The brave little soul

Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen; why is there suffering in the world?" God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." The little soul was confused. "What do you mean," he asked. God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone." The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love - to create this miracle for the good of all humanity."

Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied. "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!" God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you". God and the brave soul shared a smile, and then embraced.

In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed." Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God's strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys, some regained lost faith - many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened. God was pleased.

By: John Alessi

Psalm 51v10

Beautiful things

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all

All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new
You are making me new


Lyrics by Gunor

Seasons

"The seasons do not push one another;
neither do clouds race the wind across the sky.
All things happen in their own good time."
-Dan Millman


To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
God has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,11

Abide

When I think of what it means to abide, I think of families living under one roof. I think of the intimacy between a husband and a wife. I think of the close connection between friends. I think of walking side by side with the one I love. It's when you love someone so much, you want them to be so close to you that they become a part of you - so you can breathe them in and carry them inside you, wherever you go. This is what abiding means to me, and when I look at 1st John there are a few key principles that relate to this when it comes to what it means to abide with God.

God’s Word in me

Our closeness to God begins with having His word in our hearts and minds.

“Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.” 1John 2:24

Jesus talks about this abiding/dwelling of his words in us in the most profound way in John 15:5-7

“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast out as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:5-7

Abiding in Christ is like being a branch connected to a vine - it's where your sustenance comes from and where your strength lies. If a branch is somehow disconnected from the vine, it becomes useless and eventually dies. For us, Jesus is our true vine. As branches that stem from him, when we disconnect from him, spiritually we die. We are cut off from our source of nourishment. We can no longer operate in his power, his peace, his love because he no longer flows through us.

As such, abiding goes beyond just having God’s word inside us to accepting Jesus as our Saviour and becoming closely aligned and connected with him.

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." 1John 4:15

Jesus is the 'word made flesh'. He was and is the embodiment of God. He portrayed everything that God was but in a tangible, real way. Jesus is the ultimate reality of God's word dwelling with us and in us in every way. Jesus is our link to the Father. He is the Vodafone to our mobile, the big pond to our Internet connection; and while we cannot see him, he is there. Undoubtedly.

God’s ways in me

Secondly, to abide with God is to do the will of God and follow His commands. In doing this we are able to see God in us and God in others.

"Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." 1John 3:24

"And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1John 2:17

The closer we get to the Father and to Christ, the more Godly our desires become and the more we come to love what God loves and as a result, we will want to follow His commands: - not just out of obligation but out of hearts filled with love for a Father who loves us beyond comprehension - for a Father who wants to protect us.

God’s righteousness in me

Thirdly, to abide with God is to become sinless.

"No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him" 1John 3:6

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God." 1John 3:9

When we are baptised and we put to death our old selves and take on the saving name of Jesus, we enter into a covenant with God - a lasting marriage, a committed relationship. He no longer sees our sin because it is covered by the blood of Christ. We are seen as sinless in the eyes of God. Although we may still sin, it is covered by the blood of Jesus, thereby we become perfect, sinless children of God. However if we keep on sinning and do not know God, we show that we have not taken on the saving name of Jesus and accepted Jesus as our Saviour.

Abiding in God extends beyond believing and doing the word of God to a life motivated by the grace of God that leaves behind sin in its pursuit for righteousness.

Abiding - God’s love in me

Lastly, to abide with God is to love one another.

"God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1John 4:16

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." 1John 4:12

Gods greatest commandment to us is to firstly, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind", and secondly to "Love your neighbour as yourself." - Matthew 22:37-39. So Jesus wants us to love one another and serve one another in the same way that he loved us and gave his life for us. But first and foremost, Jesus wants our total devotion and love for Him. He wants to abide in us. It is only from hearts filled with love for Him that all good works and acts of love flow. If we show love to others, we show love and devotion to God and we abide in Him.

So how do we abide in God?

For me, it’s almost as if Jesus has set up camp inside me... and is sitting around toasting marshmallows on my heart that burns only for him. He guides my thoughts and walks where I walk. His mind becomes my mind. His thoughts, my thoughts. Our foot prints become one foot print. My shadow, His shadow. He becomes my conscience, my sweet small voice of reason and my friend. By following his commands and loving those around me, I can reflect Him in my life, my thoughts, the way I deal with others and the way I live my life. It’s allowing Him to be liquid in my life, to seep into my cracks and crevices and fill my empty spaces.

He is my inspiration. He is my link to the Father. He is my home.

Transitions

If you were to look at my bookshelf, you would see that not only do I
have a penchant for action/adventure novels but that I also have books like
Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, Ghandi’s ‘Story of my experiments with truth’, Nelson
Mandela’s autobiography ‘A long walk to freedom’ and the Bible, all of which
I try to read. I read and search, I debate with family and friends attempting to
uncover my own passions and realities. I go through the pages of other people’s
discoveries and journeys to try and find something applicable, maybe something
that will give meaning to my own discoveries and journeys, to assist me as I walk
through my life. Ever changing from a child, to a pubescent teenager discovering
my body and hormones and guys, to a young adult trying to find direction and
more guys, to a wife finding the guy and hopefully, one day, a mother and
grandmother. We all have different journeys but we all change. We change our
bodies, we change our clothes, we change schools, we change jobs, we change
homes, we change allegiances, we change our attitude, we change loves, we
change our minds. We change!

Sometimes these transitions are the source of joy and other times of
sorrow, but there is no doubt that we are changeable creatures. I’ve learnt
that change can be hard, but change can also be forgiving and it gives me the
opportunity to realise and understand my purpose. And yes, in the depths of my
mind there lurks an awareness of types of change that would devastate me. We
can’t always choose change but, a lot of the time, change happens as a reaction.
I changed cities because of a broken heart, I changed jobs because I got bored,
I changed friends because I realised they weren’t really friends – I changed a lot
to escape. There came a point when after all that change I realised I still had no
purpose. Life was changing me, but not in ways that brought me any joy, it was
just happening and I had no control over it.

In time, my concept of what my faith meant to me changed, which
changed everything. I didn’t want my life to be filled with meaningless
acts. I wanted something more; I wanted to change myself and not just my
circumstances. Moving on from familiar ground is daunting – there are so many
unforeseen events that could affect you in ways you are not prepared for. But
if you hold on firmly to a sense of meaning rather than meaninglessness, if you
boldly and purposefully look into the future and decide that you will change it,
then you will not be a victim, just allowing life to happen to you, you will be an
entrepreneur, carving your path and chasing your dreams.

Transitioning between seasons in life is an exciting opportunity to accept
that we are creative and wonderful women, and that whilst the road ahead may
seem uncertain, we certainly have a creator who created us with invaluable
beauty and potential. Life can be crazy, cultures and values change around us,
but there is an unchanging God who always believes in us.

By Glenda Robinson

Roots

Flying Free

A memory came to me the other day and in a rush of realisation I had a moment of clarity. I saw that I had repeated that memory in reoccurring situations throughout my life. This specific memory was at high school. Our religious education teacher and choir/musicals director (they never did straight drama, she loved to sing) was holding auditions for the annual production, which was going to be The Sound of Music.

I was sixteen and wished more than anything that I could sing well enough to be in a musical, I wanted to be on that stage. But instead I herded down to her basement classroom and stood on the steps and watched the other girls audition, like an outsider looking in. Like an orphan child looking through the window of a sweet shop, wishing she could be one of the kids in there choosing from the amazing assortment of sweets that sat deliciously in tubs behind the counter.

I’ve realised that my life has taken on this pattern of looking in at what I deem others to have that I don’t, which makes them more talented, more confident, better placed to achieve their dreams. My hopes were like caged birds inside my chest and whilst I watched others go forth and conquer, my little caged birds would rise up from their perch, flutter their wings and beg to be free. I just never thought they would ever fly as well as the others. So whilst my heart races to be and do what I love, my body stands frozen to the spot. Who wants to see a little bird fly, when they can see a big bird soar?

I am an excuse maker and my excuses generally revolve around my perceived inadequacy. I can’t talk like that, I can’t walk like that, I can’t sing like that, I can’t dance like that, I can’t act like that, I’m not skinny enough, I don’t have dimples, I don’t have L’Oreal “because you’re worth it” hair, I just don’t have the pedigree they desire or require.

But there has been a slow rising of rebellion inside of me, an awakening of self worth that is demanding my time and attention. My little caged birds are furiously pecking their way to freedom and soon will burst out and fly without stopping for pure joy of release.

You see, I may not talk, walk, sing, dance or act like they do. I may not be the skinniest in the pack and I may not have dimples and long swishy hair… but I can talk like me, walk like me, sing like me, I can dance like me and I can act like me. And my uneven dodgy haircut is cute, thanks very much! So whilst my struggle with feeling like the orphan child, always on the outside looking in continues, so does my personal rebellion against the lie that I am inadequate. I am, after all, me and God made me. So therefore, like you, me is all I need to be.

Who are they anyway?

By Glenda Robinson

The Journey

True Fellowship

Have you ever thought what it took for Peter to walk on the water, for David to fight Goliath, for Noah to build the ark? Have you ever wondered about the relationship between Paul and Timothy or between the disciples or there relationship between Jesus and God?

All throughout the bible there are examples of faith and sometimes I think that we read these and look into them and we compare our own faith to them and rightly so.

I believe the bible teaches us to look at ourseleves and review our actions, thoughts and belief or faith. I try to do this myself and unfortunately I tend to get down about things, about the fact that I am struggling that my faith seems to be waining and my work for God begins to suffer. I find it a struggle sometimes to keep going on the same path. Sometimes I even struggle to get myself to Church to meet with my brothers and sisters. This is by no means a reflection on any of them as they are all wonderful and true blessings in my life, but we have all felt this way at some point or another.

The reason I put this question to you and I spoke earlier about faith waining is I think that sometimes we meet as the family of God yet we are restrained somehow in the way we interact with each other. Why is this? Are we open enough with one another? Do we truly believe we are a family? Or is it that our faith in one another is not strong? Now I understand that all families have their ups and downs and sometimes have trouble communicating with one another and I had lots of trouble with that as part of my family growing up! I bottled things up and unfortunately they would all come out in one big out pouring. This would also mean I was not always making sense as all my emotions spilled out at once.

Do you think we are like this in our family here in our Christian community? I sometimes feel like we are restrained by human or social norms. For example you say hello to someone and ask them how they are but before they can tell you, you have moved on to the next person or you start telling them about how you are! I think we need to really listen when we ask this question.

Going back to what I said earlier about the relationship between the disciples or Paul and Timothy or Jesus and God. Have you thought about what made these relationships strong where all parties grew and become closer over time and strengthing one another also?

I believe it was communication!

Not the communication we see today. Public speaking, email, well written sales pitches, blogs or posts on the Internet. I believe it was good one on one communication face to face conversation. Being able to see one anothers emotions and body language which can say a thousand words that a well structured presentation, an email or a post on facebook can't do. I am not saying these forums are bad or that they don't have there place but are we losing the art of one on one conversation and not just the small chit chat that perhaps currently takes up several hours of our day. I am talking about the meaningful understanding conversations that I believe Jesus had with his disciples on many occasions.

The open and honest conversations that David had with Jonathon and the kind hearted and truthful converstions Paul had with Timothy in their relationship almost at times mirrored that of father and son. Conversation that I truly believe Jesus had with his father. Words said without fear of judgement or of rejection, but rather said with confidence that opening up about real issues would build and strenthen the relationship, that from words spoken would come encouragement to keep perservering or guidance should be given with heartfelt love from one to the other and that in time, this would possibly be returned in the other individuals time of need, distress, anxiety, excitement, sadness, fear etc.

I used to often look at older brothers and sisters and marvel at how they had it all together and they seemed to be walking perfectly to the kingdom. Then one day an older brother opened up to me about something that was bothering him.

I finally realized that we are all struggling with something.

So when you look around and you feel isolated and alone in your situation and you feel that no one else understands, know that there is probably someone in your church that does and knows what its like to walk in your shoes.

We know Jesus understands and we know we can talk to him about this which is the ideal thing to do, however I think sometimes it helps if you can talk with someone about it, even if all they say is "hey let's pray to God about it". We can offer each other all kinds of support, maybe it's a hug, a meal shared or just someone to listen.

Let's be confident in one another to be able to open up as brothers and sisters of Christ all working as one for God. Let's be open to one another of our struggles. Lets use these acts of faith in the Bible to better ourselves in the sight of our Lord God to assist each one of us on our journey to the Kingdom.

dream a dream

Heart to face

God let us be serious.
Face to face.
Heart to heart.
Let us be fully present.
Strongly present.
Deeply serious.
The closest we may come
to innocence.

Amen

By Michael Leunig

Love perfected

Someone very wise once told me that mercy is the proper response of those who have received Gods mercy in abundance.

This got me thinking about how we as the little imperfect ants that we are, are called to perfect Gods love here on earth. Wow, can you believe that God calls US to perfect his love?? How is this even possible...its so beautiful a thought that i can barely fathom this gift.

"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is perfected in us." 1 John 4 v 12

We can allow the world to see God IN us, and THROUGH us.

It dawned on me that those who have been in desperate need of Gods Mercy and Grace, are far more open and inclined to extend the right hand of Grace, Love and Mercy to those around us and those that God brings into our lives.

I think compassion is the key to true, Godly love.

And we obtain compassion by experiencing our own raw pain. Its hard to imagine what someone is going through without going through it yourself, its a different kind of compassion when you have walked in someone else's shoes.

I think that God truly does work everything together for good, for those who love Him, because even though there is so much suffering and sin in this world and in us, and even though we make poor choices and find ourselves in desperate need of Gods Grace...in turn, we find our own true hearts, our own identity, our own God given significance and our own unique role to play in Gods big plan. We find ourselves feeling overwhelmed with love and compassion for a world that is so broken, our hearts pour out and into those who are in pain, and it is our job as lovers of Christ to help heal that brokenness, weather it be by a kind word, a tear shared, a hand to hold or an understanding that goes deeper and beyond any form of physical comfort.

Lets take our own imperfections and all our bad choices..lets turn them inside out and use them for good.

We can perfect Gods love on earth.

This is what we are called to do.

Lets share and inspire.

"The Room" by Brian Moore

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed at."

Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents Often there were many more cards than expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived.

Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me.

One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards...
But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes.. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.

No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes.

Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him.. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, and so alive.
The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Just breathe

Dear God,

Please mold us and change us.
Help us become clay in your hands. Malleable.
Walk with us through our ever changing journey.
Help us to embrace it.
May we have the strength to let go of the things we cannot control,
and have the courage to change the things we can.
Be the breath in our bodies.

Amen.

Past, present, future

The past gives us experience and memories;
the present gives us challenges and opportunities;
the future gives us vision and hope.

William Arthur Ward

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,
that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Hope

To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Dear God,
Thank you for your abundant love.
Thank you for your abundant blessings.
Thank you for hope.
Be with us always.
Amen.

Walk with Me

The most discussed points about Enoch's life are the questions about how God took him, where and when, and did he really die or not? These may be the most discussed questions, but perhaps some more important questions are: How did Enoch walk with God? and How can we walk with God in the same way as Enoch?

About Enoch's life we read this: "When Enoch had lived sixty five years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him away." (Genesis 5 v 21 - 24)

The man characteristic of Enoch's life was that he walked with God. What does that mean?
When I go walking with Sharon, we walk together. We hold hands, and as we walk we share intimate conversation together. There is nothing selfish about walking side by side. It is a fellowship thing. Walking together means keeping in step with one another, agreeing together, listening to each other and becoming closer friends for the experience. To do this we need to have time together, time free of other distractions.

So let us make time, as Enoch did, to walk with God. And as we spend time with him let's not only talk, but listen. Allow intimacy to happen, keeping in step with God our Father.

By Robert Prins
www.thinkythings.com

The details

I have been thinking a lot lately about Gods plan, and how big that plan is...and it has prompted me to think about Gods plan for me, if he has one, and weather or not the details of my life matter in the greater scheme of His plan? How involved is God in the details of my life?

Does time and chance really happen to everyone? Or is God really in the finer details? How 'hands' is God in our lives?

Gods plan is massive, however, God is still a father (his Genesis to Revelation description of himself). And I guess we have to reflect on how a father is with his children. Although many people don’t have a ideal father figure to compare this experience with, a father is someone who cares, someone who protects, but also someone who teaches and someone who guides, and sometimes that is by learning the hard way. Tough pill to swallow.

I was talking with Adam Byrnes the other day about this very topic, and he had some pretty cool things to say which I would like to share with you.

Adam B reflected on his own experience as a father and I will quote him:

“As a father I cannot spend 24x7 walking a step ahead of my 3 kids and trying to guide them, protect them, stop them, encourage them, turn them into something. But what I do do is provide them an environment in which to grow.

I occasionally step in and do a "miracle" (eg stop them from running onto the road and getting run over or rolling down a flight of stairs) but generally Shell and I do "providence" (provide an environment in which they can grow by making their own decisions and learning things their own way and occasionally getting really involved by ensuring that certain events or things happen that will be significant in their development).

We choose to provide (a) an environment for growth and (b) to get really hands on in significant developmental matters. I wonder if that is what God provides us today?

That he doesn't care about the minute details of ensuring we get a good car parking space and get to an appointment on time. But that he is in the background working on our environment and at times he does get involved in significant developmental matters.

I have been thinking about this in the life of Jacob. God does the "miracle" thing occasionally for Jacob. But for 40 years, no less, Jacob gets no involvement from God (when at Laban's). And Jacob comes up with this idea to get rich by doing some genetic selective breeding (remember he gets all the cattle to have spotted and speckled offspring which he keeps and basically gets the best part of Laban's flock and ends up rich). The angel appears to him after 40 years and says to him -

"I did not let Laban harm you" (the environment)
"You were not clever in making yourself rich - I was doing it" (God was providentially looking after Jacob in a slightly more hands on way)

So Jacob goes through absolute hell for 40 years with getting cheated in marriage, made to be a slave for Laban for 34 years, getting ripped off in wages etc. Where was God!!??

God made sure that the environment did not harm him and then was influential in matters in the background. Otherwise the rest was up to Jacob.

The more important question is "What was Jacob's plan for God?" rather than "What was God's plan for Jacob?"

I suppose it is a similar question for Abi???....

What is Abi's plan for God? Rather than "What is God's plan for Abi?"

God loves thoroughly. And He loves you thoroughly. So I have no doubt He is interested and watching and loving you. I just wonder if He wants to see what your plan for Him is, rather than the other way around."

So, I think it is natural for us to sit back and wonder about what God is doing and what His plan is and how it is happening. But maybe it is the other way around...... God is "sitting back" and wondering what we are going to do and what our plan is and how we are going to do it. Not "sitting back" in judgement or removed isolation. Sitting back like a father does when a child starts to walk or first rides a bike. Heart full of love and concern and pride and ready to get involved if things start to go sideways.
A loving father.

I totally loved the way that Adam could relate his experience of being a father and compare it with how God could possibly father us as His children.

The other side of the coin for me on this topic is that while it is really awesome that God can give us a taste of what it is like to be a parent to a child, and once that has been experienced, i would imagine your own personal experience with your own child would bring you closer to God in so many ways...however, we are IMPERFECT parents, in every way, and God is a PERFECT father...so does that mean that he would interact with us on a level that we could not even comprehend? God could be as involved as he wanted. I mean, he does know everything before it happens, every word on our lips before we speak it, every mistake we make before we make it...so there is still this little question mark wondering of Gods father skills may precede our earthly experiences?

This brings me to another thought...does God want us to be happy in this life?

In this world filled with hurt, pain and suffering, it hardly seems a happy place to be! How should we feel about this life? Is this life just this thing we have to endure and get through to get to the next? Or is everything in this life that we experience purely to help us be better ambassadors for Christ in the Kingdom? Is it simply a big linking of arms? Like we are all here to help one another and love one another and to learn to be compassionate and completely selfless? Is the journey to find happiness through misery? To find contentment through selflessness?

We know he intends for us to experience joy in this life, but joy is different from happiness...so how important is our happiness to God? Is it just a choice? To be happy no matter what your circumstances? I feel that is a big ask for a lot of broken people in this broken world.

I read Psalm 37 the other day, and it talks about God giving you the desires of your heart. I dont know why but this is something that keeps coming up in my life! The big question is - is that intended for this life or the next? And if God does give us the desires of our heart, and if our desires are in line with Gods desires, then surely our desires would not be about our own lives at all. Surely they would be outwardly focused, so should the desires of our hearts be about everyone else's happiness? Is that they key to finding true happiness?

Too intense??? ;)

Any thoughts?

Thank you God

Thank you God for this day.
Thank you God that I am alive.
Thank you God that I can feel.
Thank you God that I have the power of choice.
Thank you God that I choose you.
Dear God, please choose me too.

Amen.