I realise that this is going to be a very contentious subject as a CVM blog with fruit in the title \u2013 but it\u2019s a manly fruit as it has thorns!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So here is a definition of the noun Gooseberry: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be an unwanted third person who is present when two other people especially two people having a romantic relationship want to be alone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ever felt like that and not just when your mate brought a date and you didn\u2019t? It\u2019s that old feeling of not fitting in. I have to admit that there have been times in my life when I wondered when the space-ship would finally turn up and take me back to my own planet and people. I really hope that no guy who comes into contact with CVM ever feels that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all have at some time or other come across those who didn\u2019t fit in for whatever reason, in some cases we were the ones who didn\u2019t fit in to the bloke\/team player mould. Maybe their passion was for a somewhat solitary pastime, it certainly has been for me as my interest is railways (always has been, probably always will be). However, over the last few months God has given me a heart to reach those in that group, whether it be the guys with notebooks and cameras at stations, the men with model railways occupying their sheds or attics, the ones who travel many miles on trains just for the sheer experience of travelling by train, those who spend weekends working on the myriad of preserved lines up and down the country, or even those that work on the \u2018big\u2019 railway and get paid for doing what is their passion \u2013 it is what we would call a broad church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The thing is, in all my years involved in this hobby I have never come across any organisation that takes the good news of Jesus to this group, (but I stand to be corrected on this one). I do believe though that there is an opportunity to use this hobby to reach those for Jesus and God has led me to this following verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Corinthians 9 v22:<\/strong> To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am under no illusion that taking hold of this vision and running with it will not be an easy task, there will be opposition, upsets and every possible other thing to hamper it. There is one thing I have learnt this year whilst on my allotment, (and this is one of the rare ones that isn\u2019t next to a railway line) as I had the best crop ever from my two gooseberry bushes. It\u2019s this, to get to the fruit you will get cut by the thorns all the time you are picking, it\u2019s probably one of the reasons for the decline in the popularity of this fruit. However, the rewards (that is if you like gooseberries) are immense, so if you’re interested in railways in any form (modern, preserved, model it doesn\u2019t matter!),\u00a0would you like to be part of this? If so please get in touch with me via\u00a0jason.muxworthy@cvm.org.uk<\/a>\u00a0or you can find the group on Facebook at\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/316509629530259\/<\/a>\u00a0and let\u2019s go picking \u2018gooseberries\u2019 for the Kingdom!<\/p>\n