A good name..

"A good name is better than a precious ointment.." -Eccles. 7:1a

My lovely friend M and I have been reading Ecclesiastes together since she moved up to the Northern Rivers area in February. It's been such a blessing having her here! I've never read Ecclesiastes with anyone before and it really makes a difference to my understanding of it. Reading it on my own usually means something like.. "Oh yeah, I get that. NOT."

It's been great to also reflect on Kirk Patston's excellent Ecclesiastes Principal's Hour talks which you can find somewhere here. Highly recommend them!

Anyway, you may be wondering what the verse has to do with anything. I was thinking about it and how much J and I have discussed the value of having a good reputation especially living here in Bangalow. As most of you know, J is quite well known in our little community and quite respected I think, just because he's in the occupation that he's in. It's just the way it works, funnily enough. But it means that when someone meets me they're always saying, "Oh, are you married to J..?". Yes, yes, quite the (F-grade) celebrity. It's taught us how important it is to have a good reputation as a Christian in our community. At first, J wasn't sure he was up to working in the same town as he lived in- it meant seeing patients when he was on his day off and having to make small talk (more my cup of tea, not really J's). But we've learnt to embrace it instead of be afraid of it.

On J's internet work profile he's written that he's committed to the local Pressy church and he's had a fair few patients mention it when they see him. And many of the school parents (who come into contact with him professionally) know that he and I run the local Kids Club and teach SRE. We've learnt to take advantage of the "respect" that J has from his work to tell people we love Jesus and want to tell others about Him.

Slowly, slowly. Hopefully we can build "a good name" for ourselves as people who love Jesus and love others (by God's grace and only for His glory - keep me accountable on that one, ok?).