Hero of Heroes

I stood on the porch and clapped. Our nearest neighbour is a quarter mile away. My clapping was hollow and unheard. Or was it?

The Butterfly Effect says that when a butterfly flaps her wings in New Mexico, a hurricane happens in China. Or in this case, a miniscule virus infecting someone in China causes a global pandemic.

I clapped to show my gratitude for the thousands of frontline workers who are risking everything moment by moment. I clapped to join the chorus of clapping, bagpiping, bell-ringing, and shouting rising right across the nation as a thank-you to these heroes.  

Then I came in to pray. Whatever this night holds, Jesus is in it with us.

Today we remembered the night when he was betrayed by his friend, and then abandoned by the rest of his friends as the ruling powers took him into custody. Tomorrow we will remember his lonely walk to Calvary, the agony of his crucifixion and the depth of his separation from the Father. True isolation.

He hung there alone. He might have been tempted to think that his sacrifice was a fruitless gesture which wouldn’t make any difference. But if he was tempted, he didn’t yield to it. He hung there hour after hour, and then he died.

With his death, and even more so with his resurrection, he changed the world. I am so grateful that he didn’t think one man dying on a cross wouldn’t make any difference. He knew the truth.

The truth that he is the way, the truth, and the life. He made a way for us because he is the way.

I’ll maybe go back out on the porch, and clap again. For the hero of heroes. The king of kings. Jesus.

Rats!!

Rats!

One of my neighbours is fighting to reclaim her garden from an invasion of rats. So far they have got rid of about seven of the rodents, but one very smart, very fat rat is too clever to take the bait, no matter the type of trap. 

My neighbour planted crocus bulbs in a patch, years ago, and delights every year to see the carpet thicker and more vibrant than the previous year as the bulbs open in burst of golden and purple colours. It’s taken years of careful husbandry to achieve this beautiful spread. It took the rat just one season to decimate it, eating his way through one bulb after the other.

It isn’t an overnight task to bring the fruits of the Spirit to maturity. It’s a lifetime’s effort, and it requires us to be alert to the ways in which little rodents can get in and nibble away at what is growing in our spirit, our personality. It only takes one rapacious rat, ignored or unnoticed, to undo the years of careful attention.

Stress: Love is the key

It seems that our bodies are created to cope well with stress when we expect them to cope well with it. When we expect that stress is killing us, it does.

Just listened to a TED talk online about this subject. Very interesting. Mind over matter, she was saying. When we welcome the pounding heart, recognising it is preparing us to do our best; when we realize the accelerated breathing is taking more oxygen to our brains and enabling us to think better; when we see the other signs of stress such as sweaty palms as signals that we are prepared for what lies ahead, we take courage and do better and so does our health. 

And I thought stress killed you. And as long as I think that, it will. Mind over matter. 

One other point raised is that there is a stress hormone released nicknamed the cuddly hormone, or something like that, because it is active when we socialise during stress: when we either reach out to encourage and hug someone under stress, or someone does that for us, this hormone is released which has a health-inducing effect on the body. Studies showed that people who reach out in caring ways for others going through tough times have more of this hormone circulating in their bodies.

Humans like a blueprint for things, not least health and longevity, so knowing these things could motivate folk to add another point on their ‘to-do’ list: help out at a care home or do my shut-in neighbour’s shopping, not so much to be a help but in order to get more of that good hormone racing through my body. 

It’s kind of funny if it weren’t so sad. Because we’re missing the point: God created our bodies and this hormone didn’t just happen. Human beings live at their optimum when they love God and seek to live in his way – which is both to be brave and courageous but also to be caring and compassionate and reaching out. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and your neighbour as yourself. 

Love is the key to stress relief. Love is the key to right living. Love is the key.

God's Love Never Fails

The fog has clamped round our house like a damp towel. Our nearest neighbour is invisible, lost in the cold white mist. It’s isolating and unpleasant, reminding me of nightmares of the past where I was lost and alone in a thick fog, fearful of what lurked beyond my view.

I am about to venture forth, however, as Dusty, who hesitates to exercise in stair-rod rain, is unperturbed about the fog. She seems to trust that what was there yesterday is still there today. She doesn’t seem bothered about whether or not she can see to the end of the path. Just as long as she can see the next step, smell the next enticing scent. One foot in front of the other. 

One step at a time. 

That’s all God asks of me. Take the next step. Don’t be anxious about seeing the entire path and where it leads. Don’t fear what you can’t see. Just stay close and keep walking, one step at a time. 

God’s love never fails. If he calls me onto a path, he equips me to follow him all the way. He will never leave me, nor abandon me. He will never give up on me. His love never fails.

So I’m off, secure in his promise and excited to see what he has for me today.