The Jeff Cuttell Diaries...
My Dear friends,
My current bedtime reading is keeping me awake until far too late. I am on the
first volume of the Alan Clark Diaries, with its entries ranging far and wide as
he reflects on matters as diverse as the sexual magnetism and Margaret Thatcher
to the personal details of his massive overdraft.
Our fascination with the intimate and the trivial in people's lives has a long
literary tradition, from the historical and autobiographical diarists such as
Samuel Pepys and George Herbert, to the modern fiction of Adrian Mole and
Bridget Jones. In our electronic age perhaps its newest incarnation is the
phenomenon of the internet web-log.
From time to time I have just toyed with the idea of keeping a regular diary
myself, my jotted notes from serving in the Balkans were not entirely
uninteresting. However, it doesn’t take long before an honest assessment of your
entries makes you realise the hard truth - your life really just isn’t that
interesting! A quick comparison with Alan Clark for illustration: AC was born
the son of one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century, my Dad was a coal
miner turned biscuit salesman; AC’s family home was Saltwood castle, I was
brought up in a 3 bed semi; ACs hobbies included blondes and vintage cars, mine
include fried egg sandwiches and the occasional run. It’s hardly the stuff of a
best-seller is it?
Here’s the honest truth: The great british public would have no interest in my
secret life... but God does. God has been avidly following its journey from the
moment of my mistaken conception. He was with me through the turbulence of
adolescence and my journey to faith. He knows my hopes for the future, my bad
day at work, my struggles to do the right thing, my little triumphs... These
matters of the deepest disinterest to most of this world are matters of the
utmost concern to God. From Jesus teaching in the Gospels I know he is even
interested in my hair loss and the sparrow that builds its nest in the eves of
our home.
Whilst the News of the World and the great british public find the private life
of the Beckhams a source of fascination, God may be the only one out there with
a similar passion for the cares and concerns of the life of this middle aged
Vicar. And actually, I’m not sure if I don’t have the better deal!
Jeff Cuttell.
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