Confident expectation

Drawers left open. Ropes of tinsel as hillocks on the dining room floor. The table bestrewn with odd bits of wrapping paper, ribbon, pens and scissors and tape. A stack of cards from dear friends and family, waiting to be hung up.

Not a spare inch on the kitchen counters. Half-finished Christmas cake, awaiting the marzipan. Butter softening for baking. Cafetière. Ahh… An open box of mince pies.

Newspapers spread over living room couch and floor. Hats and boots. A box of tissues.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

In amongst the mess of preparation, I have not forgotten the hope of Christmas. The confident expectation that good is coming.

Hope.

I’m hanging up my open heart, ready for God to fill it yet again with his Holy Spirit as I welcome Jesus, born again in me. The wonder of it all.

I don’t understand it, but I believe it. Because I experience it. Every day, and especially at Christmas when I remember the love of a God who gave us his only, much-loved son, so that we could be part of the family.

Like Mary, I ponder these things in my heart. And am thankful.

Lag

Wide awake at 2.30 am. Jet lag. The reality is that my body has travelled thousands of miles in half a day, but my inner self has yet to catch up.

We pray for something. By faith we hear God’s voice, promising change, promising healing, promising breakthrough. The reality is that there has been a step change in our circumstances, but sometimes our inner self has yet to catch up. Faith lag.

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 63).

Praying that for all who wait for the fulfilment of a promise, the reality of God’s word will quickly align with the reality of circumstances.

Mary awaited the fulfilment of a promise. That promise gestated within her as the Son of God developed and grew. She didn’t agitate as she waited. She watched, and pondered things in her heart.

The word for the first week in advent is hope. Hope in God is never misplaced. He is reliable; he is true; he is love. As advent unfolds, may the truth of his promises overlay the writhing of this world, encouraging hope and bringing light and life.

One day there will be no ‘lag’. Past, present and future will align and peace will prevail. In the meantime, I watch, and ponder things in my heart.

As One

The brave fire-fighters who strove to lead those trapped in the inferno out into safety first had to put on their protective gear and breathing masks. Then they found that fiery debris was raining down from above so they had to wait for others to bring riot shields which could be held above their heads like Romans used their shields, to prevent injury from these falling projectiles.

We are called to stand as the body of Christ and move as one to retake the world for Jesus. We need to work together in unity, as those fire fighters did. We need to lay aside our differences and protect each other with a shield of powerful prayer.

Effective weapons of the enemy are to stir up fear and division. Fear can paralyse us and leave us curled up, babbling and ineffective against the enemy. Division dilutes or even negates our effectiveness. If we’re going to bring hope and life to those in despair and darkness, we need to cooperate and we need to listen to our Commander in Chief.

Elizabeth told Mary that she was blessed because she believed that what the Lord told her would come to pass. 

We need to listen together, read and understand our Bibles, and obey our Saviour.

To Do or not To Do

My eyes pinged open this morning, earlier than they should have for a Saturday. Things on my mind. Things that need doing. Am I just moving slower these days, or is the To Do List getting longer?

After breakfast I wrote another To Do list which, though incomplete, still has 25 things on it. Leapt up and cleaned out the fridge, ditching the out-of-date jams and so on. Then I headed for the prayer alcove.

I can almost imagine God’s glee as he waited for me to discover what the reading was for this morning in the plan I follow. The irony of it all. The clarity of the message to Me. It was the story of the two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha probably had 25 things on her To Do list too, and maybe Mary did as well, but Mary had abandoned her list and plunked down at Jesus’ feet, where she was hanging on to his every word. Martha, meanwhile, was seething with resentment that she was left to get on with all the work while her sister lounged with the honoured guest.

No problem seeing who I was being this morning, so I spent a few minutes there, also sitting at Jesus’ feet, soaking in his presence, telling him I love him. 

Sometimes, especially during hard times when we are under pressure and anxious, it is very tempting to focus totally on ‘doing’. It distracts us from that which worries us. It makes us feel like we can do something right, that we can make a positive difference in our little corner.

‘Being’ is so much healthier, though. God calls us to be in relationship with him. He longs for us to sit with him, without agenda, just in companionship and love. He invites us to sit in silence and listen. He has the words of eternal life, and they are light and life to the heavy heart.

It’s nearly bedtime now and only three things have come off the list. But meantime I enjoyed a BBQ with family. I am often a victim of the tyranny of the to-do list. There is something that feels virtuous in ticking off the tasks. But more virtuous, and of infinite more value, is the time I spend nurturing relationship – first with God through Jesus, then with others. Somehow, in God’s economy, that nurtures my own soul.

I’ll keep working through the To Do List, mainly so I don’t forget to do some of the things which have been awaiting attention. But I will resist letting it rule my life. I will do it in my own time, choosing to use it as an aide memoire and not allowing it to drive my life.

Expect the Unexpected

I thought I would be going to my Pilates class this morning, but received an email last night indicating we are done now until after Easter. So instead, this morning, I went alone round the old familiar dog walk trail behind ‘Jock’s’. 

A noisy, squawking flock of geese circled over the farm nearby. They weren’t travelling in their usual flexible V shape, just circling and communicating to each other. Unusual, I thought.

Suddenly a deer broke cover and leapt across the path. Gosh, Dusty would have responded like a shot in her old glory days. There was just me there today, though, noticing the grace and beauty of the roe deer as it bounded deeper into the woods. 

Coming home, I discovered that our B&B guests who were due to be here for six days had been moved on to Thurso by their company, so sheets were in the wash and we were re-calculating our week. Then we got an email saying replacement guys were coming for the other five nights of that booking. Up to remake the beds and ready the room.

Expect the unexpected. That’s always my attitude when travelling and I guess as life is a journey, too, it should be my attitude every day.

We’re coming up to Easter, and I’ve been reading the Easter story this morning. Although Jesus had advised the disciples that he would rise again on the third day, nobody expected it. The women who went to the tomb on the Sunday morning expected to find the mangled, dead body of the leader they loved and had followed all over Israel. They had the herbs and spices and expected to be tenderly washing and caring for Jesus’ body. 

They were so unprepared for a resurrection that Mary asked the ‘gardener’ who had taken away the body. Of course, the gardener was Jesus, and Mary was the first to encounter him and then race off to share the good news – the staggering news – the completely unexpected news – that Jesus, who had died a humiliating, agonising, very public death on the Friday, had risen and was walking around in a brand new, resurrection body.

Expect the unexpected. I wasn’t expecting an encounter with God the night he came in power and love and overwhelmed and transformed me. 

As I go out today, I want to be open and alert for the unexpected. Ours is a God of surprises.

You are blessed

“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

Those were the words of Elizabeth to Mary, mother of Jesus, who had just rushed over to share her news with her ‘relative’ – cousin? Sister? Not sure.

Mary had just been given the startling and rather shocking news that she would be the mother of Jesus, and she had reacted with humility and a willing spirit to be available to be used for God’s own purposes.

Mary had the advantage of the appearance of an angel in her room, so that what the Lord was saying to her wasn’t really open to debate nor did it require a step of faith to believe it was the Lord who was speaking. But still, the implications were serious and life-changing, yet she stepped into them with grace and love.

Not everyone would have reacted to Mary’s news as Elizabeth did. Most would have assumed she had become pregnant in the usual way and was just being creative with her excuses. But Elizabeth, also, was walking with the Lord, close enough to be filled with his Spirit and given knowledge and understanding beyond the natural. 

I am challenged by this story. I am challenged not to jump to conclusions, not to be cynical, and to be walking close enough to the Lord that I hear his whispers and believe that he will do what he has said.

I know he told me years ago that one particular book which I have written would be published, and I agreed to give him any money which that would raise. Over the years I’ve made all the usual efforts to get it into the right place to be selected for publication, but as yet it has not been published. 

I am considering going digital, and/or print on demand. Should I?

Do I believe that he will do what he said?