretty much in her stride. It was impressive. It is a big thing to have an operation at any time. However, she is enthusiastic to get it done, holding to a vision of how her life will be better afterwards. During these difficulties she has had some struggles with herself, but who wouldn't? We're all praying that this time it works out.
Most of my day was taken up with minor matters. Many small administrative items to be attended to. Some writing. The weather at the moment is very good for the plants. You can almost see the grass grow. When we get a patch of sunshine it is nice to sit out and drink coffee and chat. Despite the showers, it is a lovely time of year with so many flowers blooming and flocks of birds each working out their complicated social lives all around us, and all the trees putting out their first leaves. At night the half moon looks so beautiful when it breaks out from amidst the clouds.
Replies
I expect your laptop just needs a new hip :-)