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GOD's rich Pattern - New beginnings
GOD's rich Pattern - New beginnings
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
New beginnings While I was having the operation on my back, the man who was my fiancé at the time came into the hospital and broke off our engagement. We attended the same church and, due to the emotion of it all, I felt I would not be able to attend services there if he was stil…
GOD's rich Pattern - Steps of faith
GOD's rich Pattern - Steps of faith
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Steps of faith At eleven years old I was given the opportunity of a pioneering surgical procedure, which would, it was hoped, enable me to walk. The medical team told me that it would be a very painful procedure, and that if I decided to take the opportunity I would have to be ve…
GOD's rich Pattern - GOD's rich pattern
GOD's rich Pattern - GOD's rich pattern
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
GOD’s rich pattern I write this book from the starting point of having experienced a spiritual breakdown. I’m a fully accredited Methodist Local Preacher with almost fourteen years experience of preaching. By some people’s standards that might be classed as minimal, but my callin…
GOD's rich Pattern - Coming out of the darkness
GOD's rich Pattern - Coming out of the darkness
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Coming out of the darkness Blindness makes you draw on inner resources and get in touch with the world around you in a different way. Sound is all important. Music can be a wonderful comforter, enabling one to get on a higher spiritual plane. My first introduction to classical mu…
GOD's rich Pattern - Building blocks for God
GOD's rich Pattern - Building blocks for God
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Building blocks for God We were at the stage where Ralph was beginning to help me with some of my consultancy work. I was asked to appear on television. We had to go to Bristol for the recording. We stayed in a five-star hotel that was supposed to be wheelchair friendly, and have…
GOD's rich Pattern - A time of discovery
GOD's rich Pattern - A time of discovery
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A time of discovery A romance, in the truest sense of the word, is a wonderful time of discovery – a meeting of minds and bodies, of personal strengths and weaknesses, and of tenderness between a couple. In my case, Ralph had many moments of discovery about issues relating to dis…
GOD's rich Pattern - A new life together
GOD's rich Pattern - A new life together
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A new life together The wedding and honeymoon were fantastic. But I now had to face the harsh reality of learning to cope on my own during the day, for the first time in thirty-seven years. Occasionally, people would pop in, but for the most part I was by myself, and I was terrif…
GOD's rich Pattern - Wedding day
GOD's rich Pattern - Wedding day
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Wedding day The frenetic preparation on the morning of my wedding day hardly gave me any time to think about what I was undertaking. The whole day put me in a whirl. I can remember my mother asking me at six o’clock in the morning whether I had any regrets. I told her I couldn’t …
GOD's rich Pattern - Go forth and tell
GOD's rich Pattern - Go forth and tell
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Go forth and tell Seven years of study and preaching commitment were now to culminate in a service commissioning me as a fully accredited Methodist local preacher. What a moment. A day I had longed for. I can remember the beautiful summer’s evening the day before, warm yet cool. …
GOD's rich Pattern - A near-death experience
GOD's rich Pattern - A near-death experience
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A near-death experience Six months on from the removal of my right eye, I was to receive another devastating blow. I went to see an orthopaedic surgeon due to the pain in my leg. He examined me and found that I had an abnormal pulse in both my legs, and he wished me to be seen by…
GOD's rich Pattern - A painful parting
GOD's rich Pattern - A painful parting
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A painful parting Ralph’s deterioration, both mentally and physically, took a huge downturn. He was constantly falling, finding himself in a totally agitated state, unable to stand. After two falls in the middle of the night, which my carer and I had to cope with, it was time to …
GOD's rich Pattern - The final walk
GOD's rich Pattern - The final walk
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
The final walk In my last meditation I spoke of the unity within my family: Ralph, myself and Harvey, our dog, who meant so much to Ralph. Ralph had had a very difficult year, with lots of bouts of infection and trips to hospital, becoming more and more fatigued and weakened by t…
GOD's rich Pattern - My best friend
GOD's rich Pattern - My best friend
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
My best friend It was Princess Diana who famously once said, ‘There were three of us in this marriage.’ In our case there certainly were – namely, Ralph, myself and Harvey, our chocolate English Cocker Spaniel. He came into our life when he was eleven weeks old. Ralph and I had a…
GOD's rich Pattern - A trip that would make a difference
GOD's rich Pattern - A trip that would make a difference
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A trip that would make a difference Throughout all our struggle, the work of The Lin Berwick Trust continued. We had our first cottage in East Harling, Norfolk. We were then looking for a second site. Where it would come from, I had no idea. I knew we just had to go forward in fa…
GOD's rich Pattern - A reason for living
GOD's rich Pattern - A reason for living
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A reason for living Ralph hated the term Parkinson’s disease. He felt he was somehow contagious, and didn’t want anyone to know that he had it. He behaved as though he were ashamed. When tragedy strikes, our first reaction is that we don’t want to go on. Life has no meaning. For …
GOD's rich Pattern - Where was God?
GOD's rich Pattern - Where was God?
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Where was God? I couldn’t pray, I could only cry out in anguish. Why Lord? Why did you allow this to happen? I had, I felt, experienced my own personal Calvary a number of times in my life, and now I was having more problems heaped upon me. So many of us feel that we are not stro…
GOD's rich Pattern - The rock
GOD's rich Pattern - The rock
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
The rock God and Christ were my rock. They were the foundation on which I had built my life. As a child, going backwards and forwards to hospital for examinations and treatment, my life was very problematic. People said I had the mind of an adult, perhaps because I spent much of …
GOD's rich Pattern - A change to my world