I had a hair appointment this morning (9th September 2020) with Caroline at 617 Salon in Mansfield. She has been cutting my hair for a few years now. I originally went to her when I was attending International Church and I was introduced to her by her very close friend called Faith, in whose Small Group I was at the time. Shortly thereafter Caroline started working from 617 Salon, which is on the corner of Racecourse Road in Mansfield.
In order to get there I drove past Hall Street, then Smith Street, then into Epsom Street, then Maltby Road, at the end of which I drove onto Southwell Road West and past Selwyn Street and parked in Racecourse Road. This is a Psalm 139 story:
Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
For my 50th birthday, I had no one to organise a party for me and so I booked onto a Christian Master Sun holiday to Rhodes, where I met Jenny Hall. My birth surname is Smith. I lived near Epsom in Surrey and my sister was born there, our next door neighbour in Kingston upon Thames where I lived with my husband was named Maltby. Selwyn reminds me of Selwyn Hughes, who started an organisation called CWR (Crusade for World Revival) in Farnham in Surrey and published some bible study notes called Everyday with Jesus. I left a copy of Everyday with Jesus bible study notes on Nehemiah with my husband’s solicitor when she arranged his divorce, and Paula from my Trinity Church Nottingham bible study small group is at CWR in Farnham this week doing a counselling course. When my husband ran off from me in Kingston upon Thames, he first rented a house with the woman who is now his wife. This house was on Racecourse Road, Mansfield. Yesterday was my divorce anniversary and tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. Off of Racecourse Road is Adrians Close. One of the leaders of my church in Lincoln at the time of my divorce was called Adrian. He had attended the same school in Grantham as my husband, Kings School and he and his wife had come to visit me in my home in Lincoln on 8 September 1997, not knowing that I was divorced on that day. How can anyone deny that God is real and active in my life.
Later, I noticed Windsor Street on the map. My husband was living with his friends in Windsor when we met and when he left me he moved to Racecourse Road. The A617 runs between Windsor Street and Racecourse Road. The map thus encapsulates his life between 1987 and 1994.
But also, 617 reminds me of St Botolph, since St Botolph’s day is June 17. I have written about St Botolph in a previous blog. On the night of Halloween 1997 I did a sponsored sleepout for a homeless charity called Nomad in St Botolph’s graveyard in Lincoln. I later found out that my husband had remarried on that day.
I had signed up to volunteer at the Nomad drop in cafe one lunchtime in 1997 when I looked through the doorway and saw a friend from church, Paul Reet. I had said to God that if when I walked past Paul was working there that day I would know that God wanted me to volunteer too. I went in and heard the song “The Power of Love” by Jennifer Rush playing in the Nomad Cafe. So, I had a double confirmation that I should work there. When I married in 1988 I became Jacqui Wilson and was told that an American singer called Jackie Wilson had sung a song called Reet Petite. Paul Reet’s wife was quite petite. And the song that my husband chose for our first dance together was “The Power of Love” by Jennifer Rush.
I was doing the sponsored sleepout at Halloween 1997 with a man called Alan, who worked at the homeless charity with me. His birthday was 30th September. On 30th September 1994 I had become homeless myself when I sold my marital home in Kingston upon Thames.
And, as I look at the map again, I can see Coronation Street. In Kingston upon Thames there is a Coronation Stone and in olden days Kings of England were crowned at All Saints in Kingston upon Thames, the church where John and I had married. There is also Mill Street and before Steve Maltby moved into the house next door to us, Miss Miller lived there with Stella Goodchild who had been born in the house.
All this reveals to me that God has been working in my life throughout the good times and the bad and I hope it does the same for you.
The Cross is in the Field 