True to your word by Jane Clamp

As many other ACW members do, I have the joy of preaching regularly at my local church. I love to delve into God’s word, discovering its secrets old and new and passing them on to others hungry for the truth.

Most of the time, it’s a fairly straightforward task, if you put enough planning and prayer into it. The last time I preached, however, presented some challenges I wasn’t ready for.

The moment I’d seen my name against the date on the rota, a topic had sprung to mind. Peace. It took no further pondering. I began my preparation as usual, but there was a new context for me: I wasn’t well. The usual spring in my step had become a limp. My normally clear head felt full of cotton wool.

The ACW Writers’ Day in London was approaching and I reluctantly gave my apologies. All the time, I was still writing and thinking about peace. A bout of food poisoning the night before the Writers’ Day meant that Saturday passed with me feeling very sorry for myself – and glad that I’d already made the decision not to go.

Sunday dawned. My sermon was ready. I felt passionate about what I wanted to say. But my body felt like it was letting me down. By the grace of God, I was able to stand for the thirty minutes and deliver my message, one which seemed to speak to those there. I was grateful. And spent.

But the point I really want to make is this: I was standing there, delivering my message on peace, whilst my life raged around me. The following week presented more challenges, and my own words rang in my ears. In church once more, and still feeling under par, I worried that it would appear that I couldn’t heed my own advice. I judged myself before anyone else had a chance to!

As writers and deliverers of the Christian message, how far do we need to live up to our own message? I mean, imagine I had just published a book on peace. Would I feel that I had to make out I was living in a perpetual state of euphoric calm?

Is it ok to declare the truth and also not be able to live up to its standards?

I would love to invite you into the discussion. I know none of us is perfect, and that life throws some curved balls sometimes; but do our words come back to haunt us?

Or can they be the very things that haul us back to standing?

Jane Clamp is the author of Too Soon: a mother's journey through miscarriage (SPCK). She appears regularly on Premier Christian Radio and UCB. Follow her on Twitter @janeyclamp and through

www.janeclamp.com