'Since coming here,' said the prisoner, 'I've come much closer to God.' Opal's quiet words were convincing. In turn, she was touched to learn that opal gemstones owe their beauty to immense pressure, bearing down on fragments of silica in water. This pressure produces their scintillating colours and makes them...
The airmail letter came from a successful applicant for a grant, enabling him to attend an ICMDA conference. 'Please pray for those who have not received bursaries,' he wrote. 'They could feel bitter or resentful, which would spoil the fellowship.' It seemed that this group of young believers still needed...
In 1972, as my hospital contract with the Uganda Government was ending, Idi Amin announced that British people in my position must leave within two weeks. My flight was already booked for that day and I flew out, heading for North Staffordshire, but saddened by what was happening to people...
Yesterday I had a four-year-old visitor who clearly knew her own mind. She was able very decidedly to express her views, especially when her parents had different ideas. The word 'No' featured prominently and had probably done so since before her first birthday. The ability to say this powerful little...
Treatment decisions about babies and children are among the most agonising a doctor can face, especially when resources are limited. A distressed medical student told me recently how she had seen a tiny, gasping new-born baby. The mother was so ill that she had been advised to have an abortion,...