I had the pleasure recently of watching Interstellar recently. My husband and I hadn't managed any time alone together since early this year, so we made it a date and went to the movies.
It was rather more challenging than usual because of my husband suffering from a trapped nerve in his spine, which is causing him some not inconsiderable pain, but he dosed up on medication and struggled through.
Though it wasn't all to my taste, there were some interesting themes. In one of them, the main character has a scene with his daughter. He is going away for a long time and she is trying to persuade him to stay, says there are signs for him to stay, but he is determined to go and they part ways. Interestingly however he gets to 'watch' this scene again later on, in the future, and now because of his experiences his perspective is completely different and he feels he should have stayed.
This theme continues because even further into the film he realises he did the right thing in leaving after all. His mind has been changed yet again, because of his new found knowledge.
This really spoke to me. Like many people I have had a lot of struggles in my life with some very difficult issues. Many of those issues continue even now, and I do find it hard. But I realise that I am the person I am today because of those struggles and experiences. In essence, my perspective on so many things has changed because of my new found knowledge.
This is how it must be, I feel, if we're to move closer to God and be more effective in our lives.
The Bible encourages us to 'be transformed by the renewing of our minds' (Romans 12). One way this happens is to learn 'on the job' by experiencing things. Another way is to read the Bible and let its truths wash over us and grow inside us. A third way is to spend time with God to get His heavenly perspective, because things look so different from His point of view.
God encouraged me through the movie that it's all been worthwhile, that it will all make sense, and that as we approach the end of the year I can look back and really celebrate the progress that's been made.
I need that encouragement right now. It's a hard time for us financially with resources stretched very tight. We have four birthdays, Christmas and New Year in a 9 week window starting at the beginning of November and going through to January. Amongst this we have to take time off work as no-one wants things done over Christmas, so we have two people with no income for nearly 2 1/2 weeks. Just having the time off would be a challenge, let alone all that needs to be done on top.
In addition we have car issues, my vacuum cleaner and PC need replacing and we discovered a huge patio window is leaking and needs to be replaced, a huge slab of concrete removed, the damp proof course fixed and concrete re-laid. My internal flooring is wet and mouldy because of it and we've just entered winter. Plus we need two new windows put in by a builder, some plastering done and a children's room split into two as the kids sharing really need their own space.
I am so stretched time and work-wise and so feeling the pressure (as is my husband, who is also in pain and suffering), that I admit to having a wobble yesterday afternoon and shedding a few tears when my vacuum stopped for the umpteenth time.
But God spoke to me at church this morning (the service was brilliant, I shall share more about it next time) and all I can do is praise Him, believing He is good all the time and real help will appear just as I need it.
I had to lead the prayers in church today. I felt God say He wanted to reignite hope in people's hearts this advent (the period leading up to Christmas), hope for difficult things and maybe dreams long given up on and put away. He also wanted to encourage us to believe, not just as we prayed this morning, but to keep on believing in the days ahead, even when things look dark and hopeless. For He will come through, and all that we pray in accordance with His will He hears and promises to grant those desires. (1 John 5).
I must now swallow my own medicine and keep on believing, keep on trusting, keep on hoping. God is for us, He will bring the victory forth in every situation.
May you know hope and be able to believe in every situation too. Be blessed : )
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Thursday, 27 November 2014
No Pit Too Deep
Just recently I've had the pleasure of reading two of Corrie ten Boom's books. Corrie was a Dutch lady, who was taken prisoner along with her family, by the Nazis during the second world war for helping Jews escape the Nazis.
Corrie, a spinster, was in her 50s when she was taken prisoner, along with her father (who was in his 80s), her brother and her older sister, Betsie. Two of her nephews were also taken captive.
The story of their wartime experiences is told in 'The Hiding Place' and the sequel, 'Tramp for the Lord' tells of how Corrie travelled the world tirelessly under the Lord's direction, until well into her 80s, to tell people how God loves them.
The books are very moving indeed, and very enlightening. To read of people suffering such hardship, cruelty and evil, really does put the everyday problems I face into perspective. But one thing that really stood out to me were almost the last word's that Betsie ten Boom ever spoke to Corrie, before dying at Ravensbruck. It was God's commission to them - to Corrie - and what spurred Corrie on for so many years after:
"We must go everywhere. We must tell people that no pit is so deep that He is not deeper still. They will believe us, they will listen to us, because we were here."
If you have read previous posts you will know that we had a lot of heartache with my eldest daughter over the last two years. A lovely, Godly girl, she met and fell in love with a boy that was controlling and difficult, to put it mildly. He and his parents made life quite unbearable at times and on several occasions we had to get the Police involved - the problems were that serious, threatening and severe.
We could see it was a spiritual connection and a spiritual issue, but she hated us for trying to split them up and we suffered suicide threats, threats of leaving home and living with his family, and all sorts.
Amongst the mess, praise God, I knew God's peace. I was a little weary of it, and there were some awful times, but I knew the Lord. My husband found it more difficult. But ultimately the hardest thing was that it was so out of our control. We prayed and handed it to the Lord, but for two years it rumbled on with no sign of abatement.
Then suddenly, In late September, I heard that Ian McCormack, a man who had met God whilst dying after being stung many times by box jellyfish, was speaking locally. He had an amazing encounter with God and became a Christian and, like Corrie, has been travelling the world sharing his testimony and God's love ever since. My daughter said she wanted to go and hear him!
I took her, and she was so moved by what he shared that she gave her life back to God. The Holy Spirit moved upon her and she had a real God encounter. There was much crying and God really touched her heart.
I believe at that moment God somehow broke the connection she had had with her boyfriend, for since then she has become much more 'herself' again. The moods, threats, general difficult-ness has gone; it is like a light has been switched on again and she is blossoming.
Since then he has also been in touch with her, said that he had fallen out of love with her and did she give her permission for him to ask another girl out?! Praise God she was not heartbroken, but strangely unmoved and told him that was fine with her. She has also bumped into him and I asked her how that had made her feel - any butterflies or stomach lurch? She replied, "No, I felt nothing. That should tell me something, shouldn't it?"
She says now that she realises that even when you feel intensely for someone, your feelings can change, she just wasn't able to see or perceive that at the time.
But God has intervened, the relationship that was so binding, intense and all-consuming has been broken by the Lord, and with neither side being heartbroken - what a miracle. Two years of difficulty was suddenly over. Though at times the whole thing seemed like a deep pit that threatened to overwhelm us, the fact is, as Betsie said, 'No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still'.
I pray that this real life story of God moving in such a tangible way will encourage you to press on, keep trusting and keep believing. He is with us in the pit. He loves us in the pit. And when the time is right He rescues us from the pit.
Be blessed, especially as we approach Advent and remembering that Once Upon A Time, God Himself made Himself flesh, and came and suffered to save us. May you know Him with you : )
Corrie, a spinster, was in her 50s when she was taken prisoner, along with her father (who was in his 80s), her brother and her older sister, Betsie. Two of her nephews were also taken captive.
The story of their wartime experiences is told in 'The Hiding Place' and the sequel, 'Tramp for the Lord' tells of how Corrie travelled the world tirelessly under the Lord's direction, until well into her 80s, to tell people how God loves them.
The books are very moving indeed, and very enlightening. To read of people suffering such hardship, cruelty and evil, really does put the everyday problems I face into perspective. But one thing that really stood out to me were almost the last word's that Betsie ten Boom ever spoke to Corrie, before dying at Ravensbruck. It was God's commission to them - to Corrie - and what spurred Corrie on for so many years after:
"We must go everywhere. We must tell people that no pit is so deep that He is not deeper still. They will believe us, they will listen to us, because we were here."
If you have read previous posts you will know that we had a lot of heartache with my eldest daughter over the last two years. A lovely, Godly girl, she met and fell in love with a boy that was controlling and difficult, to put it mildly. He and his parents made life quite unbearable at times and on several occasions we had to get the Police involved - the problems were that serious, threatening and severe.
We could see it was a spiritual connection and a spiritual issue, but she hated us for trying to split them up and we suffered suicide threats, threats of leaving home and living with his family, and all sorts.
Amongst the mess, praise God, I knew God's peace. I was a little weary of it, and there were some awful times, but I knew the Lord. My husband found it more difficult. But ultimately the hardest thing was that it was so out of our control. We prayed and handed it to the Lord, but for two years it rumbled on with no sign of abatement.
Then suddenly, In late September, I heard that Ian McCormack, a man who had met God whilst dying after being stung many times by box jellyfish, was speaking locally. He had an amazing encounter with God and became a Christian and, like Corrie, has been travelling the world sharing his testimony and God's love ever since. My daughter said she wanted to go and hear him!
I took her, and she was so moved by what he shared that she gave her life back to God. The Holy Spirit moved upon her and she had a real God encounter. There was much crying and God really touched her heart.
I believe at that moment God somehow broke the connection she had had with her boyfriend, for since then she has become much more 'herself' again. The moods, threats, general difficult-ness has gone; it is like a light has been switched on again and she is blossoming.
Since then he has also been in touch with her, said that he had fallen out of love with her and did she give her permission for him to ask another girl out?! Praise God she was not heartbroken, but strangely unmoved and told him that was fine with her. She has also bumped into him and I asked her how that had made her feel - any butterflies or stomach lurch? She replied, "No, I felt nothing. That should tell me something, shouldn't it?"
She says now that she realises that even when you feel intensely for someone, your feelings can change, she just wasn't able to see or perceive that at the time.
But God has intervened, the relationship that was so binding, intense and all-consuming has been broken by the Lord, and with neither side being heartbroken - what a miracle. Two years of difficulty was suddenly over. Though at times the whole thing seemed like a deep pit that threatened to overwhelm us, the fact is, as Betsie said, 'No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still'.
I pray that this real life story of God moving in such a tangible way will encourage you to press on, keep trusting and keep believing. He is with us in the pit. He loves us in the pit. And when the time is right He rescues us from the pit.
Be blessed, especially as we approach Advent and remembering that Once Upon A Time, God Himself made Himself flesh, and came and suffered to save us. May you know Him with you : )
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
God Will Heal Your Pain Part 2
Well, better late than never!
The past month has seen: business accounts and tax returns completed, personal tax returns done, my birthday, my first tutorial and the start of studying for training to become a preacher (it took a while to get into it, I could hear the cogs in my brain squealing as they started up after many years of child-rearing and non-study time!), working hard to get some very essential jobs done on the house, my eldest son has had issues at school and we've had to look into whether he should move school and my eldest daughter had an operation. Plus everyone had to be fed, bills had to be paid and housework and work had to be done!
I'm aware I start many posts with a list of why I've been too busy to blog, and I'm sorry about that. I think on the whole these past 6 months or so I had become increasingly weary of the endless list of essential things to do, never seeming to be able to get onto the things I felt called to or drawn to, and being continually bogged down by ill health.
I have considered many times perhaps selling our home, as we have enough equity in it to at least clear our debts and make life a little simpler, at least financially. And with less money pressure I felt my health and the pressure on my husband to keep working with a trapped nerve in his back would be reduced. But one day when walking past a potential house we could move to, I felt God say quite clearly:
"You keep looking for an exit, but the only way out is through."
This was emphasised to me again when reading book 2 of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The main character Katniss is speaking to an old friend of hers:
"I just can't wait for the whole thing to be over," I whisper.
"I know," says Greasy Sae. "But you've got to go through it to get to the end of it."
The ridiculous and sometimes overwhelming busyness, the spectre of debt always at the edge of my vision, the ill health that never seems to go away and sometimes comes screaming back into my life in full force, the long-held God-given dreams that have yet to materialise. All these things over decades of waiting have left me a little weary and battle fatigued. Then, when crying out to the Lord for help or seeing a potential solution, the Lord turns round and says 'there will be no short cuts with this lot, you must go through.'
But even I have to admit that God has spoken to me. And by speaking to me, He has shown me that He is with me in this. He is aware of what I'm going through, how tired I am. He's aware that the temptation to short cut this journey nags at me and it's hard to resist, as I can list so many positive things from relieving the pressure. And by the very fact that He's bothered to speak to me (I am only 1 person of nearly 7 billion on the planet), He's shown that He cares. And if He cares, and if He's aware, then it's reasonable to presume that He's got a plan and all the solutions I need are just a short distance away.
Who knows, maybe by being so grumpy, weary and negative and generally a bit 'doubting', I am actually slowing the whole thing down?
So, as well as being there in acute times of pain, He is there in the long, ongoing, wearying types of pain too. The 'I'm just so tired I don't think I can even cry or speak or lift myself out of this position anymore' type of pain.
I do have a ridiculous amount of pressures in my life right now, but having been assured that to find my answers I must press through, and that the only way to get to the end is to get going, I realise if I'm going to stick on this journey with Him I should work on my attitude. I can work on being more positive, seeing the good, speaking out the Word expecting it to come to pass.
On my birthday I made my husband and dog go on a long walk with me.
We basically walked from where I stood to take the photo, to over the brow of the hill in the distance and a bit beyond. It rained. The camera battery gave up. We lost the dog's lead and had to go back for it. But ... I spent time with my dear husband, I got exercise and I really enjoyed the walk. And looking back on the journey, on the sense of achievement having walked that far, is terrific. In essence, it was worth it. And it was a lovely view.
And I know that ever so quietly and unassumingly, someone else walked with us along the way ... If only I paid more attention to the fact that He's always with me, I might have a more worshipful and thankful attitude in my heart.
May you know Him on your journey, may He lift your weariness, and may He show you the way forward and give you hope. Be blessed : )
The past month has seen: business accounts and tax returns completed, personal tax returns done, my birthday, my first tutorial and the start of studying for training to become a preacher (it took a while to get into it, I could hear the cogs in my brain squealing as they started up after many years of child-rearing and non-study time!), working hard to get some very essential jobs done on the house, my eldest son has had issues at school and we've had to look into whether he should move school and my eldest daughter had an operation. Plus everyone had to be fed, bills had to be paid and housework and work had to be done!
I'm aware I start many posts with a list of why I've been too busy to blog, and I'm sorry about that. I think on the whole these past 6 months or so I had become increasingly weary of the endless list of essential things to do, never seeming to be able to get onto the things I felt called to or drawn to, and being continually bogged down by ill health.
I have considered many times perhaps selling our home, as we have enough equity in it to at least clear our debts and make life a little simpler, at least financially. And with less money pressure I felt my health and the pressure on my husband to keep working with a trapped nerve in his back would be reduced. But one day when walking past a potential house we could move to, I felt God say quite clearly:
"You keep looking for an exit, but the only way out is through."
This was emphasised to me again when reading book 2 of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The main character Katniss is speaking to an old friend of hers:
"I just can't wait for the whole thing to be over," I whisper.
"I know," says Greasy Sae. "But you've got to go through it to get to the end of it."
The ridiculous and sometimes overwhelming busyness, the spectre of debt always at the edge of my vision, the ill health that never seems to go away and sometimes comes screaming back into my life in full force, the long-held God-given dreams that have yet to materialise. All these things over decades of waiting have left me a little weary and battle fatigued. Then, when crying out to the Lord for help or seeing a potential solution, the Lord turns round and says 'there will be no short cuts with this lot, you must go through.'
But even I have to admit that God has spoken to me. And by speaking to me, He has shown me that He is with me in this. He is aware of what I'm going through, how tired I am. He's aware that the temptation to short cut this journey nags at me and it's hard to resist, as I can list so many positive things from relieving the pressure. And by the very fact that He's bothered to speak to me (I am only 1 person of nearly 7 billion on the planet), He's shown that He cares. And if He cares, and if He's aware, then it's reasonable to presume that He's got a plan and all the solutions I need are just a short distance away.
Who knows, maybe by being so grumpy, weary and negative and generally a bit 'doubting', I am actually slowing the whole thing down?
So, as well as being there in acute times of pain, He is there in the long, ongoing, wearying types of pain too. The 'I'm just so tired I don't think I can even cry or speak or lift myself out of this position anymore' type of pain.
I do have a ridiculous amount of pressures in my life right now, but having been assured that to find my answers I must press through, and that the only way to get to the end is to get going, I realise if I'm going to stick on this journey with Him I should work on my attitude. I can work on being more positive, seeing the good, speaking out the Word expecting it to come to pass.
On my birthday I made my husband and dog go on a long walk with me.
We basically walked from where I stood to take the photo, to over the brow of the hill in the distance and a bit beyond. It rained. The camera battery gave up. We lost the dog's lead and had to go back for it. But ... I spent time with my dear husband, I got exercise and I really enjoyed the walk. And looking back on the journey, on the sense of achievement having walked that far, is terrific. In essence, it was worth it. And it was a lovely view.
And I know that ever so quietly and unassumingly, someone else walked with us along the way ... If only I paid more attention to the fact that He's always with me, I might have a more worshipful and thankful attitude in my heart.
May you know Him on your journey, may He lift your weariness, and may He show you the way forward and give you hope. Be blessed : )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)