TFTD - God is here

"God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place, where He is not."

                                                                            - A.W. Tozer -

Pray to love

"Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself."

                                                                         - Mother Theresa -

To which I would add something a very wise man once said to me: *Prayer might not seem to change the things or people you pray for or about, but it changes you, your attitude towards those things or people, and how you see and feel about the world. It changes your mind, and your heart, and that changes everything.

*Credit goes to the Rev. Tim Ditchfield, who first said this to me and who continues to remind me of this most important lesson. I try now always to pray from a place of love, to remember that my prayers are heard with love, and to pray that everything I do is governed by love. It's not easy but I try!

TFTD - Sabbath

"I feel as if God had, by giving the Sabbath, given fifty-two springs in each year."

                                                        - Samuel Coleridge Taylor -

TFTD - Say what?

"If you want to know what God has to say to you, see what Christ was and is."

                                                                          - Charles Spurgeon -

Post #100 - Serendipity

I thought long and hard about what to write in this, my 100th post, because I wanted it to be special. And I came up with lots of things, which you'll get to read about over the next few weeks :) But what I ended up choosing pretty much chose me. I am a great believer in God's grace - all that I have been, all that I am and all that I aspire to and will ever be, I believe comes from the Grace of an ever-loving God. Very often, I have found that this grace manifests itself in what I can only call serendipity. For example:

- I never planned to meet the people who have become my most treasured friends; we were just put in the right place at the right time so we could share one another's lives.

- The best decision I have made for a good few years, I made in a moment of crisis and to this day I still can't tell you why I did it. My world was falling apart, I didn't know what to do or where to go, and a voice in my heart told me to knock on the college chaplain's door - I had seen him around but had never really spoken to him and my regular church was outside of college. I would not have made it through 2010 and beyond without Tim, Jane and so many wonderful people who came into my life through the Chaplaincy, but I honestly had nothing to do with the gift that was given me.

- The right word always seems to come my way just when I need it most, sometimes via totally random text message, usually from one of the spectacular people I'm privileged to call friend, often when they (and I) had no idea I needed to hear what they were going to say to me.

And while I was trying to decide what to write, three people wrote me three separate messages, all of which came at exactly the right time, and all of which touched my heart and made such a difference to me, though they couldn't have known that.

So, in honour of grace, serendipity, and the right word at the right time, I am posting a prayer below which itself only ever saw the light of day because of, well, serendipity! It's by Paolo Coelho and originally appeared on his blog. You can read the story here. For now, I am thankful for the grace of God that shines in my life, and in yours, whether we know it or not.

The prayer that I forgot (Paolo Coelho)

Lord, protect our doubts, because Doubt is a way of praying. It is Doubt that makes us grow because it forces us to look fearlessly at the many answers that exist to one question. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our decisions, because making Decisions is a way of praying. Give us the courage, after our doubts, to be able to choose between one road and another. May our YES always be a YES and our NO always be a NO. Once we have chosen our road, may we never look back nor allow our soul to be eaten away by remorse. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our actions, because Action is a way of praying. May our daily bread be the result of the very best that we carry within us. May we, through work and Action, share a little of the love we receive. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our dreams, because to Dream is a way of praying. Make sure that, regardless of our age or our circumstances, we are capable of keeping alight in our heart the sacred flame of hope and perseverance. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, give us enthusiasm, because Enthusiasm is a way of praying. It is what binds us to the Heavens and to Earth, to grown-ups and to children, it is what tells us that our desires are important and deserve our best efforts. It is Enthusiasm that reaffirms to us that everything is possible, as long as we are totally committed to what we are doing. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect us, because Life is the only way we have of making manifest Your miracle. May the earth continue to transform seeds into wheat, may we continue to transmute wheat into bread. And this is only possible if we have Love; therefore, do not leave us in solitude. Always give us Your company, and the company of men and women who have doubts, who act and dream and feel enthusiasm, and who live each day as if it were totally dedicated to Your glory.

TFTD

"Failure is often God's own tool for carving some of the finest outlines in the character of His children; and even in this life, bitter and crushing failures have often in them the germs of new and quite unimagined happiness."


                                                                 - Thomas Hodgkin -

TFTD - weeds and seeds

"Pulling weeds and planting seeds. That's the story of life. We are individual lots on which either weeds of selfishness or fruit of the Holy Spirit grows and flourishes."

                                                                        - Dennis and Barbara Rainey -

TFTD - He knows the way even when you don't

“I was not sure where I was going, and I could not see what I would do when I got [there]. But you saw further and clearer than I, and you opened the seas before my ship, whose track led me across the waters to a place I had never dreamed of, and which you were even then preparing to be my rescue and my shelter and my home.”

                                   - Thomas Merton, The Seven Story Mountain -

He does know

“Our tendency in the midst of suffering is to turn on God. To get angry and bitter and shake our fist at the sky and say, "God, you don't know what it's like! You don't understand! You have no idea what I'm going through. You don't have a clue how much this hurts." 

The cross is God's way of taking away all of our accusations, excuses, and arguments. The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, "Me too.” 


                                                                                     - Rob Bell -


(I can't say it any better!)

TFTD

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."

                                                                                      - Peter Ustinov -

Servanthood

"We need to arrange a servanthood conference, with workshops in love, forgiveness, feet-washing, cross bearing- in short, workshops in Christlikeness. God is not waiting for people to get big enough to use, but to get small enough in their own eyes for Him to entrust with His mission and Spirit. Christ cannot be represented by swaggering leaders who "lord it over" the flock of God. He cannot be represented by puffed-up laymen who nominate themselves as church bosses. He can be honestly manifested only in the lives of those who feel, as did Paul, that they are "less than the least of all the saints."

                                                                               - W. E. McCumber -

I choose gratitude

When I started writing this blog, I had nothing more, or less, in mind than gratitude. Simply to be thankful for all the good things in my life, each and every one of which has been given to me, directly or indirectly, by the grace of God. I intended to write as a reminder (mainly to myself) that even in a day that looked utterly dreadful, there was always something, if only a fleeting moment, that was good and wonderful. That  every day contained a blessing, and each day was itself a blessing.

Life is complicated though ( a blessing in itself, though if often doesn't feel that way), and it has been very hard at times to keep sight of the blessings, or, for that matter, to spot them at all. Illness, sadness, disappointment, loss, anger... they can seem so all-consuming, so much bigger than the little things that make us smile. But in the end, the little things are infinitely more powerful than any catastrophe that life can throw at us. Those of you who know me will know that I don't say that lightly, nor do I think that it makes the awful things that happen any less painful. Life hurts. But I thank God I can feel pain, because it means I'm alive. I thank God for the heartache, because it means I love and I hope. I thank God that even when I feel like I'm running on empty, my reserves are somehow replenished so that I am given the strength to carry on, and to do things I never would have thought possible. 

I thank God that I can get angry with Him, and I can ask Him "why?", and still He stays with me and keeps on loving me. I thank God that even when I handle my life and my self so badly, He forgives me and reminds me that His gift, once given, is for all eternity. I thank God for crying with me, and not minding (too much) when my prayers are full of complaints and requests and I might be forgetting to give as much as I could be. I thank God for taking all the pain I pile on Him, and for hurting more so I suffer less. I thank God for walking beside me when I wake and for watching over me as I sleep. I thank God for never giving up on me, even when I feel like giving up on myself. 

I thank God for loving me, which is the most blessed thing anyone could ever do.

Henri Nouwen writes, "Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. it is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint...I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly."

I choose gratitude. 

TFTD - Look both ways

"We are apt to mistake our vocation by looking out of the way for occasions to exercise great and rare virtues, and by stepping over the ordinary ones that lie directly in the road before us."

                                                                                  - Hannah More -

TFTD - Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is God's invention for coming to terms with a world in which, despite their best intentions, people are unfair to each other and hurt each other deeply."

                                                                                    - Sharon Jaynes -

TFTD - All part of the pattern

"I once visited a weaver's school where the students were making beautiful patterns. I asked, "When you make a mistake must you cut it out and start from the beginning?” A student said, "No, our teacher is such a great artist that when we make a mistake, he uses it to improve the beauty of the pattern.” That is what the Lord does with our mistakes."

                                                                      - Corrie ten Boom -

What I learned from my dog

Yesterday, on the first day of the new year, my dog passed away. He had been with me for 18 years, having spent his first year abandoned before we rescued him - just as he was running out of time and the SPCA was about to put him down. Max was saved, and though he was "only" a dog, his life had purpose and meaning. He was part of a plan, and his life has shown me how crucial we can be to God's plan, even if we don't know it; even if we do nothing else but simply live. 

Max taught me so many things - even if it did take me some time to recognise some of them. He taught me:-

* That true love really doesn't think of itself. He was fiercely protective, and in turn, I would have done anything for him.

* That sometimes, love means letting go.

* To love with my whole heart.

* To always be happy to see the people I love.

* To smile a lot.

* Never to hold a grudge. (He was really good at this; I am still working on it!)

* To forgive, quickly and willingly - though that doesn't mean allowing people to walk all over you time and again. He was no pushover :)

* To approach each new day and every new experience with enthusiasm - even the walk he took pretty much every day of his life was utterly thrilling to him, every single time.

* To be grateful for the small things. I've never met anyone so happy to be given a single scoop of vanilla ice cream :)

* To show affection to the ones I care for, freely and often.

* To be patient (no one was as patient as Max waiting for us to finish what we were doing and take him for a walk / to the park / for a drive. That dog could out-wait the most determined procrastinator... And he was so patient when he fell ill it inspired me even while it broke my heart.)

* To be tolerant.

* To never give up, but to know when to let go.

* To be strong, but to know it's not weak to lean on someone else.
* To be brave, and it's ok to be afraid.

* To share, no matter how much or how little I have.

* To think of others.

* To be sensitive to how others feel, and to freely offer sympathy and a hand (paw) to hold.

* To just be there for those I love, unfailingly.

* To give lots of cuddles.

* To be humble.

* To trust and have faith. Max never doubted that I would love him and keep him safe. If my little dog could have such absolute faith in me, why do I have trouble putting my life in God's hands as completely and willingly as Max put his in mine?

* To be loyal.

* To never be afraid to show my joy - or to share my sadness with those who love me.

* To feel the wind and the sunshine on my face and rejoice, just because. 

* To take pleasure in every meal, and just enjoy it for what it is.

* To get enough sleep!

* To protect and defend those I love. 

* To live in the moment. Max had mastered this, and I think a lot of his happiness came from this place! This is a big one, and I'm going to keep trying because so much comes from this one thing.

* What you look like doesn't matter. It's what's in your heart, and in your soul (though Max was utterly gorgeous). 

* What someone else looks like, how much they know or what they have really really doesn't matter - what does matter is their heart and how they treat you.
* Things don't matter. People do.

* To treat others with respect.

* To be silly sometimes.

* To play, every chance I get.

* To laugh, a lot.

* To be kind.

* To enjoy every day to its fullest, whether you are deaf, blind, ill, in a wheelchair or in pain. Max enjoyed life right to the very end, and se he got every last possible atom of joy out of it, and gave even more.

* To give more than you receive.

*To be thankful.

* To sit under the shade of a tree on a hot day now and then.

* To do nothing from time to time, but just be, and not feel guilty about it.

* To accept praise, attention and recognition without excusing it away.

* To accept love without minimising it.

* To accept that I am worthy of love without questioning it.

Just by living, Max taught me all this and much much more. Not bad for a little dog, huh?

My darling Max, always smiling

At rest, in his favourite place, under the most fragrant flowering tree in the garden

New Year's Prayer

God grant us this year a wider view,
So we see others' faults through the eyes of You.
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue,
Neither the adult ... nor the young. 

Give us patience and grace to endure 
And a stronger faith so we feel secure. 
Instead of remembering, help us forget
The irritations that caused us to fret. 

Freely forgiving for some offense
And finding each day a rich recompense.
In offering a friendly, helping hand 
And trying in all ways to understand; 

That all of us whoever we are ... 
Are trying to reach an unreachable star.
For the great and small ... the good and bad,
The young and old ... the sad and glad

Are asking today; Is life worth living? 
The answer is only in, loving and giving.
For only Love can make man kind
And Kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind.

By giving love, we can start this year
To lift the clouds of hate and fear.


                                                                    - Helen Steiner Rice - 
* In memory of Max