Fitness check?

I am very aware of putting faith in loads of different things and people. I may not always call it faith. Basically I believe in something I cannot see but I know it will work. For example when I drive over a bridge I believe it will hold me up, I don’t get out of the car and go and check the state of the bridge before driving over it! I think that if there are no warning signs from the police or council it will be safe.

Another example is when I buy a packet of ginger nuts do I believe they contain ginger and trust the label is telling the truth? Think of all the daily activities we apply faith to; someone says they like our new coat; a builder says he will come tomorrow to mend the leak; the recipe says the cake will be cooked in 20mins; the petrol gauge says we have half a tank of petrol; I expect the chair to hold me when I go to sit on it; the technician says our computer is broken; my daughter tells me I am the best Mum!! Well do I believe the last one??

What Timing?

This last fortnight I have been having an amazing time caring for my special friend Penny who has had her hip replaced after four very long and painful years waiting for the operation. She was bent over prior to surgery walking on a zimmer and she is much younger than me!! Now she is giving everyone eyeball to eyeball contact as she walks upright on crutches.

Delays: When it was first planned, she had reached her goal weight much to everyone’s joy as the target was impossible when she couldn’t move. She was so encouraged as were all her friends and family. The big day was looming and I was packing my case preparing to be in Penny’s house when she arrived home from hospital, but it was not meant to be, Penny had an infection and it was delayed for another two weeks and then a repeat of the infection resulted in a further delay for Penny. Then the great Wednesday came and the anointed work was done.

Right time: In our home we had taken in a very beautiful and especially gifted girl who was awaiting a place in rehab. She had come to stay with us for two weeks to prepare for rehab and to start facing up to some of her issues that had led her down her destructive path. One day when saying grace I tagged on the end ‘please God can she have a place in rehab and also the money to pay for it’. Within 3days she was offered her place and her social worker had the call to say the money was in place. This was God, experienced before her very eyes, relevant to her lifestyle!! When I found out Penny’s op was delayed the first time I was able to tell our resident that she could stay till she went into rehab. She was over the moon!! And that is just what she did! So Penny’s delay was such a blessing and the following week David had problem at work so it was great I was able to be physically beside him rather than on the end of the phone line!!

Outcomes: So we can trust God that all things even delays can work for our good, training us in how God wants us to behave even when our plans don’t work out! No point in stamping our feet or grumbling and complaining, just rejoice that ‘our time is in His hands’!

The Joy of Rejection...

Been thinking a lot recently about something we all do to others and yet are devastated when others do it to us. It can be life changing, can affect relationships with friends, family and work situations. This is rejection! When was the first time you felt the devastation of rejection? Probably at school or even earlier which is very hard to cope with.

Then we build on that time and start to expect it, so we withdraw and miss out on so much potential in our relationships. In some cases we even have a string of divorces or broken friendships and we don’t understand why! We develop a victim mentality and feel very sorry for ourselves, but need to recognise we have made poor choices with painful consequences.

When we were staying in Australia earlier this year with our daughter and her husband if I needed to challenge our 7yr old granddaughter (which only happened twice when her Mum and Dad were having a well deserved break) her reaction was to back away from us and become withdrawn. God used her to speak to me so much about my reaction to Him when He disciplines me. Also when I feel guilty about something I have done wrong, even if I repent I allow feelings of rejection from God to rise in my heart even though that is totally contrary to the Word of God. Because I don’t feel forgiven I take on rejection and have been known in the past to have gone cold towards God. So I pay back rejection with rejection!

First day of the rest of my life!

So exciting! My first blog with lots of help from Mary and Jacco O, and patience from my wonderful husband. Where would I be without him?

This week was meant to be very quiet as I was supposed to be going South to care for a friend post-surgery but God had other plans as her surgery was delayed for two weeks.