Angela Hall

There was nothing wrong with his hearing; that was for sure! He heard the farrier's hammer hit the anvil as he shaped the horseshoe. He heard the market sellers call out their deals of the day. He heard exhausted mothers reprimand their boisterous children, He heard the unpleasant sound of desperate rats scratching the dry, dusty ground, hoping for crumbs or scraps of food that people may drop. He was glad of his other senses t The smell of the fresh bread on the barrow that wheeled past him....

Dear child, let my living water of love wash away your hurt. All the words that have wounded you, let my love wash them away. The worries that you consume you, let my peace wash them away. The fears that have grown so big, let me wash them away. Sit a while, breathe in my Holy Spirit. Let me love you. Let me flush away all that holds you back from the living and freedom of my love. Love from your heavenly father. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow...

I found myself in the back of an ambulance for the second time in the month. The pain was excruciating. As soon as they pushed liquid pain relief through my cannula, it started to ease. The paramedic knew what I needed to make me comfortable. He administered the drugs and sat with me till it started to take effect, then sat quietly. Presence matters. I was wheeled into a part of the A&E that I hadn’t been to before. I lay there so drugged but so aware of so many people milling around. I was...