relationships | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

On Re-Learning the Beautiful Art of Friendship

Anita Mathias — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 22:15:18 +0000

The rather wonderful Stephen Fry upset the internets by telling Irish television host Gay Byrne what Stephen Fry would say to God when they eventually met up. How dare you! How dare you create a world in which there is such suffering that is not our fault? It’s not right; it’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should […]

The post On Re-Learning the Beautiful Art of Friendship first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

The Gift of Limits. The Gift of Learning to Say No

Anita Mathias — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 21:23:21 +0000

Here’s a striking story from The Emotionally Healthy Church by Pete Scazzero. Rabbi Edwin Friedman tells the story of a man who had given much thought to what he wanted from life. After trying many things, succeeding at some and failing at others, he finally decided what he wanted. One day the opportunity came for […]

The post The Gift of Limits. The Gift of Learning to Say No first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

In which Annie Relocates the Wirral to Birmingham, and I am Chastened

Anita Mathias — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 07:10:42 +0000

One gets spoiled in Oxford, gets used to fast-moving, intelligent conversation; to hearing of new books and new ideas, and having your own thinking challenged. And sometimes, after living here for years, you can think of Oxford as the world. Think of the body of Christ in Oxford as identical to the body of […]

The post In which Annie Relocates the Wirral to Birmingham, and I am Chastened first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

In which Difficult People are Angels Unawares

Anita Mathias — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 11:10:12 +0000

I read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson at a difficult time of my life, with a great deal of pleasure, awe, delight, gratitude (and envy at the perfection of her writing style). However, I did not remember this beautiful passage which Canadian writer Carolyn Weber points out. This is an important thing, which I have […]

The post In which Difficult People are Angels Unawares first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

The Law Simply Does not Work. In Marriage or Elsewhere. We need Grace!

Anita Mathias — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:44:00 +0000

In the story of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve all the trees of the garden as food. Except, except–the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And which tree which was the most attractive to them? And irresistible? And eaten? That is the way of the law. It makes doing what you […]

The post The Law Simply Does not Work. In Marriage or Elsewhere. We need Grace! first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.