A day worth reflecting on

A day worth reflecting on

Sometimes life goes by so fast that we don’t learn the lessons of the day. We move from one think to the next with hardly a breath and definitely no thought, of what is really happening in our lives. At the Eucharist this morning as we remembered the Life of St Athanasius, I was reminded of our need to stand up for what we believe in and to fight for it. Often we don’t have the energy, or see the need, but God called us to this ministry – of standing up for the truth, of recognising the battles – chosen for us to proclaim the faith and preach the Gospel.

As I visited a prospective Social Responsibility partner, where everything needed exists and yet they are struggling to make it work; I was reminded that life is like that. You may have all the ingredients in the kitchen, but you won’t get biscuits just because the ingredients are present. Even a recipe doesn’t guarantee success, as Jamie discovered, or as I discovered when I got home and saw her attempt at chocolate biscuits. Her consistency was wrong... Isn’t that always the case?  We put the right ingredients together but fail to mix it right.  Our human relationships get in the way, the way we dilute the present with the past and or the future, the way we expect things to be different, just because we want them to be, the way we misinterpret the signs and get frustrated by our own efforts.

This evening I attended a Growth and Development Strategy consultative forum for Ekurhuleni. An attempt to include the “Stakeholders” in the planning from 2012 to 2055. Some good work has been done, but we really need to rethink a few things.

 One of the drivers was “what do you want Ekurhuleni to look like 10. 15 and 20 years from now.”  An interesting question; it made me wonder, what makes a place somewhere you want to live. What drivers move you to live here or there?  Personally I am very affected by the issue of education.  I want to live somewhere, where I know that my children have access to quality education.  Is there such a place in SA? I want to live somewhere where to get where I am going is not a matter of chance nor is it a matter of taking my life into my hands every time I leave the house. So a good public transport system would effect my choice of where to live. So who in SA can boast that?

I want a place where I can live in freedom : where my kids can ride their bikes in the street, and play in the park. I want to have access to a good hospital, when needed. I haven’t mentioned the simple basics of water and electricity and refuse removal, but since my garbage is still sitting on the pavement, maybe I should.

I don’t think that this is asking too much? I don’t think that this is a dream, it is what we should expect. But my question is how are we going to make Ekurhuleni or anywhere else in SA fit this description?

It was pointed out that land for expansion is fast running out, so our typical response of moving somewhere else is not looking like a long term solution. A person in Thembisa can’t just move to Bedford view to better their lives, (can Bedford boast that it has all things necessary for the simple life anyway)?

We need to be making home what we want it to be. And how do I suggest we do this?

Well firstly let’s make up our minds that we have to make the world the place we want it to be, and not expect someone else to do it for us. Let’s make our homes places of discipline and sound learning. Let’s  make our homes places where viewpoints can be developed and discussed. Let’s make our homes places of safety. Let’s make our homes healthy places, sound diets of stomach and mind.

Let’s make our homes places where  God is loved, where our neighbour is loved and respected, how about we even go as far as finding out their name – wouldn’t that cause a stir.

If we want to address the problems of the world we have to start at home. Then we will know what we want and we will be able to articulate it and work towards it.

We have a responsibility. I think we should rise to it.

I will be compiling a submission to the Ekurhuleni Municipality for its GDS 2055 – If you have any comment – please feel free to send it to agmanning1@gmail.com.