The LORD appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." Jeremiah 31.3 (NKJV) I'm sure you've all seen a beautiful sunset. The above drawing was based on a photo of one when the rays of the suns light just shone out. You know what I mean - when you can see the light reaching out across the sky. And the colours! As an artist and a painter, I am so often blown away by the colours God paints across the sky. And the idea that this is how the world was made; that all these different things come together and hold in place for those colours to be there. I find it quite insane sometimes! I can't get enough of sunrises and sunsets. The remind me that my God is creative. And that I was created also to be creative.
There's this old hymn that we've sung a few times at my church before lockdown which says: 'There's the wonder of sunset at evening, The wonder as sunrise I see; But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul Is the wonder that God loves me.' (A hymn written by George Beverly Shea.) A sunset can be an incredible sight. The depth of the stars in space can be an unfathomable occurrence. The intricacies of a flower, it's colours, and how it thrives can be an epic tale. But it is all such small things compared with seeing the incredible, unfathomable, intricate beauty and truth of God's love for us. God's love doesn't fade into night. God's love can't be travelled across, no matter if you could travel forever. God's love doesn't droop or wilt or die. It is the same today as it ever was, and whatever we see or don't see around us, there is nothing that could take that away from us. "Yes, I have loved you," says God. YOU. Stay safe, and take care!
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You will keep that person in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26.3 (translation mine) I'm going to share a little more about me in today's post (not that I don't mostly just end up doing that anyway...) - I keep the Sabbath. Now, it's not some legalistic thing I do with a million and one rules or lists of 'I shall not...', and I absolutely don't do it because I think it'll get me into heaven or that people who don't do it won't be invited. Not at all! I keep Sabbath because it injects rhythm and purpose into my weekly walk with God.
I try to do things on Sabbath that will direct me towards God - I spend time reading the Bible, worshipping and praying, I sometimes study books about faith and God, I talk with people and make sure I know how they're really doing, and sometimes I get the chance to make things while doing some of that as well! I love creating as I worship, or pray, and making things that focus me on some aspect of God's character, either alone or alongside a friend. Last Sabbath I got to do just that. For my housemate's birthday a couple of months ago I'd gotten her a lino-cutting starter pack, and we'd liked it so much that we'd gotten some more pads, and then we hadn't really done much with them. After we enjoyed a good lunch together (with cheesecake for dessert - my all time favourite!), we decided to do some printing. I had this verse in my head from earlier as it was the one sent to me that day to illustrate for my church's Look up in Lockdown post, and I just sat there reflecting on this idea of "perfect peace". And in that day, of not having to worry about productivity or work; and in that meal, of being open and true with my husband and closest friend; and in the discussion we'd had about the intricacy and beauty of the flowers that adorned the table, sent to me from my sister earlier in the week - I felt a sense of that perfect peace. So I made a print of one of the carnations that stood in the little jar of water in front of me. To remind me of that beautiful time when there was no fretfulness, no rush, and no worry, and to remind me that this is what God wants for each of us. Peace. Shalom. Wholeness. Perfect peace. Stay safe, and take care! The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Psalm 35.15 (KJV) I've been struggling with prayer meeting since Lockdown. Like, I used to always go when it was in church, and sometimes I had to cycle in the rain to get there and I'd be cycling just wishing it could've been in my house. And now it is, and my church has started doing a prayer meeting every evening now, so I can even pick when I want it to be convenient for me. AND so many more people are going now, because lots of people struggled with the travel before and now don't have that problem. But as much as it's become more convenient for me... I've become less likely to actually go, and when I do I rarely say anything, and afterwards it doesn't feel like I even went to anything anyway.
It's strange. I don't like not seeing the people I'm praying with, and I don't know when to talk or not. It's just strange! But it's also encouraging, to hear the prayers of those who share my faith. To be united with one purpose - to help each other through this time and to bring all our cares, worries, thanks and praises before our God. The one place where something can actually happen about them. So maybe it's not about feeling comfortable or having prayer meeting go my way - but about sharing in this fundamental part of Christian faith, together. Stay safe, and take care! [Daniel, to Goliath:] You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you curse and mock. 1 Samuel 17.45 It doesn't take a giant to kill a giant! I remember back when we actually went to church, one of the girls (age 5-6) would repeatedly ask me for the story of David and Goliath. I'd try and convince her to have a different one sometimes, but we'd always come back to this tale at some point! She clearly passed that love on to her little brother too, whose dad asked him why he loves the story so much this week. And with an innocent look and a smile on his face, he answered, "because tiny David killed the giant Goliath!"
With kids, good and bad is so easy! If the good one kills the bad one, it's happy days! I remember when I lived with a family a couple of years ago, and we were watching The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for film night, and when it got to the ending fight scene, the 4-year-old girl saw Aslan's army go charging off and was shouting, "Yes, go, go, go, kill the witch," like she was in some 16th century witch-hunt!!! It's not so easy now. Did Goliath want to fight for the Philistines, or was he forced because of his great size? Why was this war happening anyway? Who had started it (if it's ever that simple...)? I'm not a fan of violence, in any form, and this tale has lots of it! But there are times when I have felt like what I was up against was bigger than I could overcome. Like I'm tiny David against the giant Goliath. When I was going through my times of disordered eating and struggling with anorexia, it has felt like a giant standing between me and the way to being healthy again. And those times certainly felt like a fight. A fight it was often easier not to fight, like the Israelites, cowering and shaking in their tents, not putting anyone forward, hoping it would all just be fine in the end, even if they didn't actually do anything. They could take the mocking and the shame, the humiliation - but they weren't willing to take the pain of trying to fight and losing. And each time I've felt like I was in the hands of anorexia (those giant hands coming out forwards out of my illustration), I am convinced that I have only survived because I finally let God come and fight it for me. God is the reason tiny David killed the giant Goliath. And God is the reason we can overcome things that are far too big for us to overcome on our own! If you feel like you're up against something way bigger than you can overcome, remember today that it doesn't take a giant to kill a giant. God is there, waiting for you to let God in and transform the possibilities! Stay safe, and take care! May my prayer be set before you like incense... Psalm 141.2a (BSB) So many people are lifting up prayers to God, so many people talking about God, so many people sharing something of God's steadfast loving kindness with their neighbours, with their family, and with those who are hurting. And I am convinced, that as our prayers are lifting up to God, God sees them (all smells them if they truly are like incense!), and God acts.
Whatever comes from all this, I pray and hope that it will be a world more aware of the effect we as humans have on each other and have on our planet. I pray and hope that we'll be more conscious of what we are giving our time to. And I pray and hope that those of us who know God's unfailing love will be more courageous to share it with others. Please God, act for good here. Stay safe, and take care! |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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