6 Lessons from the Sea
Over the last few months, after the blessings of a lifetime of good health, I’ve had a run of unexpected physical health issues, that have had me visiting a plethora of hospital departments. Thankfully, none of them so far have been life threatening, but it has unnerved me, and at times I have felt in the midst of a circling, stormy fog of grey, further exaggerated by the severe seasonal storms we have been having lately, across the country. My experiences have made me think...
Unexpected...
Unlike our ever-improving meteorological weather forecasting, the storms of life often come when we are least expecting them, and we may feel completely unprepared for the demands that they make upon us. So, what keeps us safe, when turbulent tempests roar unwelcome, into our lives?
It seems to me that as in the case of a real storm at sea, preparation may be the key...
Some enjoy Valentines Day as a way to show how much they care for someone they love, but equally many find Valentine’s Day a difficult one, especially when supermarkets and shops relish turning red each year as they roll out an increasingly commercial festival with blatant emphasis on couples.
So let’s get some things straight...
- Love is not limited to couples. Love is for ALL...regardless of marital status, age, ethnicity, size, ability, gender or anything else....we all need to receive love, and to give love, but there are so many ways to do this.
- The word “ love” in the English language is terribly restrictive , when there is so much more depth to the word. We can all love each other in different ways, to make our communities and the world a better place.
- Love is often not pretty or surrounded with flowers. It can be difficult, complicated, and messy, but it is strong and when we are betrayed in love by one person then it can be the love of others, in friends and family and the love of God that strengthen and enable us to go on.
- Human love is fallible, but God’s love is not. What amazes me is that, despite my flaws and faults God not only loves me but sent his Son to die for me. “...God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
I’m not very good at resting…or at least, I haven’t been until recently!
Sometimes, though, we are stopped in our tracks by some unexpected event, that knocks us sideways, and enforces us to STOP.
This is how it was for me, on the last day of November last year, when I did nothing more exciting than walk home after a very pleasant evening out with friends when, whoosh... my feet slipped from under me whilst walking over icy, wet autumn leaves…and there I was, sat ungainly on the pavement with excruciating pain in my wrist, trying to control the tears. I knew I had broken it, and around 8 hours later, my worst fears had been confirmed.
Would the Spirit have come
Had they not waited obediently,
Staying together
When likely they felt bereft and confused,
Wanting to give up and go their separate ways?
Would the Spirit have come
Had they not listened,
Attentively attuned
To hear the bold beginnings of that Holy hurricane…
Had they not been alert
Watchfully waiting
To see the fiery fulfilment of this brand-new baptism?
The Power of the Spirit...to live
“Send us out in the power of the Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory”, so we pray at the end of the communion service.
I love the sentiment of this line. It always fires me up, anew, and in the moment I say “Yes, Lord...send me!” but I wondered today, not for the first time, how earnestly I really want this, or believe this, or accept the unfettered power of God’s Holy Spirit in my life?
How about you? Do you ever wonder some days, where on earth the power of God’s Spirit is in you? It all seems so possible, stood amongst God’s people in the warmth and wonder of acceptance and forgiveness...until the moment you leave the comfort of communion to step into the demanding, often pressurised requirements of daily life and begin to rely on your own strength instead of His....