Today, I travelled by bus and was pleased. I was a little pressed for time and Dunc offered me the use of the van, but I remembered that I was doing the car share for a reason, and just felt that the bus was the thing to do. And it was. At the bus stop I chatted to a man with a diagnosed illness who is off work on long term sick, and lives a hermit like existence. His words. He was on his way to Bitterne, so instant bonding with a fellow sufferer in me. I told him about our house group and described it as 'a bunch of losers asking God for help'. Hope that doesn't offend you. He got off, and a lady got on and sat next to me. We talked about the rain, and her allotment. On the way back, I chatted to a guy at the bus stop who is back from the Philipines and trying to find a flat and a job so he can fly his wife and 5 year old daughter over, as she has been sexually abused and he wants to come back to UK to avoid the pain of being there. He asked about my church, and we discussed Catholic schools and his quest to find a church here - sounds like he had sone well and found a URC that he feels is pretty good. Then, a little girl I know who is fostered was on the bus when I got on, with her mum (real), and so I got to meet her mum and chat with her about her beautiful daughter. Now, I am pretty sure that I am the richer for having had these interactions with real, broken people, and whether or not god used me to bring a reflection of himself to them, he certainly used them to reflect himself to me. Now, who wouldn't go on a bus? What an amazing blessing to be touching real people, maybe lives that never touch again, but who knows? If I had been in the van I would have been struggling to find first gear and panicking about parking and would not have noticed the faces of the other people on the same journey as me.

NRG tonight at Bitterne. New routine. So painful I will not be able to get up in the morning. And I cycled there and back for added torture so if I do get out of bed, I will be walking like a cowboy all day. If you see me, just point and laugh.