Eternal Roots

Back in the prayer window, gazing southwest across the valley. Most of the orange and yellow leaves have dropped from the Norwegian elm, blown off by winds and pelted off by rain while we were away. Scolty Hill is clearly visible again through the bare branches. Nobbles on the tree trunk, unique and beautiful, are revealed.

My dear Mom. Many of the traits I associate with her have dropped now, in her 96^th year. But clearly visible is her grateful, loving heart, her deep faith, the beauty of her soul.

Autumn is a beautiful season. Poignant and heart-breaking as it is to watch familiar traits disappear, when the trunk is sound and strongly attached to the roots of the Lord, the beauty is achingly awesome.

I am so grateful that whatever the future holds, we will always be connected through those eternal roots.

Merry Christmas Eve

Weather outside is frightful.

The winds are whipping the trees into convulsive frenzies and driving the clouds through the sky. Occasional snow flurries blacken the day and then pass on to the next location. 

People all over the country are trying to get home for Christmas. In the south of England there are floods, trees on the rail lines and roads. All making for treacherous journeys. 

And I can’t control any of it. The weather will do what it will do, occasionally altered by a fervent prayer which times in with God’s plans, but more usually probably just the result of nature.

I can control the weather inside my head, though. Yesterday was the third anniversary of my dear dad’s passing on, and I was awake in the night remembering that night. I think about my ageing mother, thousands of miles away from me, grieving still. And I recognise I could give way to a raging storm of anxiety and fear for her future.

Or, I could focus on God. Psalm 63 says ‘On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.’

I can choose to think of God in the middle of the night rather than rehearse my anxieties. It isn’t an easy choice. The mind is notoriously rebellious and difficult to control. But again, the Bible declares that believers have ‘the mind of Christ’. He didn’t worry. He spent many of his sleepless nights out on the hills being close to his Father, from whom came his help. That’s why he could sing and worship as he headed towards the cross. He was in the shadow of his father’s wings, and he knew it.

So I have spent some time this morning in my prayer alcove, resting in the shadow of my heavenly Father’s wings. I have waited for his presence to be felt, for his peace to fill my heart. I have held those about whom I have concerns up before the throne of God, and entrusted them to his care.

My soul clings to God. I pray that yours does too. That is the way to perfect peace. Trusting in his faithfulness and love.

Merry Christmas Eve.

Weddings!

Weddings are such wonderful occasions of celebration. Families coming together; friends reuniting after years apart. The joy of a couple in love, committing to each other to be faithful and true for life.  Proud parents full of hope for the future.

We’ve got such an occasion coming up in November, and the preparations are in full-swing. We are on to the invitations now, and so much discussion and many decisions to be made. There are so many people whose presence is wanted on that special day, but the bank doesn’t stretch that far. So decisions have to be made, and they are not easy to make.

The Bible identifies Jesus as The Bridegroom, and the Church as his bride. When we get to heaven, there will be a wonderful wedding banquet to which everyone in the entire world has been invited.

God has unlimited resources, and he can afford to invite absolutely everyone to his Son’s wedding. 

He would love for everyone to be there. The Bible says that God doesn’t want to exclude anyone, but would love for everyone to turn from their sin and live forever with him.

But not everyone will. Not everyone wants to be at that wedding supper. Some have rejected the truth and don’t want to know. Others are so caught up in their temporal lives that they just don’t give him a thought. 

It’s such a tragedy, because the reason that God has called Jesus the Bridegroom and the Church the Bride is because He is Love. His heart is for his creation. His heart longs for each of us. His love is so much more than any of us can really know or understand. 

For such eternal love to be eternally unrequited is heartbreaking.