Tag Archives: God

Grief is Transformative.

Grief does a number on you you will never see it coming.

I remember on the day of laying Fathe to rest, many people came up to me saying they had wanted to come but hadn’t because they were busy and now they were out of time. Some knew he had been unwell and were prompted to come but never did. The saddest ones for me were a couple of instances:

Those we had specifically called because we knew they were to receive a mantle to extend from his life and they never came.
Those who heard and in their heart of hearts knew they needed to come but could not or did not make time.
Those who could not deal with the sight of this once virile man, weak, silent, and bedridden so they never came.

As I have sat in this space with different people, i find it very fascinating how grief can change people. I am saddened for those who now carry a deep and crippling sense of guilt because they did not come. I know how that burden can break some. Yet I am critically aware that there is nothing I can do that will take away their guilt. The sadness I saw in their faces was devastating but there was nothing I could do about it. Even when we said it was ok, we could not wipe out the pain and regret there. I saw people stand by the grave and stare as if they needed to have a moment to reconnect…but he was gone for good.

It is easy to hear that someone is unwell and not be able to visit them but when you feel the unction to talk to someone, do it. If your heart longs to see someone, go and see them. Whatever it is you need to do, make sure you do it. Live life without regret and free of wonder.

Shalom.

Faith holds us accountable

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In a piece I wrote called, He remains faithful, I said that no matter how it gets, God is in control. I realised my life has to be the first port of display of this truth if I proclaim it.

I’m one of those people whose devices give extremely good service. My phones give me five years and my laptops up to ten years. I rarely replace things because I’m bored, rather I replace them because the device no longer serves the purpose.

In December, my phone notified me about its performance. I kept getting notices about the battery life and every so often it hang for no reason. The young king was watching he seemed more alarmed about it than I was and he couldn’t understand why I was so blase about the situation. Every week he said something about it and my standard response was “God will provide the resources or the phone.” Was that a hiding tactic? Not at all. It was my truth because unless God provided resources, I didn’t have anything extra available to make a big purchase. This led to four months with him living on the edge and me flouncing through life seemingly carefree.

Fast forward a few weeks and I’m trying to figure out how to replace his phone when a dear friend and one of my leads offered to take him to trade in his phone and get a new one. As they did that they find a phone for me. That sounds simple enough right? Well, we have two old phones to trade in then we top up the difference and I am sure we have an option coming. As they wait for some things to be sorted, another client walks in and trades in a good phone of the brand I usually use.

Unbeknownst to the young king, my lead calls me and tells me about the phone. He thinks I should get it but I dismiss the idea because I didn’t have money. He repeats that I need to get it and I say I am trusting God for resources. The young king calls me and mentions the same phone with a plan of how I could acquire it. He offers to trade the resources he has acquired so painstakingly to me so that I can get this phone and I am not sure.

However, I am still trying to use that phone as a stopgap for him for about six weeks which will allow me to make something and get him the phone he wants as I pick this one. As we spoke, clarity of what my lead had said to me earlier came and I suddenly understood the right position…trade in my current phone and top up the difference from my business account because it is a tool of the trade and leaves the young king’s money for his phone. Suffice it to say, trading in and getting used phones did the trick.

What caught my attention was that not only did the young king have the confirmation that I would get a phone, but he also had insight into how it would come and was aware enough to see it before I did. My words that God would provide the resources were proven when the other customer walked in with a phone to dispose of, trading in my current phone cut the cost by more than half and I had just enough in savings for the balance. Yet it was not clear until the young king voluntarily stepped aside to sacrifice getting his phone so he could get me mine. He also received a reward because the door opened for an even better phone than what he had initially found.

God fascinates me because while we are still sitting in corners and sulking or wondering he is at work sorting things out and aligning answers. Scripture is so clear that He is prepping with words like, “It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” (Is 65:23). This incident helped me realise that even when the path is unclear for me, God is not asleep or taking a vacation. He is right there with me walking the path with me giving me the guidance I need because He knows what I need before I ask Him (Matt 6:8). If He can care for the flowers, the grass, the trees, the birds, the animals in the wild, surely I am of more value than these (Matt 6:25-31) and he will definitely supply all my needs according to HIS riches in glory (Phil 4:19).

God is not a butler who is at my beck and call neither is he a fairy godfather who lavishly dispenses. He is a father. Father is an economy. Father is the source, provider, protector, and preserver. He is the one who stands up and is counted on to ensure that his children do not lack. He calls me his own and has one major instruction for me to access everything. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matt 6:33-34.

This does not mean that I do nothing other than stay in church, though that could be the call of some like Anna. Rather it means that:

I check every move with Him,
Finalise every plan with Him,
Evaluate every situation with Him,
Just live in tandem with HIM.

Oneness with God means not taking a stand or making a move without a clear word from Him. It means to be devoted to prayer and time with Him and to listen keenly to the word as He opens it up to me. It means access to ideas and opportunities others would never have seen or connected to because at that moment you are in the right place.

Walking by faith is what God calls us to be and to do. The deep certainty that no matter how it looks or what is going on around, we know that we know that we know, that He will come through. It is knowing with certainty like we know our names, that HE is reliable. It is allowing Him to teach us His truths through His servants even those significantly younger than us (now this is a story for another day). It is being unmoved by the things around us and resting deeply on and in the word that has come from His mouth to us.

Shalom.

He Remains Faithful

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I took a break at the end of last year to finalise some of my assignments that went into early Jan and that was it. Many things have happened but the biggest one was when my mum fell and broke her hand. Life stopped for a bit because we had to get her care against some incredible odds in the healthcare scene but we persisted.

I am the youngest in our family but the one who gets the hard things done. Some call me pushy, I say I am assertive. I know what needs to be done and so I work to get it done. I also live near my mum so I stepped in as the next of kin with her hospitalisation. It rings different when you are signing off forms the procedure knowing full well that if anything happens you are the one who approved. Something about that makes you think about life.

I remember sitting in her hospital room for hours waiting for her to come back from surgery and when she did…she was so groggy I realised I should have just gone home. For the next round of surgery, I booked her in and stayed around until she was in surgery then realised that it would be very late before she came out of recovery so I went home and advised the family not to go to the hospital.

It is sobering when you know that your loved one is truly in God’s hands and there is nothing you can do. Our greatest blessing was a great surgeon who has not become a family friend and is helping us solve other orthopedic challenges in our ecosystem.

This season has reminded me that God is the one in control. The hand of God is not too short to save nor is his ear deaf to hear (Is 59:1) nor is he blind to see what is happening in our lives. He knows the end from the beginning and his purposes will stand (Is 46:10) so this season was on his radar all along. He knew that 2023 would start with all this pressure and he had already prepared the needed provision for the season.

I remember just hanging out with mum in the hospital and a friend shows up with enough food to feed her whole household for a month without request. He just showed up, paid for a cab, and filled the boot and half of the back seat with shopping. Mum was due to shop that week but we had to focus on getting her sorted. I remember friends showing up and hanging out with me until the surgery was done because they wanted to ensure she was well. My friend’s mother came to see mum and they had such a blast reminiscing after twenty-four years of not seeing each other.

When things are hard and not working as we expect, it is easy to wonder where is God and why he is being unfair but God… He is never late, and neither does he forget us. We are inscribed on His palms and our walls are always before him (Is 49:16).

Will we have hard times? Yes
Will we be alone in these times? Never
Can we be sure of his presence? Definitely

His gift to us is the guarantee that he will never leave us alone and his grace will carry us through. I cannot explain it all but I have known his grace, peace, and personal ministry to me in this season through the people he has sent my way. Some are ten thousand miles away but they have loved on me as if I was in their neighbourhood. Some are next door or a few minutes away and they have watched over me like an eagle her chics.

No matter how hard things get: God is on the throne.

When God Messes It All Up

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We have been working a plan with God for a while now and it was getting easier to execute every day and enjoyable to do. Ha! I should have known…He was about to shift things.

It started when He kept dropping things into my lap, adding things to my plate (not food) and increasing the demand on my time. I kept working and building but in time begun feeling rudderless and like I was drowning. I wanted everything to fit into the pattern I had established and got comfortable with, but alas that wasn’t a possibility.

The unraveling all came together in one day at a single moment.

After a day of walking through meeting after meeting I sat to set up for my weekly broadcast and simple things begun getting off track. The live stream took longer to get going because the device I was using is old, I was online ministering for ten minutes before I realised my device had the volume turned off, I had forgotten to start recording and after all that I still didn’t have content for my blog post. Yes, all this in one day.

It would have been easy to get rattled, and I honestly had begun feeling a rather rattled, but I heard the quiet question, Really? Really what you ask…Would I allow the situation to challenge me or would I look up at God to see His perspective? Would I be frustrated because the process wasn’t as easy as usual or would I look for a lesson or growth in it? For a few moments I tried to wallow but each moment was accompanied by a the same question and an agitation for more clarity wouldn’t allow me to settle there.

My reality shifted to…we cannot box God.

The answer came during the broadcast and it hit hard. Abraham was called to leave everything he knew to go to a land God would show him. Mary found herself pregnant and almost alone in a culture that would kill her for being unvirtuous. Joseph was despised, sold, falsely accused, jailed for many years with only the trust in his God. Hosea was instructed to marry a prostitute with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be smooth sailing. Yet they all complied and walked with God.

He said “Be still child it is me at work, doing what I know best.” “What is that?” I asked. “Keeping you tuned into me no matter what.” He replied.

When you feel stuck, lost, overwhelmed, unprepared, or just not up to scratch; remember your Father has you in His hand. He cannot forget you, will not forget you and will preserve you for His purpose. Yet if He needs to stretch you, break and rebuild or re-calibrate you, He will. His design of our lives and processes is flawless. His timing is perfect. His presence daily. His purpose the best.

Simply trust Him because everything is as planned.

Shalom

Unexpected Places

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Photo taken in Anahein CA, Courtesy of Roskyn Pryor

Hello,

Hi Jean, do you have a moment?

Who is this?

Jessica

Sorry, Jessica who?

We met at Kingsley’s farewell

Oh, yes….how are you?

I am well thanks.

How can I help, I’m in a bit of a meeting here

I won’t take long. I just wanted to let you know that he rests in the Lord

What? When?

Day before yesterday

Was he unwell?

Not that we know so far.

What happened?

Well, he went to bed and slipped into glory at a point in the night

Was he alone at home?

No he has a housemate but there was nothing anyone could have done.

Ok thanks….

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D is staring at me as if I have just lost my mind and I actually feel like I have. I am shocked to my toes and I don’t know where to start or end. Kingsley was a guy I met through a mutual friend. He was always the life of the party and made us all laugh. I loved hanging out with him though we didn’t do it often enough. Don’t get me wrong…he was so much fun but true to form we are always so busy there’s little to no time to look for each other.

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Photo taken in Anahein CA, Courtesy of Roskyn Pryor

Hey…Earth to Jean…D tapped my hand

Oh my…sorry

Where did you go?

Why?

You spaced out for a bit

Sorry….

No need to apologise…who died?

How tactless of you?

Come on…who rested

A guy I know called Kingsley

Good friend

Not really but a really sweet guy.

Define sweet

Kind, warm, cool, laid back, funny

I’m all those things and you don’t call me sweet.

Maybe I do just not to your face

Aha…what happened?

He went to sleep and never woke up

Oh…how old was he?

Mid to late twenties

Wow…

Yeah…wow…makes you wonder right?

Wonder what?

How long you really have here

Why?

Look at him…young healthy…here today gone tomorrow.

There are people who are over ninety and still very active.

That’s just it…how does God decide who goes and who stays?

I don’t know

How does He decide who gets sick, what illness, how ravaging, how mild? Does he even have a written criteria? Can I know when my turn is coming and how I will go? Think of the guy who leaves home in the morning and dies in a hit and run accident…uuurrrggghhh….

Ok….

D…all you have to say is ok? Really?

Well, first yes that is all I have to say momentarily. Second, I’m not God so I wouldn’t know the answer.

Third?

I don’t have a third right now.

Ok…but don’t you ever wonder?

I do…

And?

I leave it all to Him.

Really? How do you plan your life if you just leave and let live?

I didn’t say that…I said, I leave it to God.

What does that mean to you?

It means, I ask Him daily for direction and don’t assume that I’ll be here always.

Ok….explain

We are human right?

Right.

Meaning we will all leave here for eternity right?

Right.

What is the gateway to eternity?

Death…

So we will surely die?

Yes…and you think about this stuff?

Sure.

Why?

Because it is life.

Photo taken in Anahein CA, Courtesy of Roskyn Pryor

How?

How what?

How do you just sit in your chair and think about it?

Well…My mum taught me to understand the realities of life and face them.

The realities?

Yes…the realities. Anger, love, death, life, sickness, health, loss, finding….the list is endless

And how does this help you?

Well, I know they are a part of life so at one point or another I will encounter one or the other so I must be prepared for all eventualities.

How do you prepare for death?

By building your faith in God that you don’t fear it but welcome it as the entrance to His presence.

How?

Walking with Him daily

How?

Seriously?

Yes…seriously…how do you prepare for it?

There’s no easy way to do it but first get your faith in God sorted

Done

Spend time in the word and learn about this great God and His promises

On going

Spend time with His children and enjoy community

On going

Give back to the community as He tells you; both alone and in communion with others

On going

As you do this, you will get closer to Him and as you allow Him He will teach you all about His heart till the day you can say Paul….for me to live is Christ and to die is gain

I never understood that verse…how is it gain to die?

It is gain because He was Paul’s absolute desire…

Absolute desire?

Yes, in my humble opinion…

When people say that often they are opinionated… but go ahead

I think Paul meant that he had finally learnt that nothing in this world would satisfy him more than to love, serve and see God and since heaven is where God is why not look forward to getting there?

Can we look forward to getting to heaven?

Sure. And when we do it affects how we live our lives

How?

Well, we will focus less on accumulating and more on influencing

What is wrong with having things?

Nothing essentially, the question is whether we are so focused on getting the things that we forget the actual giver. Do you know that everything you have is a gift and blessing for you from God?

Yes…but I have worked hard for everything I have…I have given time, energy and big value to get it

That could be true but what if God hadn’t given you health and strength, wisdom and ability to achieve it all, surely you wouldn’t have any of it.

Ok…I concede that…but surely he wants me to enjoy the things I have

Sure, but He also wants you to share them with the world around you.

Not that gain…

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Step Out & Do Something

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I grew up with no TV during the week like many of my peers but in this day and age it is different. The thing is about balance and how long not none at all. The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun with time to connect with my lil man. We have been watching movies together every evening and it has been amazing. I think I need to do this for a while to come. Lol…we watch reruns a lot because we are done with the collection but there is something new in each episode. The best part at times is when one of us (more often him) talks along with the script. When you can do that know that you have spent a lot of time watching that particular movie.

The other day we are watching Happy Feet. Happy Feet is the story of young Emperor Penguin who is absolutely different from all the other penguins of his

Emperor penguins

kind. He was dropped by his father before he was born. He came out of the shell feet first. He danced instead of sung. He left home and joined a posse of Isabeline Penguins because no one else accepts him as he is. In the movie this one penguin misfit goes on and saves the day for the whole population from starvation. However, there is also the deeper reality that there is a big fight between the old way of doing things and the new way Mumble presents. The elders have a certain view of life and the way they have lived it and so they want the community to hold onto these ways as they are benchmark of their long existence. Then enter the young Mumble

Isabeline penguins

who is totally different and is only trying to be himself and find out what is causing all their problems. Mumble sees things differently because the reality of his life and the challenges he has faced since he was born have changed his perspective. It has caused him to ask questions and not just accept things as this is the way we do it.

Mumble comes back home to win Gloria’s heart with the help of his posse of Isabeline penguins. These little guys are hilarious and seemingly mad but they accept Mumble as he is and do everything in their power to help each other. However, Mumble is not successful and is thrown out of home for encouraging other to challenge the status quo and try nothing new i.e. dancing. His pursuit for the truth leads him to go to see Lovelace for answers. Lovelace is an Isabeline penguin with a special lace around his neck bestowed on him by the ‘gods’ in truth it is an engine gasket. Lovelace leads them to the place he got this lace and they find that it is the place where man has left a lot of waste from expeditions into the Antarctica and this waste is polluting the environment. They encounter a lot of danger the greatest being a large fishing trawler. Now Mumble sees what is taking their food and decides to do all he can to stop the ‘aliens’ aka man from killing them. He asks the posse to take care of Gloria and he dives off a very tall ice cliff to follow the trawler and try to talk to the ‘aliens’ (aka humans) to leave their food supply alone.

The movie goes on beyond here but this part struck me and struck me hard. It is interesting when I look critically at Mumble. There are things I see that stand out and take my breath away. You see, he:

Thought little of his personal needs and was driven by the need to solve the big problem of food for his kind
Mumble in Happy Feet
Figured that no price was too high for him to pay for a lasting solution
Took the risk to jump off the top of a mighty iceberg into the water below to follow a trawler to places unknown
Swam for all he was worth and ended up stranded on a beach tired and almost dead
Never lost hope even when he was in captivity
Came back to save his kind

Slowly I begun to think about my life and the way it was rolling out. Questions run through my mind demanding to be answered.

Have I found my true purpose i.e. the reason I was created and placed on this earth?
Do I live my life with complete dedication to the solution I was put here to provide?
Have I got discouraged by the challenges of life and so I have given up my hopes and dreams?
Do I have a posse who keep me going when things are bad, who laugh with me, cry with me, walk with me, believe in and with me?
Will I one day reach the goal that was set out for me?
Do I even desire to reach the dream that God has for me?
Mumble

The easy thing to do is to say yes to all the questions above but is that yes really true? Indeed there have been days when I have wanted to throw in the towel because life hasn’t panned out as I had planned and I am tired of toiling? Yet it is in those moments when I need to dig deep and find the connection with God and remember that HE is indeed on my side and is interested in me and the things I am going through. I must remember that the road I walk is as much for me as it is for others I need to touch so that I can help them grow. The good times and the hard times are to be celebrated and shared so that everyone can understand that there are lessons in everything.

I therefore choose to be energised to realise that there are things that await my touch so that God can resolve them. There are lives I am sent here to touch and be touched by. I find that I owe it to God to get up off of my back side and stop complaining about what I don’t have and instead focus on what HE has given me to give to others then all other things will begin to fall into place. I must live my life for more than just the money I can make tthe needs I can provide for my family. I must live for bigger better and greater things and these smaller ones will indeed be covered. I must share about my good and hard days because someone somewhere will be encouraged. I also realise that I am the sum total of everywhere I have been and every challenge and victory I have faced and my life is a book that someone else needs to read to provide the roadmap for them.

I choose this day to pursue the invisible, seemingly impossible great things that God has laid in my heart to do for HIM and I believe that as I do them HE will come through and sort out the little things that HE has promised for my life.

I stretch out my hand to you, take it and let us walk together into the things God has laid out for us to for His honour ad His Glory. Amen

#Renewed by Nature

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I am continually struck by the beauty of creation and the glory of the fullness of God. As I sit at my desk and I need inspiration, I find myself looking at beautiful pictures, lively colours, simple things and quotes. I have begun to find deep peace and inspiration in the simple things that God created and the lovely people that He has given us to live with. I am astounded every day at how small things can inspire. There are scriptures that inspire me too and below is one of the greatest ones.

Picture courtesy of Sociedad Argentina de Horticultura

Psalm 24 (KJV)

¹The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

²For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

³Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

⁷Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

⁸Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, theLord mighty in battle.

⁹Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

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I walk more these days and the experience of the outdoors has opened up doors and ideas of things that I may never have found. In the outdoors I have experienced greater peace and calmness yet at the same time, the serenity has opened my heart and mind to face some deeply hidden parts of me. The parts and levels that I may never have reached because of the pressures of my life. In this place I came to realise that there is order and sense we need to make about this life that cannot be done if we are not truthful to ourselves and find places of stillness and peace.

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” V1

Picture courtesy of Sociedad Argentina de Horticultura

This resonates with me because I realise that I am here on a very set and established timeline and for a set and established purpose. The purpose question stayed with me a lot. I realised that I could be looking for my purpose in big things and deep connections yet it was in small and seemingly insignificant things. Simple things came to me in different and amazing places. I realised that walking along the roadside and driving along in a car provides very different perspectives. Travelling in a public transport vehicle and riding on the back of a public service motorbike also gives astoundingly different perspectives.

The bigger question is how these perspectives affect how I live out my God given purpose.

I decided to let go of my previous perceptions and learn to seek new explanations and opportunities where I am. That is when I realised that I have met amazing people as I have walked some really long distances. The biting cold wind on the back of a motorbike gave me incredibly fresh thoughts (no pun intended). I discovered many things about me as I was sitting in the traffic listening to a radio station I naturally wouldn’t pick just because I was in a public vehicle. I have had personal and social conversations with travellers are we drove together in personal vehicles from A to B. I have walked along newly paved and lit roads at night that in the past were no go zones. The variety of these experiences has inspired me and created valuable and life changing experiences. I discovered things I didn’t know about myself that I now love.

Recently I took a motor bike to get to a meeting and I found myself leaning into the direction of the turn as the driver took corners and sitting upright behind the driver to avoid excess wind. I was suddenly aware that I had become comfortable with bikes (as long as they aren’t being driven at high speeds). My heart was no longer in my throat as we drove along. A few weeks before the motor bike experience, I was walking from one side of a suburb to another and the pace I was keeping caught the attention of a fellow walker. He was an older gentleman and we walked together for a long distance. He shared lots of insights and laughs that made the distance much shorter than it would have been if I was alone. I learnt so much from him and my spirits lifted. As we parted, a friend I needed to speak with called me and he was across the road from where I was and was headed in the direction I was heading. You can imagine my excitement when the day ended and I sat to think it through.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness there of… This fullness means that my life has meaning and purpose and every day has a purpose that must be fulfilled. I must therefore live in an ever present state of awareness that there are things to do, words to say, prayers to make and places to visit that will help me fulfil my purpose as well as help others fulfil theirs. In the book, Divine Inspiration; the key to extraordinary living; Dr. Albert Odulele says something I find totally profound…he says:

“There is ‘substantial creativity’ in you and many await it for the alleviation of their sufferings. When the things locked in you are

Picture courtesy of Sociedad Argentina de Horticultura

unveiled, joy, peace and an improved quality of life will be the direct by-product for all those who benefit from it.”

So the questions I ask myself every night…

Am I living the life I was sent here to live?

Am I having the impact that was designed for me?
Am I concerned about the insignificant or significant?
Has my day lived up to its full potential and impact?

Wow…let’s keep walking this faith walk

A Different Walk…Part 1

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This week I have been listening to messages about the life we are called to as Christians. The messages have triggered many thoughts in my mind and I will indeed share them in bits so that we will make great assessments of the texts and lessons to be learnt…

The first thoughts I will share are based on reading Genesis. In Genesis I found an example of faith that I had never really seen. I have read this scripture over and over but I have never seen the things I was seeing now. In Genesis chapter 11, the record of the tower babel is told.
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b]and settled there.
3 They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’

Key things:
• Used different materials from the norm – brick not stone; bitumen for mortar
• Put in greater longer effort – baked the bricks thoroughly
• United in purpose – build a city & a tower to the heavens
• Had a clear goal – to make a name for themselves, to stay together
• Unique characteristics – all spoke the same language

In the divine scheme of things the behaviour of this generation caused God grave concern. God in His wisdom knew what life would be out of hand if this people were left to remain one. They would work to become gods and He wouldn’t allow that. The thing I see too is that they pursued the things of this world and not the eternal. God in His mercy knew that this was not going to help the world as a whole so he dealt with it.
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’ 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth,

Don’t mistake God’s actions for failure and inability. It can imagine what the world today would be like if we all thought alike and spoke the same language. Indeed there is a case for the thought that it would be a greater more connected world, yet it would be easy to be destructive and lead to great levels of manipulation. The differences put in by God was for the good of the people as they had to learn to understand each other and they could spread out so that the world would not be depleted.

I am beginning to understand that God is indeed in control and will do what He deems as necessary to get us to focus on him and to understand that He is in control whether we understand it all or not. As I sit here writing I realise a fresh that nothing will derail His plan for our lives except us. God has a plan but we are responsible for our response to Him and His plans for us. We can either do it His way or our way and each of them have consequences.

What are you doing today that will directly affect your life tomorrow?

It’s Inevitable…Adapt

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I saw this devotional this morning and it blew me away and I needed to share it
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SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS: 11.02.2014

Accept and embrace change as you do the seasons. The changes you face are inevitable whether you receive them with joy and expectation or with resistance and dread. Make it easy on yourself and be willing to move with My Spirit in freedom and fluidity. You can trust Me to cause everything to work together for your good. Let My glory be known in all you do, says the Lord.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose

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This was the devotional today and indeed it struck a raw nerve. There has been so much adjustments going on this year that at times it feels like it is June yet is only the 42nd day of the year. When we think of adjustments we often feel that because they are needed they are at times easy to achieve. The adjustments I have faced this year have all been good in the long run yet very hard to do. The thing I never really thought about or realised is that good adjustment can be painful.

When I was 3 years old I was swinging on the climbing frame (I hear these days it is called monkey bars in some places) and fell head first to the ground 3 feet away. In our kindergarten, the ground was tarmacked for ease of keeping the kids clean I think, you can now guess what side of Nairobi I grew up in :-). Anyway, the only visible injury was a cut on my third left finger.

Fast forward 9 years later and I was in all sorts of seemingly inexplicable back pain. I could hardly sit, stand, run or walk for long periods yet just a year before that I was an upcoming athlete. About the same time my mum injured her back and went to see a chiropractor for rehab. One day after I had had a particularly bad week, she spoke to her doctor and explained what I was going through. Bless her heart, the doctor asked to see me and see how she could be of assistance.

Lo and behold, when I was examined I had an unnatural curve in my spine just under my shoulder blades. This seemed to have been there for a while and we couldn’t immediately figure out the cause. About two weeks later I remembered the fall when I was 3 years old and mentioned it to mum who spoke immediately with the doctor. After much consultation it was determined that indeed the fall was the cause of this injury. Remember on the outside there was no visible sign of injury but on the inside it was different. My doctor explained that I was a child when I feel, my spine was flexible and it absorbed impact by curving. Had I been older, the fall would have resulted in spinal injury.

I was immediately started on treatment and it took 4 years of regular chiropractic treatment to get my back restored into normal alignment. Yes, four years of excruciating pain, pain killers, hot water bottles, high density foam mattresses, strange pillows or cushions, flat shoes, doctor’s appointments, limited travel, etc. I even had to figure how to reduce the load of books I carried. Anyone who went through the 8-4-4 system of education then understands how hard this was because we carried loads of books from a very broad syllabus.

The adjustment though painful was good for me in the end as I was able to lead a more normal life after that. I quickly learnt what would aggravate the situation and what would reduce the pain. I adapted my life and make the best of it and later all was well. The main source of the pain and discomfort was that the orientation of muscles had to be changed. The curve in my spine meant that some muscles were in over extended positions while others where in shortened positions. As the adjustments were made, the shorter ones had to stretch to their right position and boy wasn’t it painful. Whole muscle groups had to adjust and then be eased into permanent position by exercise and rest.

Yet despite all the pain there were significant benefits. I could now attend to my studies without much pain or discomfort, I was no longer flat footed, buying shoes was easier, my posture was fantastic so my vocal range improved, oh and the pain was gone. It was amazing when finally after four years of treatment my doctor said I was good only needed to come in once a year for review. I haven’t had to have a review in over 10 years now.

Today I realise that this isn’t very different from life. In this season God will call us to move up, out and over into places that are good for us and out of places that are detrimental to us. The movement will mean leaving things that were previously important behind and moving into new levels of understanding and importance. In order to be in the right place we must:
1. Accept and embrace change: be at peace with it.
2. Realise that the changes are inevitable: it will happen whether we like it or not
3. Relax and be easy on ourselves: allow the Holy Spirit to make us fluid
4. Trust God: HE has our best interests at heart

This is indeed a walk of faith for me because there are necessary changes going on that I must make and I have indeed been struggling with some of them. I am now more determined to stand aside and allow Papa to do His thing and make all things work together for my good.

Have a wonderful, logic defying season with Papa.

Ask and you will receive

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This scripture got me for some reason and I just had to send it out…

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1 Samuel 16

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

16 ¹One day he said, “Samuel, I’ve rejected Saul, and I refuse to let him be king any longer. Stop feeling sad about him. Put some olive oil^[a] in a small container^[b] and go visit a man named Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem. I’ve chosen one of his sons to be my king.” God gave the instructions

²Samuel answered, “If I do that, Saul will find out and have me killed.”

Samuel responded with a question and God provided an answer

“Take a calf with you,” the Lord replied. “Tell everyone that you’ve come to offer it as a sacrifice to me, ³then invite Jesse to the sacrifice.^[c] When I show you which one of his sons I have chosen, pour the olive oil on his head.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord told him and went to Bethlehem. The town leaders went to meet him, but they were terribly afraid and asked, “Is this a friendly visit?”

⁵“Yes, it is!” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Get yourselves ready^[d] to take part in the sacrifice and come with me.” Samuel also invited Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and he got them ready to take part.

⁶When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel noticed Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab. “He has to be the one the Lord has chosen,” Samuel said to himself.

⁷But the Lord told him, “Samuel, don’t think Eliab is the one just because he’s tall and handsome. He isn’t the one I’ve chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts.”

⁸Jesse told his son Abinadab to go over to Samuel, but Samuel said, “No, the Lord hasn’t chosen him.”

⁹Next, Jesse sent his son Shammah to him, and Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen him either.”

¹⁰Jesse had all seven of his sons go over to Samuel. Finally, Samuel said, “Jesse, the Lord hasn’t chosen any of these young men. ¹¹Do you have any more sons?”

“Yes,” Jesse answered. “My youngest son David is out taking care of the sheep.”

“Send for him!” Samuel said. “We won’t start the ceremony until he gets here.”

¹²Jesse sent for David. He was a healthy, good-looking boy with a sparkle in his eyes. As soon as David came, the Lord told Samuel, “He’s the one! Get up and pour the olive oil on his head.”^[e]

¹³Samuel poured the oil on David’s head while his brothers watched. At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord took control of David and stayed with him from then on.

Samuel returned home to Ramah.

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When was the last time you really sought God. His face and not His hand. Samuel is a great example of walking with God in all circumstances and serving God with all his heart. It makes me wonder how he could remain so sure that God’s plan is perfect and will come to pass no matter what. It never seems like any circumstance would deter his faith in God….Amazing…really amazing.

I desire to walk in that kind of relationship with God and be sure of His purpose no matter what is going on around me.

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