{"id":36945,"date":"2022-02-16T09:56:30","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T09:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?p=36945"},"modified":"2022-02-16T10:01:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T10:01:15","slug":"im-back-the-wisdom-of-knowing-when-to-speak-and-when-to-shut-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2022\/02\/im-back-the-wisdom-of-knowing-when-to-speak-and-when-to-shut-up\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m back. The Wisdom of knowing when to speak and when to shut up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"Well this has been the longest blogging break I\u2019ve taken since 2003 when I started writing daily.<\/p>\n

Does anyone still manage to write personal reflections daily I wonder?<\/p>\n

Does anyone still want to read another person\u2019s \u00a0reflections daily?<\/p>\n

Though to be fair I have not been totally silent these last months. I have written material over at blood cancer Uncensorsd<\/a>. \u00a0 But it\u2019s different writing for fellow blood cancer patients than it is for a mostly Christian general set of readers who has come to expect my peculiar mix on theology, wrestling with issues that arise from suffering, and talking about or interviewing Ghristian leaders<\/p>\n

Have you missed me?<\/p>\n

For a while there I thought I\u2019d run out of things to say to you all. After all I\u2019ve been blogging since 2003! \u00a0And written more than 4300 posts. \u00a0What more could I possibly have to say? \u00a0Those who know well me would be very surprised to see me speechless!<\/p>\n

Truth is I have had other things on my mind. \u00a0Some things that I wont talk about here. But suffice it to say that the lockdown months and pandemic have been particularly challenging for me. \u00a0My health has not been great, although I continue to be in remission from my blood cancer the damage to my immune and autonomic nervous system continues to hugely impact every aspect of my life.<\/p>\n

Chronic sickness sucks. \u00a0It can threaten to engulf a life and all that surrounds that person. \u00a0It has been overwhelming at times. But blogs are not counselling sessions, not the place for full disclosure. \u00a0I do have counsellors advisors, but the unfiltered internet is not one of them.<\/p>\n

Jesus has been closer to me recently, or perhaps it is more that I have been closer to him.<\/p>\n

The ancients talked of the dark night of the soul. \u00a0At times when we feel like we most need him, God sometimes feels most distant, compounding the struggle and the suffering. So much so that you begin to ask, am I even a Christian?<\/p>\n

But if Paul could say<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.\u201d 2 Corinthians 1:8<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then, beloved, we too can cling onto our faith through the darkest most despairing night, and emerge, like a butterfly from the chrysalis ready to soar with him.<\/p>\n

I am not quite like that butterfly just yet.<\/p>\n

God hasn\u2019t finished with me though.<\/p>\n

And I am not finished with you my loyal blog readers, if any of you are still out there!<\/p>\n

There is a time to speak, and a time to be silent.<\/p>\n

I hope you will enjoy my wittering as it begins once more. It won\u2019t be writing daily, but I will aim for once a week.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Ecclesiastes 3 (NLT)<\/h1>\n

1<\/b><\/a><\/span>For everything there is a season,<\/p>\n

a time for every activity under heaven.<\/p>\n

2<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to be born and a time to die.<\/p>\n

A time to plant and a time to harvest.<\/p>\n

3<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to kill and a time to heal.<\/p>\n

A time to tear down and a time to build up.<\/p>\n

4<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to cry and a time to laugh.<\/p>\n

A time to grieve and a time to dance.<\/p>\n

5<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.<\/p>\n

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.<\/p>\n

6<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to search and a time to quit searching.<\/p>\n

A time to keep and a time to throw away.<\/p>\n

7<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to tear and a time to mend.<\/p>\n

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.<\/p>\n

8<\/b><\/a><\/span>A time to love and a time to hate.<\/p>\n

A time for war and a time for peace.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well this has been the longest blogging break I\u2019ve taken since 2003 when I started writing daily. Does anyone still manage to write personal reflections daily I wonder? Does anyone still want to read another person\u2019s \u00a0reflections daily? Though to be fair I have not been totally silent these last months. I have written material […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":36951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-suffering"],"yoast_head":"\nI\u2019m back. The Wisdom of knowing when to speak and when to shut up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Well this has been the longest blogging break I\u2019ve taken since 2003 when I started writing daily. 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My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I\u2019m back. The Wisdom of knowing when to speak and when to shut up","description":"Well this has been the longest blogging break I\u2019ve taken since 2003 when I started writing daily. 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