Relaxing

Do kids these days make models any more? Or are iPads and Xbox consoles and playstations just too much of a pull now to give creative hands and inquisitive minds the chance to actually make something?

This is a form of escape for me. I never really get much done, but the smell of the glue and the paint, and the thought of the completed model, all take me back to happy childhood days, spending hours building aircraft and dioramas.

It's a very physical hobby... You feel the plastic, you see how each part will fit together, and you become totally absorbed in the fascinating detail of how each small piece helps to build the whole model, intricate piece by intricate piece.

I do this because it reminds of a time when I was pretty happy

I sometimes wish I could go back to that time, and start all over again, and this time, build a good life full of more good choices. It's not till you get old and can look back that you see the major cock-ups that you made, and you realise that those decisions had repercussions that you can't entirely escape.

But then, isn't that the power of grace? That things can be rebuilt, and a new start can be made? And you are still responsible on a daily basis, to make good choices to build a sound life, and to learn from your mistakes?