Wedding Whirlwind

In the run-up to my son’s wedding on Saturday, I find I have so many lists I almost need a list of my lists! It’s a source of great amusement to Don but without these lists I’m sure we’d forget something major.

However, while walking Dusty round beside the trees resplendent in their autumn finery, and mentally reviewing my lists, I suddenly thought of Mary and Martha. 

You know the story in the Bible. Jesus was visiting his friends in Bethany, two sisters and a brother – Mary, Martha and Lazarus. As Martha rushed round preparing the supper, Mary sat entranced at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he had to say. Eventually the over-wrought Martha complained to Jesus, hoping he might tell Mary to get up and help her sister. Instead he gently reprimanded her for having her priorities wrong.

I believe God was reminding me that there may be loads to do but in fact only one thing really matters – and that’s listening to Him. Sitting at his feet from time to time, as Mary did, and drinking in the beauty of his presence and peace.

This is a wedding between two lovely, strong Christian believers, and we want to celebrate their love but also lift up God and glorify him in this. Their meeting was no coincidence, but a God-incidence, just as Don’s and mine was all those years ago. 

So I’ve added one thing to my list. Prayer and listening time, in my prayer alcove, where I can shut off from all the bustle and concentrate on the one who is worthy of celebrating.

Take time to breathe deep in the presence of the Saviour today. It takes self-discipline to step out of the swirl of activity but I know it’s the best thing any of us can do. ‘Seek me and I will be found,’ God promises. Sometimes it takes a bit of perseverance, but it is a promise and God is faithful to keep his promises.

5 - 2

Fasting from food for two days a week seems to be the new miracle cure. Not only does it result in weight loss, but it also gives overworked organs a chance to rest and recover. 

Our bodies are such miracles of creation. I believe that God intervenes in startlingly miraculous ways sometimes to heal, but maybe the even greater miracle is that he has given us bodies with the innate ability to heal themselves. A child’s skinned knee, which scabs over while new skin is formed beneath the tear. The nuisance of the runny nose of a cold, which eventually dries up and equilibrium is restored. 

Perhaps the one ingredient required from us in this mix is time. We need to give ourselves time to heal. Time in bed when we are sick. Time off from eating when we are overweight. We need to find the rhythm of life which allows us to take time, without feeling guilty.

Our spirits, too, need time. To continually bombard our minds and ears with noise, with arguments and anxieties and stimulation, wears us out spiritually and gives us no time to experience the amazing reality of this world God has placed us in. 

We need to take time to sit and stare. To breathe deep. To enjoy the changing seasons. To laugh with a child, play with a dog or a cat. 

We need time to be. 

Will you join me today, and fast from busyness so that you can recover some of your balance and life? 

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is the gift of God, and it can come in snatches every day, as well as in one big chunk on the weekend.