When I handed in our formal complaint, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew the school would struggle and we wouldn’t get everything we wanted. However, I believed, perhaps naively, that with everything laid out clearly: dates, transcripts, emails, and staff admissions, the school would finally see the pattern James and we have been experiencing.
I didn’t expect a response that said lots while saying almost nothing at all.
My blogging has been patchy. Between 2014–2019, I was at the top of my game, writing most days. Then 2019 brought drama, Covid hit in 2020, Dad died in 2022, I started studying theology in 2023, and Hannah and I married in 2024. Additionally, as the boys got older, writing about them became complicated. Blogging changed. I changed.
Five years and 32 posts later (roughly six a year), I'm writing again. It feels good. However, I realised I haven’t written an FSHD update in years.
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us…” (Ephesians 2:4)
The Hebrew word Ḥesed is often translated as mercy — a word with no single English comparison. Hesed means mercy, steadfast love, covenant, loyalty, faithful kindness, and unbreakable commitment. God chooses it when He reveals His character to Moses: “abounding in ḥesed” (Exo. 34:6). This is not sentimental softness; it is the fierce love that refuses to let go. Hesed is the reason God keeps returning to His people, even when they wander (Deut. 7:9; Ps. 103:8). It is the refrain of Israel’s worship: “His ḥesed endures forever” (Ps. 136).
