Potica

That’s the potica baked and ready for the freezer, to have on Christmas morning. A Yugoslavian sweet bread, the hardest thing about making it is getting it to rise in my cold house. So this afternoon I ran the heat more than usual and am delighted that it has risen!

It’s hard to ‘rise’ if the atmosphere isn’t just right. I can’t rush into my prayer corner with the clock ticking, as I did today, and expect to have a deep and meaningful with God. It just can’t happen.

I’m trying to get as much prepared now so that when family comes, we can enjoy each other without being too busy. First loved one comes tomorrow night. I’ll be ready.

I have been doing an advent study this year, too, one I’ve done before which looks at some pretty serious subjects like death and judgment and Jesus’ second coming. I hope to feel ‘prepped’ for welcoming Jesus this Christmas in a deep and meaningful way.

Getting the balance right can be tricky.

Flooded

This morning I thought I would cut the grass. I actually quite enjoy cutting grass – it’s such a quick way of making the garden look instantly better.

But I flooded the lawn mower. I primed it by depressing the button 3 times, and it nearly went, but when it didn’t I primed it again. Overkill. It wouldn’t even fire.

So I had to leave it and let Don start it for me later. He made it look so easy.

The lawn mower won’t start if there’s no petrol in the tank. It won’t start if there’s too much petrol in the tank.

It made me think about spiritual food. My spiritual life will never grow if I’m not imbibing spiritual fuel. My physical body will continue to perform, fuelled by the food I eat, but spiritually I will remain a baby, or even begin to shrivel away spiritually. 

On the other hand, if I do nothing but read the Bible and other Christian books, studying and constantly taking in, and never go out there in my neighbourhood and in the world and live a Christian life, my spiritual self will be flooded, and never do anyone any good at all. 

I need a time every day with God to set me up for the day. But then I need to get out there, living my life in the world with those God has put me with, trusting him to use me for whatever his purpose is moment by moment.

Neither flood nor drought. Just the right amount of spiritual stimulus and truth to empower me every day.

Drought?

I can’t remember the last time it rained. 

 

That is a rare sentence to utter in Scotland.

The paths which Dusty and I tread, usually shod in wellies because of the mud, are dry and cracked. I can walk in trainers again. Never sandals – there are ticks in that grass, deposited by the lovely deer which roam free hereabouts. The deer are lovely; the ticks are not.

The postie mentioned the other day that the weeding was easy in his garden right now because they’re just not growing. I’d not noticed – we have a pretty big garden and there are always weeds pretty much everywhere. The wild look. Partially tamed; mostly wild. 

Anyway, then I did notice, that not only are the weeds looking stunted, so are the carrots. And peas. And beans. 

Everything needs a drink.

So, I guess the writer of Ecclesiastes should have added another line to his famously poetic to-do list.

...a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...

Here he should have inserted “ ... a time to water and a time to refrain from watering ...”

The message of Ecclesiastes is balance, and wisdom to discern what time it is. 

I don’t need God to tell me to water my flowers and veggies. But maybe, on this occasion, I needed the postie.

That’s another thing I love about this world. We were created to depend on God; we were also created to live in community and help one another. 

Most of the rest of the Bible tells us how to try to do that.