Read Nats thoughts

Who is Nat?

My name is Natalie Husk, although most people call me Nat (except my parents!). I was born and raised in Cornwall and am proud of it! I have always been involved in the church, whether going to my local village chapel in Common Moor, joining with bus loads from Cornwall at MAYC events, helping at the District Children’s Holiday or even attending Synod a few times! I am very thankful to the Cornwall District, the Liskeard & Looe Circuit and of course Common Moor chapel for being such valuable parts in my journey of faith.

Today I live in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where I work as a youth worker for the Methodist Church. I run after school clubs, youth clubs, a youth fellowship, do outreach work and organise trips away. Not long ago I was asked by a youth group, to give them a weekly topic for reflection, an email containing something to focus them on God for the week. So every week I sit at my computer and write down my thoughts! It started quite small, with just the young people receiving them, and now lots of people of all ages find my thoughts in their email inbox!

It is a huge privilege for me to find that people enjoy and are challenged by what I have written, especially that I can now share what God has done for me with those who walked with me at the beginning of my journey. Ultimately these reflections are aimed at the young people I now work with, but if God can speak to others through them, how great is that!!

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December
Advice
I Love You

November
38. Bald is beautiful
37. Fire
36 Sleep
35 Music

October 2006
34. Stupidity
33. Painting
32. mmm Pasties
31. Built to last
30. Phlegm

September 2006
29. Meetings
28. Crime thoughts
27. Colours
26. Unwanted guests

August 2006
25. Comparison
24. Waterproof Mascara
23. Tasty MSG
22. Helplessness

July 2006
21. Attraction
20. Hair
19. Hero
18. Laughter
17. Factoids

June 2006
16. Voiceless
15. Bruises (ouch)
14. Sunburn
13. Mistakes

May 2006
12. Arms
11. Willow Tree
10. Eurovision
9. Chicken
8. Addictions

April 2006
7. Age
6. Celebrities
5. Language

March 2006
4. Commonwealth Games
3. Decisions
2. Drizzle
1. Trelawney

Crime Thoughts

Coming from a small isolated village in the middle of nowhere, you could say that I had a sheltered childhood. In a place where everyone knew you, surrounded by moor land and with no public transport to use as an escape, the worst we could get up to was terrorising the local cows (as in livestock rather than moody women!) and stealing a few apples off other people’s trees. So living in a city and being where very few people know my name is a bit of a change.

I love Common Moor. It may be small (about 60 houses) and out of the way, and you could be forgiven for missing it, but it’s well worth a visit. Located on Bodmin Moor it has stunning scenery surrounding it, although this is often missed due to the low flying clouds! I love the fact that everyone knows everyone else (or in most cases is related to everyone else!) and no-one’s business goes unnoticed. There was uproar in the village when there was a crime committed – it was a single theft of someone’s prize flowers from their greenhouse. No really, that was as bad as it gets!

So imagine my surprise to discover what it feels like to be a nobody, unknown in my neighbourhood and where everyone gets on with their own thing without the community around them. Also imagine my first introduction to crime – me being a victim not me turning into a criminal! You may know that I got burgled last year, whilst I was upstairs asleep. They didn’t take much (although they helped themselves to my bananas!) but it was the intrusion into my home, into my life that upset me most. I felt violated and was angry at the ******************** (add your own words!) and it took me a long time to feel safe in my own house.

Well as I write this I have just been robbed again. This morning my bag was stolen with my phone, purse (inc all cards, driving licence etc) my diary (they are welcome to it if it means they have to go to my meetings!) and my car keys. Strangely enough the police were just around the corner when the theft occurred and they quickly got involved. I have no proof who took the bag, but we have a pretty good idea who it was. Obviously they flatly deny it and will no doubt get away with it. Luckily most of the stuff was found in a nearby bin, and was therefore returned to me in a very smelly condition. (Damn it I still have to go to the meetings!) At this moment I am still a bit shaky and upset as well as being very angry at the person who did this to me. (************* - again add your own words that you feel fit the situation!) The thing is that tonight I am running a youth club where the suspect is likely to attend, and to be honest I’m not sure what to do.

As a victim of this crime I don’t want them anywhere near me. As a youth worker I have no evidence or reason to exclude them. As a Christian I should be looking at forgiving them. Aarrgghhh! Why is life so hard and complicated? So in my confusion I turn to Jesus and ask for help – Him being all wise and all! God’s endless grace and mercy are at the core of Christianity. The whole point is that we don’t deserve it and yet we get it for free. Time and again. Continuously in fact. So isn’t it our job to show this to those who haven’t heard, haven’t experienced it? It seems so much easier when it isn’t personal, when I’m not hurting, when I have nothing to loose.

So I will go to youth club tonight, and if the suspect comes then they will be welcomed in (maybe through gritted teeth – I’m not a saint!). Being forgiving is not the same as being walked all over, and so I will lock my bag away. But I pray that with God’s help I am someone who, when it really matters, is able to practice what they preach. How about you?