Sandy Edwards contributes - "Hugs ....and Healing from Tawstock"
Sometimes it is impossible to express to someone how we feel…sometimes the best thing we can do for them is put our arms around them and give them a hug…. That was just what I felt God had done with me this year at Tawstock – He put his arms around me and gave me a BIG HUG.
Very few of you were at that first prayer meeting on Sunday morning if you had you would have seen me cry…not something I have done for a long time but it was the start of a very special ‘journey’ for me…
The preparations for 2004 started twelve months earlier when people began praying…not just in the UK but all over the world… it was to be our first step of faith that God would ‘bless and keep us’.
Think back to that first night at St Michael’s in 2004 … horrendous storm, 6.00am still dark, black clouds hovering overhead. My first thought was “why God?” I unlocked the school… took Zac to the meeting room…walked down to the quiet lounge for Morning Prayer…. I opened the door… the sun was streaming in through the huge windows … I could hardly see, it was just SO bright. I can’t put into words how I felt I but I knew that after twelve months of planning God was assuring me that He was there, with me, just at that very moment, smiling, that He had everything in His arms, including me! I felt if I just reached out I would have touched Him. I couldn’t move; I was rooted to the spot. I was still in that same position when Charles came in. He had chosen Num 6 v 24-26.
“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace”
To recap: God is the God of Truth, when he blesses us we KNOW it will happen. His protection is very important. The Hebrew word for shine is smile. When we are doing what God wants he ‘smiles’ on us, He wants us to enjoy what we are doing for Him. And be gracious…God’s riches at Christ’s expense (cf Psalm 4) How joyful we can be when God smiles upon us. And finally, His peace for our week at Tawstock…
If I had ever had any doubts about how the week would go then they were at that very moment vanished forever. I tried to pray – all I could do was utter ‘Thank You’ it was just such a special moment. Charles knew just how I was feeling and gave me a hug….
Do you remember that first sketch we did…Beverley, Phil, Jason and Rowena …How we are all part of God’s big family, supporting one another… Not one of us at that time realised the relevance of those rehearsals together…
Shortly after returning from Tawstock I found myself with my arms around Rowena, there were no words we could say to each other … her ‘journey’ is proving painful... but a hug from a friend helps…
More recently I have returned from visiting Beverley (for those of you that did not know she has been seriously ill in ICU) now on her ‘journey of recovery’… another hug …
And me… well as you all know my daily ‘journey’ is normally taken at a running pace, dashing here and there, cramming in as much as possible. However, the recent operation on my foot has slowed me down…slightly… to a hop. And guess what God gave me… ‘just when I needed it’… another hug…from a special friend!
I know from letters, emails and phone calls that this year many came to Tawstock in some kind of pain. Some only experienced it when they returned home. His healing comes to us in many different forms; He smiles: opens his arms wide to each and every one of us: longing to hold us, hug us and heal us in just the way we need. As God leads us from one Tawstock holiday to the next I trust that you will put yourselves into the arms of the loving and living God… and let Him hug you too!
These were the words I read in my daily bible study notes a few days after I returned from holiday taken from Jeremiah 31.
“Not only will they return home, they will return home, (from Tawstock?) as a different people with a significant dimension to life beyond the rejoicing and abundance of their physical restoration. So what will be different? The law to guide their lives previously written on stone, will now be written on their hearts. Their knowledge of God will not come from intellectual learning but from personal experience of forgiveness and restoration. God’s eternal order and purpose guarantee it- and this promised turning point is not just for Israel!"
God bless you all, Love and hugs, Sandy
Please email suggestions or other contributions to: