Life can be messy...

St Cyril of Alexandria. Saturday 27June, 2020.

I sometimes take stock of my immediate surrounds and find myself appalled by my own mess and disorganisation. As I write this so papers and books are strewn across the floor. One table is covered in succulents in pots, jumbled with jars of rain water and more papers. The window ledge has a waste paper basket on it and more detritus. The two chairs have clothes, a box of nik naks, ingredients for elder flower cordial brewing. A television has jars of marmalade in front and beside it. On the floor empty jars, two boxes of books, three plastic bags of papers and above that three shelves: the top shelf strewn with old letters and papers, the other two with books and marmalade jars. It is a real mess. I do not know where anything is!!

I know my bedroom is as bad. The bed is used as a desk, the desk piled high with papers and books and deodorants, pens and electrical bits. The window cill is a book shelf piled three or four books high. The chest of drawers has three drawers bulging with clothes, spewing out, the surface has charity paraphenalia. There are three cupboards usually spilling over and with suit cases leaning against the doors. A chair has clothes in various states of use. One bed side table is books and papers, the other is pills, potions, creams and again papers and small writing books. The floor has bags of stuff as well as more letters and books. I feel a slob.

Today I heard a short sermon on St Cyril. He was a force at the Council of Ephesus. It was a chaotic Council wherein two rival theological camps were fighting it our over the definition of the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. St Cyril was the eloquent theologian of the Antioch brigade whose definition was adopted. The preacher noted that St Cyril ' was not a very attractive character'. Often he said the 'messiness of all this' , meaning the politicking, infighting and arguments, results in a clear definition of faith. He concluded how 'Providence works through our messiness'.

Yes, life is messy. We try to control it, stamp it with our organisation and systems and make it serve our theories. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail, often we partially succeed. There is no real certainty. An example, of course, is Covid 19: we try to control it, make many mistakes, react wrongly, sometime rightly but mostly it feels like ' a hell of a mess'.

In this pandemic crisis I have just had two telephone calls setting up my prostate operation which has been pending since February. Efficient, precise, knowledgeable calls with sets of instructions and regulations and timings to be followed. The 14 day isolation begins with a pre assessment next Tuesday. If I have no medical of health barriers to going ahead I will be monitored and variously tested over the next two weeks. For the day I am due to go in there is another precise and copious set of instructions and rules. A clear path is set before me so long as.... Yes, many unexpected things may happen to make a mess of these precise organised days ahead.

That is life...although I could be less messy in my rooms.