Clear Sight

 

Every month, Mom gets a shot in the eye. Sometimes more than one shot.

The ophthalmologist is trying her best to save Mom’s vision. One eye has already lost sight. The second macula is now leaking.

Her eyes have seen a lot over these 98 years, and the macula, I guess, is wearing thin and tearing. It’s a serious situation. If she goes blind, how will she navigate her living space, especially as her understanding declines? Lord, have mercy.

Worldly cares, personal concerns and shifting cultural understandings can tear at spiritual vision, blurring the clear teaching of God. We are all in danger of spiritual blindness due to cultural degeneration. Lord Jesus, may your Spirit not only prevent further deterioration of my spiritual macula, but even restore clarity, purity and godliness.

Give me Holy Spirit specs, dear Father.

Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation in Jesus Christ my Lord.

Fresh Filling

 

Working to a tight schedule, I threw the ingredients into the bread maker, turned it on, rushed out the door with all that I needed for Bible study and … dead battery.

Don kindly turned back from his errands and off I went in the other car, a little late. Nearing my destination, the narrow road was blocked by a huge lorry with flashing lights. I turned back, found one parking lot full, and on my third attempt, found a parking place.

It was well worth the effort: this group is so enriching. I had to dash off early for a blood test, got home only to discover a flat loaf of unproven bread: I forgot the yeast.

So I think I’ll have a quiet afternoon. Obviously this is the day for unhelpful situations.

Jesus warned his friends to beware allowing the yeast of the Pharisees to mix into their beliefs. Perhaps that yeast would lead to a rigidity of doctrine and duty, spiritually-speaking.

The consequence of no yeast, though, no faith in Jesus, is a flat and unappealing mess. Now, more than ever perhaps, the world is famished and desperate for the nourishing Holy Spirit.

May I never embark on my day without a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit.

Autumn Hope

 

Autumn arrived early this year. Overnight the trees have started to change into their fall colours. Beautiful.

There is hope in every season, and the certain assurance that spring will follow the winter, the coming cold will not last forever, and again there will be blossom on the trees, fragrant roses on the bushes.

Whatever the season, we are not alone. God is right there with us. Always so grateful for that assurance.

By his grace in his peace

 

Length of days diminishes as the year journeys on. The sun shines from a sky dappled with white clouds, but its warmth wanes. A gentle breeze teases the branches of the rowan outside the window, heavy-laden with darkening berries.

The little plum tree continues to ripen a harvest of delicious fruit. Apples swell in their last weeks before picking. Three pumpkins, still a deep green, grow in my pumpkin patch – a first time for everything.

After picking and processing strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, cherries, black and red currants, brambles, and courgettes, I am beginning to flag. The cupboards are filling with jams. The freezer is filling with unprocessed fruit for the winter.

We are rich. I am so aware as I write these words that other places are dry and desiccated, barren and brown. We are blessed, and so I will continue to pick and cook and store up for the winter, whatever I find, whatever I grow.

May I be as diligent in my spiritual life, nurturing a deeper faith by regular watering and feeding on God’s words, opening myself to the Son and yielding myself to the Gardener who trains and prunes. In this season of change, may I rest in the assurance of God’s unchanging love.

May I live without fear of the approaching winter.  

Peace I leave with you, Jesus promised. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Don’t be afraid. Remain in his peace. By his grace in his peace. Thank you, Lord.

The Passing of an Era

 

Sunday morning: 9/11/2022. The church doors were thrown wide open; screens inside followed the procession from Balmoral, down through Royal Deeside. Refreshments were available as mourners awaited the Royal cortège making its way down through Scotland to Holyrood Palace.

Worship was delayed until the body of Queen Elizabeth II had passed through Banchory.

A helicopter whirring overhead heralded the approach of the procession. Men usually in shorts or jeans stood solemnly in kilts; women were dressed to show their respect. Voices were stilled; a respectful hush fell over the crowd lining the High Street.

Suddenly it arrived. A police escort led the way; the hearse carrying the coffin draped in the Union Jack passed by; flowers were thrown; a quiet applause rippled the still air. Some sniffles could be heard; some tissues wiped away stray tears.

A week ago, the Queen was hosting the Moderator of the Church of Scotland to a convivial lunch in Balmoral. A few days after that, she played her part in the changing of the residents of Number 10. Animated and cheerful.

Now she is gone. A monarch who loved and served God and her country for seventy years. An inspiring life well-lived, incredibly difficult to maintain in the glare of publicity, criticism and condemnation, but which she managed with grace and dignity, trusting always in Jesus Christ.

We give thanks to God for her life of faith, and pray that he will welcome her into his presence with the words, ‘Well-done, good and faithful servant.’

And now may her son, King Charles III, follow her example, relying on Jesus during these days of unrest and uncertainty. God give him wisdom and strength for the role he is called to play.

 

Spiders in the Shower

 

I turned on the shower and then I noticed her. A huge spider reacted to the warm water falling from above, seeking shelter under a small shampoo bottle. I picked up a small bowl and put it over her.

I couldn’t bear the thought of a spider on the loose near my bare feet. So the bowl protected me from that anxiety. But at the same time, the bowl protected her from the thundering drench of the shower water.

Yesterday’s rains here were monsoon-like in their power. We, like the spider, sheltered under big brollies as we dashed from one indoor space to another. The water bounced off the brollies, but soaked our feet as they splashed through small lakes of water.

Life can pound on us like a monsoon. This week is one of grief: national loss with the death of an inspirational servant-Queen, and also, all over the world, many are devastated by personal loss. Jesus expressed a yearning to gather the people in Jerusalem under his wings, like a mother shelters her brood. He echoed Psalm 91, where God promises to cover us with his feathers, giving us refuge under his wings.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’

In this time of global deluge, I choose to rest in the shelter of our loving Father. I am so grateful for his loving tenderness, and for the certain hope that one day Jesus will return and dry every tear.a

All Change down here

 

No helicopter from Dyce to Balmoral for the resigning Prime Minister this morning. Thunderstorms were forecast. For safety reasons, he was ferried by car to see the Queen and tender his resignation.

No helicopter from Dyce to Balmoral for the newly-elected Prime Minister either. Thunderstorms. She, too, was whipped up to Balmoral through the drenching downpours.

This was the fifteenth Prime Minister Queen Elizabeth II has invited to form a new government. The first time from Balmoral, where she lingers on, experiencing, at 96, some mobility challenges.

The new and the old. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but only the triune God doesn’t change, doesn’t age, doesn’t grow weary and worn.

Queen Elizabeth has invited fifteen individuals to lead the nation she presides over. God invites all his children to lead the world back to him.

May I marvel in the honour of this undeserved position, and not live carelessly, casually, or selfishly.