Resilience

I'm writing this from central Africa where I have been visiting the four families who work with MAF. It's been a difficult time, confirming that life in Africa is very unpredictable, and to survive in ministry you need a degree of resilience. I arrived as one family left at short notice because a close family member is critically ill. Last week another family were forcibly evicted from their home because the owner wanted to give the house to someone else. Yesterday, the wife was stopped by the police as she drove to the school to pick up her 3 children. When she complained she was roughed up and 'arrested'. It was several hours before she was released, and the issue is still not resolved. This morning I heard how the third family had been burgled a few months ago, possibly by people they had been trying to help. I will spend the afternoon with a family where the wife is homeschooling five children and struggling with diabetes.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a setback, the courage to get up again when you've had a fall. The apostle Paul said 'We are knocked down, but not knocked out' (2Corinthians 4 :7-12). Where do we find such resilience?

Partly it has to do with our personality, but much of it comes from how we understand and interpret what is happening to us. As Christians we interpret the events of life through the grid of the sovereignty of God, and the belief that somehow, he is able to work all things together for our good. See Romans 8:28. This doesn't mean we don't feel the pain of difficult events, but that we can find meaning in them, even if it is more with hindsight than at the moment.

One reason we spend time regularly soaking up God's word is so that we have this 'God perspective' within us when life throws up the unexpected. We may well be shaken, but we don't have to be swamped because we are convinced that we are in the grip of grace.

Remember the sabbath 2

Yes, I know it's been a long time...

Anyway, I continue to think about the sabbath, and the other night whilst in bed but not sleeping, I had a rather profound thought. The reason we hear so little about sabbath today is because the church has withdrawn it from the list of Ten Commandments and sustituted another in its place. Guess which one? Tithing! Tithing is the new commandment of the modern church, and its there at the expense of the sabbath, which seems a bit whimpish in the present climate (who needs to rest?) where we have so much to get done.

And the reason that tithing is so popular - at least with church leaders - is that with all the programmes we have going, and building projects, and outreach events, we just to have to keep the money flowing in... So let's emphasis tithing (so we can keep going) and conveniently forget about rest (so we don't have to slow down, even for God).
What do you think? Is that's what has happened? Or was it just a vision of the night?

Finding sabbath (1)

I've given this post the number (1) as I hope it will be one of a series - but don't hold your breath as I haven't exactly been good as posting my thoughts. Today though I'm in a writing mood and have just completed an article on Remember the Sabbath? for submission to a Chrisitan magazine. I don't know if it will be accepted or not. The editor was a little suspicious when I mentioned the word 'sabbath' as I guess lots of people are. Perhaps he thought it would be a bit heavy and full of condemnation for those who don't uphold the sabbath and go to Tesco's or use ferries to get to Lewis on the Lord's Day. Of course it's nothing like that, because sabbath has nothing to do with law, and everything to do with grace. After God finsihed creating the world, he rested (Genesis 2:2), not because he was tired out, but because he had finished and wanted to admire his handiwork. Also, because he wanted to establish a pattern for us too about how to live in the world he has made, according to his rhythm. Having been created on day 6, Adam begins his life on earth with a day of rest. He enters in to what God has done, to enjoy all that he had made for him, and to receive everything he had provided. That's grace, and it is at the heart of sabbath. Resting in what God has given us, in its sufficency and its adequacy. That is why we speak about the rhythm of God's grace. Keeping sabbath is part of how we enter into that rhythm and experience that rest. Doesn't sound heavy to me? Does it to you?

Good intentions

I had intended to keep up-to-date with this blog, aiming for a posting about once every 7-10 days, but as you may realise I have fallen hopelessly behind. The reason? Just too busy to sit down and be creative, and not enough time to reflect on what's happening in my own life. Although I teach all the time about the importance of working from a place of rest, and although I do practice it for the most part, sometimes my work schedule takes over and something has to give - in this case it has been my blog.

Interestingly, I still felt a little guilty for not doing it. It's not as if thousands are reading it, but it was a target I set myself and I failed. How easily we place ourselves under laws, and then when we don't measure up, allow those same laws to condemn us! As a result we lose a little of our sense of peace and our joy is diluted. That's when we have to learn to give grace to ourselves. It isn't that we have sinned and done something wrong before God; just that we have transgressed our own standard of perfection. We need to forgive ourselves and move on, doing what we can in the time available.

So here I am writing again and feeling a bit more creative. And if you don't hear from me in the next 7-10 days don't worry. It shows I'm living under grace, not law, and I'll be back at some time. be patient with me.

Suffering unjustly

I'm thinking today of a young lady I know who has been treated really badly by her church. She's served faithfully for a number of years on the staff of the church, but has found herself sidelined and replaced by someone else, and all this without any personal word of explanation. I'm sure she is hurting deeply, and probably a bit confused. Her story is not an isolated one. Sadly, it is common for churches to treat their staff badly. There are no trade unions to protest and no employment laws to protect, so when unaccountable leaders operate in autocratic ways, people get hurt.
When we suffer unjustly we have a major choice to make. How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become embroiled in a major conflict. Alternatively, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of identification with Christ in his sufferings. Somehow, Christ's sufferings continue beyond the cross (Colossians 1:24), and we can share our sufferings with him. This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. This is the 'fellowship of his sufferings' (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to intimacy with God and the release of his power in our lives.
Easter reminds us that Jesus was a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. As we remember how he carried his cross to Calvary, we are challeneged to take up our own cross and follow him. Sometimes life will cause us to walk with him along our own version of the Via Dolorosa, the path of sadness.

Holy Pottering

I've been pottering today. It's what I do when I'm really tired and can't concentrate on important tasks. I've had a really hectic spell on the road and arrived back on Sunday afternoon feeling shattered. I don't often reach such a point of emptiness, but I did on Sunday, so I'm grateful for a gentler week ahead of me, and the time to potter.
Someone, for whom English is not their mother tongue, asked me what it means to potter. The dictionary says to potter is to work in a lesiurely manner, to dawdle, to take one's time. I find it really helpful sometimes to spend my time doing 'little things', and to do them slowly. Like tidying my desk, putting my books away, re-organising my rucksack.
Doing things that aren't high priority requires less of an effort, and when we do them at a leisurely pace we find that are souls have time to catch up with our bodies and we can come back to a place of wholeness and integration.
A wise friend once spoke to me about 'holy pottering', and I guess that's what I've been doing today. It feels really good. Why not try it?

Being Present

One of the effects of modern technology is that people are no longer 'present' where they are.

Take the young person at the bus stop, earpieces in place listening to music and oblivious to what's going on around her. Or the couple out for a stroll in a beauty spot. He is on his mobile phone, talking business to an unseen person miles away, maybe even in another country, whilst his partner is forgotten and ignored, and the beauty around him neither seen nor appreciated. And what about the person having coffee in downtown Singapore, but connected up to the internet and living their life somewhere else, out there in cyberspace. His friend, ignored, reverts to texting to pass the time.

We are in danger of losing one of the great attributes of the spiritual life - the ability to be present to the people, place and circumstances where we are at any one moment, giving them our full attention, and receiving theirs in return. It is the basis of communication, and communion, between people and with God. The sacrament of the present moment. Wherever you are, may you be truly present to those around you.

Awareness

I've been asking myself why I am writing this Blog. Is it just for the benefit of anyone who happens to read it? I've come to the conclusion that it is as much for my own benefit as that of anyone else. I really enjoy the discipline of asking 'Where has God been in my week?' and then putting something together in print. It is a modern form of the prayer of Examen, I guess, and helps me to discern the hand of God in the ordinary things of my ordinary life. I'm more and more convinced that this kind of awareness is an essential aspect of the spiritual life. It makes God more 'present', but it does take discipline to notice his activity in the small things. I think as well that it helps us to be alert to the movements of God in daily life, and to be more aware of what he is doing, so we can respond accordingly. Jacob discovered that he was sleeping at the very gateway to heaven without realising it. 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.' I don't want to go through life with my spiritual eyes shut. Do you?

Keeping in touch

I've been working away all week at a conference centre in Dorset, in the south-west of England. It was cold, the food was poor, and things were quite disorganised, but strangely it was a good week... we had some great people on the courses I was leading. One of the most difficult things for me was not being able to get on the Internet for longer than a few minutes here and there. I have become so used to being in touch through email when I am away that it is strangely disconcerting not to have such contact. I'm also used to updating my Facebook fairly regularly, and to seeing what friends are up to, so not to be able to do that for the best part of a week left me feeling out of touch, as if life was passing me by. Strange that. It shows how my life has been influenced by these new forms of communication. Of course I can survive without the Internet, and I don't need Facebook to enjoy relationships, but it has made me think about my regular contact with God. Wherever I am, and whatever I am doing, I can always speak with Him, and He with me. That's the kind of relationship I value and treasure, and I want to make sure I stay in touch with Him - that I 'abide in Him' (John 15).

I can see clearly now

I went to this opticians this morning because my reading glasses have been broken for some time and I had the opportunity to drop in at one of the major shops in town. They tested my eyes very thoroughly. Isn't it embarrassing when you can't read a single word on the card they show you, and then on the next one even the top line is fuzzy? Somehow it makes you feel incompetent and slightly stupid, as if everyone else can read this, but you can't. I thought my eyes would have deteriorated a little, but was surprised to be advised that I should have glasses for driving as well. I am not aware of having hit any parked vehicles, but not wanting to risk it, I agreed to take the free second pair for use when I'm driving - and of course they weren't really as 'free' as I expected given they needed to be tinted as well. The biggest challenge that lies ahead of me now will be keeping track of two pairs of spectacles. I have trouble with one, but with two? It's just another sign of the irresistible process of growing old. At least my spiritual vision is unimpaired and not deteriorating. And I pray that the 'eyes of my heart' will continue to enlightened so that I know more and more about Jesus.

It's finished!

I sent off the manuscript for my next book, Working from a Place of Rest, to the editor yesterday. It is always a thrilling moment for me, the culmination of a lot of hard work over a long period of time. People often ask me, 'How long does it take you to write a book?'. Well, to actually physically sit down and produce the manuscript, I would say about 6 weeks if I can work at it without interruption. But of course, I'm usually working with the material for at least two years beforehand - shaping it, and road testing it in my retreats and seminars. Then if I think the theme is significant enough to put into book form I'll do a lot of background reading to fill out my own understanding, find illustrations of what I want to say, and gather suitable quotations from others to confirm what I am presenting. So it's long process and there's a great satisfaction when the writing is completed because it really is hard work. It makes me think of the glorious cry of Jesus on the cross, 'It is finished'. The tough work of providing redemption for us was finally over, and relief and satisfaction flooded over him. But then the work of waiting. 'Will people like what I've done? How will they respond to my finished work?' Every author asks those questions, even the Author of our salvation.

When the snow falls

I should have been in Stafford today, but the weather forecast suggested it might not be wise to make the journey. I was up at 6am to check the weather, get ready etc and it looked fine this end.... but the TV suggested it would be snowing in the Midlands, and I heard that the M1 was down to one lane. In the end I decided not to travel, but I felt really bad about letting the group in Stafford down. Managed to contact them about 7.30am, and they were understanding and able to rearrange their day. It's also possible for me to go and do my stuff next Thursday, so I didn't feel so bad. But then the snow came here, and it snowed hard all morning, so I was really glad I hadn't set out. Meanwhile I've got on with a load of things I have to do, but which would have been neglected otherwise. All of which reminds me that whilst a man plans his way, it is the Lord who directs his path.