No Photo

No photo, but the image is emblazoned in my mind. As I came up the road yesterday afternoon, half the sky was grey/black, and the other clear blue. The rain started to fall.

Rising up from the earth was a pointed shaft of rainbow, looking like a neon Excalibur. As I drove, I saw this vibrant point extend and grow into a complete arc. The colours were so vivid that they echoed in the sky: a double rainbow. 

It was breath-taking and I kept thinking I should stop and take a picture. But the road was twisty, the rain was falling, and instead, I just drank it in.

A friend recently returned from seeing wild animals in South Africa said that he didn’t take that many pictures, because when you’re behind the camera you miss the rich array of what else is going on. How true.

When something is stunning, we want to hold on to it. We want to capture it and relive it later. We want to share it so others can experience the wonder we feel. Even the best photo, though, doesn’t do justice to the experience.

Sometimes we need to just receive. Yesterday’s double rainbow read like a love letter from God to me. Never mind he was sending the same love letter to all who looked up at the sky. There was an intimacy in the encounter which would have been lost had I stressed about finding a safe place to stop and being careful not to get the phone wet in the rain.

Enjoy the moment. It’s a glorious autumn day here in the northeast, and I get to drive south for an hour to look after a precious grandson for the afternoon. I’ll be on the lookout for more rainbows, but if none appear, I’ve got yesterday’s stored in my cache.

Happy Monday.

Blessed

Blessed. Grateful. 

Leeds Arena. Seven and a half thousand women who love the Lord Jesus, coming together to lift his name up in worship and to be challenged and changed by the heart-felt, God-given preaching of Godly women. 

This was our fourth year. Security was tighter than ever, but Joey and I stayed in a small hotel in a neighbourhood containing a mosque and a Sikh temple. The hotel was a bit down at heel but trying to posh itself up; its owner was kindly, friendly and helpful. We took taxis driven by men from Pakistan and enjoyed our conversations. Sharpshooters were scattered round the entrance; bags were scanned as in an airport; but there was no sense of fear. Just a hunger and an anticipation to draw closer to the God who is love, who is with us in the valleys as well as on the mountain tops.

There is something truly Awesome about gathering with so many Jesus-lovers. Now I’m back, trying to digest the teaching which did apply to my own set of circumstances, as it will have to the other seven and a half thousand women. That’s the way God works. He speaks out a word through a servant of his which is powerful and is heard at just the right pitch for each listener. Corporate but personal. 

Glory to Him. 

Driving home, I heard of the terrorist attack in London happening at that moment. Stories of tragedy and heroism. If ever there was a time for us to be on our knees, eyes on our Lord, crying out for this nation and listening for his still small voice, now is the time.

As the busyness closes round me again, I am going to guard fiercely my sacred space with the Lord. He is good, and he is love, and he listens to the cries of his people.

On the Road Again

Blue skies and the highway is calling, but before we answer the call, I’m off to meet a friend of many years over a bite of late brekkie or early lunch. We’ve shared laughter and tears, though have lived on separate continents for nearly 40 years now. It’ll be good to catch up.

And then off to the Harris Ranch. The name itself is exciting – will I get to do some cow poking and branding? No, I think we’re in a King bed tonight; nothing very cowboy about that.

It’s such a different life from my usual rural idyll. People everywhere, mainly on the freeways. Such a different outlook here, where the concerns of this great nation occupy most of the news bulletins and not much from beyond the borders filters through. 

With the remarkable speed of internet connections these days, though, I may be miles from home but am still involved in the church and home news. Here but not quite here. There but not quite there.

A picture of a Christian’s stance in the world? Here, but not quite here. There, but not quite there.

Looking forward to a day or two at Bethel Church in Redding, where the ‘There’ seems to be pretty much breaking through to the ‘Here’. 

Awesome, in the full sense of the word.