Peter Sidebotham, Author at Unforced Rhythms

November 16, 2015

An In-between time

Growing up to be a child is all about Jesus’ challenge to become like children. This challenge was linked to a purpose: to enter and live in God’s kingdom here and now.

While I believe we can be part of God’s kingdom right now, it is also clear to me that this kingdom of heaven has not yet been fully established. We are living in an in-between time, in which we may see aspects of God’s kingdom but we certainly don’t see it in all its fullness. Children continue to get abused; people continue to use violence to promote their causes; the rich get richer at the expense of those who are poor, vulnerable, and exploited; people continue to get sick, suffer, and die; and our world remains troubled and damaged.

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November 14, 2015

Becoming

Becoming a child is a gift from God; it stems from God’s grace. The challenge for us is not to strive to obey all the rules, practice all the right disciplines, and so somehow convince God that we are really like children. Rather it is to respond to God’s invitation and accept God’s grace. In particular, it is to recognise that God loves us unconditionally, just as a father loves his child, and even more so.

Growing up to be a child, p149-150

In this contemplative companion I use four ‘disciplines’ of cleansing, feeding, resting, and dressing to encourage building a regular rhythm of life into our spirituality.

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to Chapter 11 of Growing up to be a child.

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015

Satyagraha – A forgotten stream of true spirituality

Last week Lois and I watched the film Suffragette: an extremely powerful portrayal of one woman’s part in the non-violent struggle for women’s rights; and, interestingly, a pertinent exploration of the parallel processes of alienation and grooming that accompany any form of radicalisation. The main (fictional) character, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan), gradually finds the courage to speak out and act against the violence, abuse and oppression that she and so many of her contemporaries were suffering in early 20^th century Britain.

Alongside the grim reality of gross injustice, and the moving, personal story of one family, what struck me most in all of this was the powerful testimony to the courage required of a non-violent struggle against oppression. While the suffragettes may have gone beyond non-violent resistence in some of their methods, the testimony of many of them stands strong. This is a testimony mirrored in the lives of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, or the unknown man who, on June 5^th, 1989, stood in front of a column of tanks in Tian an Men square.

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November 8, 2015November 8, 2015

Inheritance and Idolatry

The common interpretation of the word ‘inheritance’ is ‘what you get from your parents when they die’. In reality, though, an inheritance is far more than the material possessions left to you by your parents. What a child inherits from her parents is richer, deeper, and more profound than a sum of money. Who you are and what you become is a product of your inheritance: both the genes that are passed on to you, setting your potential, and the environment that you grow up in – your parents’ attitudes and behaviour, your wider family, and your influences outside the family – all combine to mould you into what you finally become.

No matter how hard we may try not to, as parents we inevitably pass on some of our values to our children. If what we value is riches, a comfortable life with all we could need or wish for, that is what our children will inherit – along with the binding greed, the fear of loss, and the indifference to the needs of others that such idolatry brings with it. If what we value is achievement, status, and power, that is what our children will inherit – along with the low self-esteem, the constant striving to be good enough, the bullying, and the exploitation that come with that idolatry. If what we seek is pleasure and indulgence, an easy life, fun and action, and a wide circle of friends, we will pass that on to our children – along with the emptiness that so often sneaks in with this idolatry, the fear of pain, and the loneliness of absent love.

Growing up to be a child, chapter 10

In this latest contemplative guide to Growing up to be a Child, we reflect on what we have inherited from our parents, both good and bad, and what we in turn may be passing on to our children…

Click here to go to the latest contemplative guide to Chapter 10 of Growing up to be a Child.

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015

Image: a contemplative companion to chapter 9 of Growing up to be a child

Children love to play. That is perhaps one of the most striking aspects of childhood. Interestingly, their play largely seems to revolve around a combination of creativity, exploration, and relationship. If you give a child a box of bricks or a crayon, she will create something with them. If you leave a group of children in a garden, it probably won’t be long before they start playing hide-and-seek. And if you watch children singing nursery rhymes, you will see beautiful examples of relationship – even in the very simple act of joining hands in a circle, dancing round and round, and all falling down.

In this contemplative guide we explore what it means to be made in the image of God… through play

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to chapter 9

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015

Hanging up my stethoscope

Today, after 28 years of clinical medicine, I hung up my stethoscope, put away my box of bricks and toys, and closed my BNF for the last time.

Yes, I have finally done it. No more will I drive to Rugby on a Monday morning, to sit on the floor of my clinic room playing with little children, listening to their parents’ concerns, and trying to offer some advice or support. No more will I hold the hands of my beautiful patients at Brooke special school. I will miss them: Jimmy[1], Abi, Naheem… Each one, in their little ways, has blessed me. Little Carrie’s friendly smile; Joel’s mischievous streak; Yacob’s shyness…

It has been a privilege to work with these families over the years, and I have learnt such a lot: about children; about families; about the very real struggles and difficulties so many people face. I feel honoured to have, in some small way, shared in some of those struggles. And I hope that, for some at least, I have been able to offer some comfort, support and hope.

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October 25, 2015October 24, 2015

Re-imagine

Are you willing to take a step of faith, and re-imagine how God wants to work in and through you?

Are you prepared to step out of your comfort zone?

Will you allow the poor to be your teacher?

How about joining a Servants internship in a slum community in Northern India next summer?

Click here to find out more

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015

Soul: a contemplative companion to chapter 8 of Growing up to be a child

In chapter eight of Growing up to be a child, I explore this deepest aspect of our humanity as a growing awareness of ourselves, of other people, of the world we live in, and of God. In each of these areas, I suggest that the call to ‘become like a little child’ is a call to a redeemed awareness:

Of ourselves as beloved children;
Of our relationship to others;
Of the wonder and beauty of the world in which we live;
And of our heavenly father as a God who loves each one of us unconditionally

In the contemplative companion, we use music and scripture to help still ourselves and encounter the beauty and mystery of our Creator.

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to chapter 8.