Who is to blame?

The Church of England reported recently that the hymn Amazing Grace was 'top of the pops' for couples using the wedding planner on the new website www.yourchurchwedding.org

I love the words of this hymn - especially the last line of the first verse...(I) was blind but now I see. That line is straight from a story in John's Gospel where the religious leaders are interrogating a man who had been blind since birth but has been healed by Jesus. In those days (as in these) there was a culture of blame. Illness and disability was thought to be the result of sin, either by the person or a relative, and they wanted to know why he had been blind. "Whose sin caused it?" they asked.

I love the man's answer. He wasn't interested in the politics of the past- he was too busy delighting in the miracle of the moment. " I don't know about all that stuff" he shrugs, "I simply know this - once I was blind and now I see".

He is a great example to those of us who are encouraged to blame others for the situations in our lives. We can grumble into our boots that we have never achieved our potential because we had useless teachers, unambitious peers, neglectful parents - even that we weren't breast-fed!

We can blame our partners or our children for all manner of things - or we can make the most of the time that we have on this planet and choose to be happy. Enjoy the moment. Carpe Diem/Seize the Day. That same Jesus who healed Bartimaus wants to break into our lives and clear away the rubbish so that we too can see things more clearly.

My friend Lisa told me today that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit so, between now and Valentine's Day, I'm going to practise optimism, be pleasant and charming to my long-suffering husband and grumpy teenage son, take more exercise, eat less chocolate and sort out paperwork as soon as I get it instead of stacking it up. In three weeks time I'm going to be utterly perfect. If I'm not I'll know who to blame!