Wild Wind

The wind is wild. The snow flurries fly furiously in all directions, sometimes marching as in columns above the barren fields, sometimes scattered and darting as if in some maniacal dance. 

Winter has announced itself, though no snow lies on the ground nor does ice accumulate in deadly and invisible splashes. 

Saturday afternoon of a wild and wintry week. A week of wild and vicious physical attacks on some whom I love; a week of violent food poisoning and its aftermath. And yet, in the midst of the storms of the week, a quiet calm has prevailed.

As it says in Lamentations 3, Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion: therefore I will wait for him.’

And then the final encouragement in this passage of Scripture, The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

I have been reminded of my dear old dad’s encouragement which he gave me again and again, ‘This too shall pass.’ 

Spring shall follow winter. The daffodils and crocus are already pushing their way through the frozen soil. 

So despite the wild wind, we are full of hope.

Something I Ate...

I was just trying to avoid throwing food away. So I ate a couple of out-of-date items I found in the fridge, purchased over the holiday period when our home was a hive of activity. 

I should have rejected them both. I didn’t particularly want them. I just felt guilty throwing food away.

I spent the night vomiting, violently, and now, two days later, still feel a bit on the queasy side. Enough said.

The Bible regularly identifies the Word of God as food for the soul. We are to eat it, read it, chew it over, allow it to feed our souls with good nourishment. Most of us spend much more time chewing on words which don’t feed our souls. Some of these words are like fast food, pleasing to taste but lacking nutritional value. Others are poison, not just failing to enrich but positively making our spirits sick. 

The news is sparking with stories of sick people doing unspeakable things to others. We live in a culture of sound-bites and alarmist headlines, and many react without taking time to really chew over the facts of situations and allowing God to speak into them.

The antidote to sick thinking is healthy living, healthy food. We need to watch what we eat.

Best taught by example

I walked over to the neighbouring farm to deliver a card, and to throw a couple of apples to the horses, Dusty and Jewel. 

The farmer was there scrubbing a couple of implements. Calving aids he called them. I didn’t ask any questions. Then he offered to show me the new-born calves, one of whom had only just popped out (or been dragged out perhaps...) an hour before. 

The Maternity unit was smelly and warm. Expectant cows congregated at the gates but right at the end lay the new mum and her new calf, not yet standing. The farmer had still to cut the umbilical cord, which he said he waited on until the cow was on her feet and taking an interest in the calf. At this stage the new mum just looked a bit shell-shocked and bemused, and the calf lay curled on the ground.

As we stood watching, a couple of heifers who were about to be first time mums gathered round the new calf curiously, sniffing, startling and jumping back. ‘This is how they learn,’ Peter explained. From each other.

We entered another barn, a sort of nursery unit with individual stalls occupied by a single cow and her newborn calf. One after the other. Beautiful. One of the mums was a bit anxious about our presence there and moved forward protectively. I wouldn’t wrestle with her, that’s for sure.

A tricky job being a farmer. Trickier than one might think, and requiring an awful lot of knowledge and experience, and just plain hard work. If mums of human babies think it’s tough, they should hear what a farmer does as his herd starts calving. Basically he just naps for 45 minutes through the night and then checks the ladies before resuming a short nap. For a few months. Year after year.

Community is obviously important for cows to learn how to mother their calves. (Perhaps we should consider that before first-time human mums get sent home the same day they give birth.) 

Community in faith is important too. Paul writes that older Christians should teach the younger ones. Some things are best taught by example.

God's glory revealed

Why is there suffering if God is a God of love? 

That must be the most frequently asked theological question, and the one which most stubbornly resists any completely satisfying answer. I do adhere to probably the most widely voiced answer given by believers, that because God created us to have free will and not be robots programmed to love him, we had the capacity right from the beginning to choose to follow him or reject him. As soon as we chose to reject his law, we invited in the darkness which seems to prevail in our world today.

Suffering is a product of that darkness. It was never God’s intention to have us suffering or even dying, but our choices led to such consequences.

I have been working on John 9 today, reading about the healing of the man born blind. Jesus tells his disciples, who erroneously thought that suffering was the result of particular sins in an individual’s life or that of his parents, that some suffering is allowed by God so that his glory can be more clearly revealed.

I have been watching open-mouthed as someone close to me has suffered, because I have seen God’s glory clearly revealed in her. As she and her husband have steadfastly held on to God through this time of trial, continuing to ask him for his blessing of healing and trusting him whether or not it was apparent, God’s glory has been revealed.

It reminds me of the story of the friends of Daniel who were thrown into the blazing furnace. Before they were forced into the furnace, they testified to their belief in the greatness and love of God and their conviction that he would save them from the fire, but that even if he didn’t, they still clung to him as a God of love.

I’ve just had word that the surgery which was to take place in a fortnight has been moved forward to tomorrow and will be less invasive than originally planned. I believe that God’s grace and favour is on this young woman as she heads into this frightening time, continuing to lean on the Lord who she knows and loves.

I wrote above that the darkness seems to prevail in our world today. Many times it ‘seems’ to prevail, but in fact John writes in his first chapter that the light is in the world, and the darkness hasn’t understood nor overcome it. 

The light of the world stepped down into darkness and he continues to shine out through beacons such as this young woman and her husband. Praise God.

January Joy

Empty house. No happy laughter emanating from any of the spare bedrooms. No raucous games being played beside a roaring fire. No cars coming and going up the drive. 

The fridge is emptying as we two continue to eat our way through left-overs. May be finished today; if not, certainly by tomorrow.

Not so the many cookies, so I happily gave a box to the teenagers I saw today at their Bible study. And the chocolate drawer is pleasantly full. That doesn’t go bad if we pace ourselves on it.

The party’s over. The tree is down. The boxes are packed for the attic. The Christmas cards are waiting in baskets for rereading and praying over during the year to come. 

Yes, a sense of flatness. A temptation to pronounce negative comments about January. But on the other hand...

...I had time to sit and think, read my Bible, pray, without interruption today – however welcome those interruptions were, it is nice to sit in silence and peace. 

God makes everything beautiful in its time, and once again I notice that January can be beautiful in its starkness, in its austerity.

May yours be beautiful.

Even January can be Beautiful

Cookie jars are emptying as are the bedrooms. The Christmas tree is drooping and dropping, as are Don and I. Dishwasher and washing machine hum away nonstop. My humming seems a little throaty this morning.

The party’s over. The tearful goodbyes have begun and are halfway through. It was fun while it lasted but now it’s January. The month of many bills. Nothing to do with Christmas over-spending. Everything to do with various insurances and taxes and so on.

God makes everything beautiful in its time. That’s the Biblical promise, so even a January like we are facing is beautiful through his eyes.

Deep breath. Engage my core. Eyes on Jesus. All is well.