Random Acts of Kindness

‘Give me your hand.’ Maybe you wouldn’t have received that as a special kindness, but believe me, with a steep mountain, or a river crossing before me, it was more than  a kindness but a life-saver.

‘Kingen di.’ I recognised those words as meaning ‘Give me your hand.’  A new- comer to the remote highlands of New Guinea and unused to roughing it, my fellow missionaries laughed at the wonderful way in which the Lord helped me, for when trekking to some out-station there always seemed to be someone who stepped out of the bush to give me a hand just when I needed it.

There are other ways of giving a hand or being there for people. My mother used to say, ‘There are so many needy people in the world, and for most the best thing you can give them is a little bit of time.

It is true, isn’t it? A burden shared is a burden halved, they say. My mother was elderly and disabled, but with her stick and her little car she went around to visit the shut-ins, and if she couldn’t visit she would write or phone.  

At Easter time I received a random act of kindness. Our little Elijah, not yet four years old, came running up to me and placed a tiny chocolate egg in my hand. Given a boxful by his mother, it was his idea to bring them to church to give away. How blessed I was to be chosen to receive one. Especially blessed because I  in turn was able to give it away as a random act of kindness.

Dear little Kitty, two years old, was getting fractious. I remembered the egg in my pocket. Kitty snuggled in beside me as I unwrapped it. The sweetness of that egg lasted a long time as from then on Auntie Pauline was given lots of hugs.

What joy grew out of Elijah’s random act of kindness.

Let’s be aware of the many random acts of kindness that God is strewing on our paths; and let’s strew some of our own, if it is just to give a hand to someone struggling with a heavy bag, to stop to pass the time of day; a letter, a timely phone call, or a prayer.

Thank God for random acts of kindness.

Was it a random act of kindness, or was it the North Wind herself that brought this book into my hands when I was feeling low with a cold? It was certainly a gift from God.

My friend was supposed to be downsizing into a smaller house, and explaining that some things she could not part with, such as this box of books she had read to her children. She held up ‘At the Back of the North Wind,’ by George MacDonald. ‘Oh,’ I exclaimed. ‘I would love to read it again.’

I was probably an adult when I first read it, and I remember how God had reminded me of its message. I had been sure God would not send me anywhere with mountains or log bridges, and here I was in New Guinea with plenty of both. I had somehow got ahead of my companions and was overcome with fear. I could not go back or on. God gently reminded me of little Diamond. His friend, the North Wind, had carried him in her arms to the cathedral, and placed him on a ledge, high up. There was not room for her to walk beside him and when he expressed fear she withdrew. She could not be friends with cowards. But as he was willing to trust and to step out so she blew strength into him. I too was able to step out in faith. From then on I wondered how I had found those mountains daunting.

George Macdonald, before the times of C.S.Lewis and Tolkien had written the most beautiful fairy stories, allegories of the life of faith.

I was told that this book, ‘At the Back of the North Wind’ is about death. I was surprised at that , for I had thought that maybe the North Wind represented suffering, but now, as I read it again many years later I think it is neither, but a most beautiful picture of all that our Lord Jesus is and wants to be in our lives.

Little Diamond, whose daddy is a coachman, sleeps in the stable above where big Diamond, this wonderful carriage horse, sleeps. His mother plugs up the knot in the wood by his bed, but the North Wind wants to come in. She becomes his friend, and carried him far away. She has to do many things which seem to be all wrong, but Diamond learns to trust her and see how she is working out God’s purposes for good.

Eventually his trust in her is such that he wants to go through her to the land at the back of the North wind. Has he come through death to heaven? No, for after a while he is brought back from a serious illness, but from here on he has had a taste of heaven and so nothing can perturb him.

The family go through great trials, but in it all Diamond sings his special songs that he had heard from the river of God. When his father is ill he takes out big Diamond, now a cab horse, through the dangerous streets of London’s East End, but nothing can make him afraid and he is able to bring grace and blessing wherever he goes.

Eventually all turns out well for the family and all those involved in his life, and at the end it seems that our little Diamond has died, but we know that he had gone through the North Wind, this time to reach heaven itself.

And as his relationship with the beautiful North Wind pictures our relationship with our wonderful Saviour, I pray that we, like Diamond, will allow nothing to perturb us and give us courage to face every difficulty, for we may not, like some, have entered into the outskirts of heaven only to return for a season, but we have tasted of the powers of the world to come and have sat with Christ in heavenly places and so we too, can quietly trust that He will turn everything to good for us as we trust in him.

That was more than a ‘random’ act of kindness when I was lent this book, and just maybe you may find that this blog is more than such a kindness to you who so patiently read.

DOES GOD SPEAK TO YOU?

This was the question I was asked. My reply had to be ‘Yes,’ yet I remembered my aunt’s reaction when a nephew, recently become a Christian, had given up his job, declaring God had spoken to him.

‘I’m sure, if God had chosen to speak to someone, it would not have been to him.’ She had found him an arrogant teenager.

But when Jesus was on earth it was the outcasts, the sinners whom he chose as his friends; maybe some arrogant teen agers among them. He said he didn’t come to save the respectable people but those who were lost.

So I had no problem in answering my friend that yes, God did speak to me. But now she wanted to know, ‘What does his voice sound like?’ I am still pondering over that one. She insists that God uses our own voice, only deeper.

It was through reading ‘the Calvary Road,’ that I first realised that I was found among the ‘whosoever’s’ for whom Christ died. In acknowledging him somehow a miracle had happened and he had become the centre of my life. It became natural that I should speak to him and that he should answer me, the Bible now a living book.

I had been visiting an elderly friend who had been nursing her father and now also her husband. Crying out to God that it was all too much for her, she had been devastated when it was her beloved husband who had died. Not only was her heart broken, but her legs were covered in terrible sores.

I went to my room and kneeling before an open Bible, I read, ‘He binds up the broken in heart and heals their wounds.’  God was speaking directly into this situation, and yes, he did bring healing to dear Auntie Em.

Struggling to control over forty under fives, as a young teacher I complained, ‘Lord, I cannot teach these children.’ ‘But will you love them for me?’ came the reply. I was not conscious of an audible voice, but I knew deep within my being that God had answered, and I still know the Lord enables me to love the children for him.

But my new found salvation was making a rift between the teachings of my childhood. I remember crying out to God, ‘Lord, it was so easy for your disciples. All they had to do was to follow Jesus, and I am having to find out what is right and what is wrong.’ His reply, deep and sure, resonated through my being. ‘No, it is just the same for you. It is just for you to follow Jesus.’ ‘Lord, if that is true, then make it so plain that it is either to choose you or to deny you.’ – I don’t know if I had spoken out loud either, but this was a very real conversation and one that has affected my whole life. God did make it just so plain, and he still does when I am faced with a big decision.     

In my book, Wings of the Morning, you will find many reminiscences of how God has spoken to me. But now, once more living alone, I daily open my bible, expecting to find some word there from God’s father heart, and I walk through the day sharing my life with my Saviour.

How does God speak? Certainly I am not conscious of any other accent that that of my own. I know that God does sometimes speak in an audible voice. On the three occasions when the Father spoke to his Son, some had thought it was thunder. It was in this way that he spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus.

A friend of mine, in great distress, had gone into a church and God spoke to her in  a voice so loud she had put her hands to her ears, and yet the ladies, cleaning in another part of the building, had heard nothing.

Should we think it strange that God should speak to us? God spoke, and the world was brought into being, and Jesus himself is God’s final word. God spoke to Abraham, and later to Moses, as to a friend but later he spoke through his prophets.

When I came into the Apostolic church I heard God speaking through those with a gift of prophesy, and I received many personal words which have been very precious to me. But then  I would be amazed, in reading the Bible, that these truths that they had brought to apply personally to my life   were already there in this sacred book.

I remember trembling as I had dared to speak out prophetic words, wondering that this should be, only to find later that this was indeed God’s word, already written in his book.

‘It’s old, yet ever new,’ we used to sing, and it is wonderful to be in a church where God will take these ancient words, and apply them to our hearts and to our situation as something fresh and living.

But however we hear the word, whether an audible voice, one spoken quietly into our hearts or through a prophet, we must test the message against the written word of God, for we are at best frail vessels.

But Yes, Yes, Yes, is my answer to this question. God speaks to me, and I can come to him, expecting him to speak into any situation that arises in my live.

‘He walks with me and he talks with me..’ is another old song.

Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie, were in the terrible Ravensbrook concentration camp. On one occasion they were ordered to go to another part of the complex. It gave the sisters a rare occasion to converse without fear, but Corrie remembers it as a three way conversation. They were walking and talking with the Lord. Did they both hear his audible voice, or were they so in tune that they were hearing together in the depths of their beings? We don’t need to know, but we do need to know that God speaks, and he is looking for those who will listen.

He says, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.’

So maybe there is another question I need to answer, for God says, ‘today, if you will hear my voice…’. Am I hearing, and most of all, obeying his voice today?

(N.B. Wings of the Morning is available from me, Amazon, or free on Kindle.)

March 2014 - Barton Camp

Yes, with the promise of Spring in the air, it was time for our annual ‘Away Weekend.’  This year over 70 of us from Grace Community Church, Porthcawl, set out for a special time of blessing.

 

It was an easy drive to North Somerset, where Barton Camp is set high on a hill top, far from any floods. With the beautiful farm lands all around us, snowdrops and daffodils in bloom, and yes, glorious sunshine after the long wet winter, I for one felt we were like Jesus’ disciples when he called them up into a mountain.

 

 Those disciples, of course, had left their own families at home, whereas here we were, one big family, from one month old Baby Heidi to some real oldies like me. There were plenty of offers to hold the baby, help with the little ones and join with the older children in the sports hall to kick a ball around or play on the swings. Oh yes, and on Saturday afternoon, an opportunity for the young mums to go into Weston for yet more shopping.

 

But we had come apart to meet with Jesus, and for our special times there was a large circular room, warm and airy.

 

We were self catering, so much preparation had gone on beforehand, but everyone was delegated into a team and all took their turn willingly and happily. Ross’s extra hot curry may have been challenging, but in all the meals and the snacks in between were excellent.

 

But we had come for more than this daily food, and were ready to be challenged concerning our spiritual life and growth. I may have been let off the kitchen rota, but none of us dare evade this spiritual challenge, to get out of the rut we may be in and to go on in our pursuit of God.

 

A special feature of these away weekends is ‘Grace Has Talent.’ This made for some light hearted entertainment for Friday evening, especially as we have some up and coming magicians among our Kids Club members. But there was a song one of our little girls had courage to sing for us which touched my heart. I’m sure we were all amazed at the volume and joy with which Dee’s little granddaughter regaled us.

 

 ‘A whole new world.

 A dazzling place I never knew

But when I’m way up here

It’s crystal clear

That now I’m in  a whole new world with you.’        

 

 Somehow it summed up for me the joy we have in our relationship with Jesus, a joy which is able to make each day new and wonderful as we continue to walk and climb with him.

 

I am so glad that God never gives up on us, but continually challenges us to seek him with our whole hearts.

BLOG – LIFE IS FOR LIVING Feb. 14

‘You don’t die of cancer. You live with cancer.’

I was amazed at the boldness of a friend who, having recognised this dreaded disease, now used it as an opportunity to share her faith with others. No, she was not healed, as no doubt she, with her family had so fervently prayed, but she had lived out her days as an overcomer.

I guess we all fear death, especially as we face old age and experience the encroaching ravages of arthritis or the approaching fog of dementia.

As I read the Bible I am challenged by the record of those who, it seems, decided to sit down and wait for death instead of living to the full each day the Lord gave them. There was Terah, Abraham’s father, who set out for the Promised land but never reached it because, having arrived in Haran, he decided he was too old to go any further. The whole family had to stay there for years until it was God’s time to take him.

Isaac was another who, it seems, was ready to sign off much too soon. With failing eye sight, he decided it was time to pass on the birth right. We may know the sad saga of how Jacob tricked his father and all the animosity that came out of this, but deceived Dad lived on for many years after that.

No, we may not have the health and senses we once had, but we don’t have to fear, or to wait for death. We have a God who still heals, who renews our youth, and we don’t have to be ill to die. He called Enoch to heaven when he was out for a walk with him. And Moses! Well, he was one hundred and twenty years old, but it says his natural strength had not abated and nor was his sight dim. But his days, like ours, were numbered, so one day God came to take him home.

Life is for living, and not for dying.

Today the physicians seem to be winning the war against cancer, but now we have the dreaded ‘A’ word, Alzheimer’s. We need to remember that we don’t die of dementia or even Alzheimer’s either.

Jesus said that if we believe in him we will not see death. Sometimes I feel I am already bereaved, with my nearest and dearest in care homes, but no, they are not dead and we must enjoy what we have of them.

A dear godly friend, taken to church and wondering where she was or who were these folk around her, was aware of the presence of God, and prayed, speaking out a word from the Lord.

My lovely sister, who still has islands amid the rising flood of memory loss, was found sitting with one of the patients in the dining area, her Bible open between them.

George had to go into care after the death of his beloved wife. At times he could be aggressive in his frustration in being unable to understand why he was separated from her. However, other times we found him at peace so very conscious of God’s presence and his goodness. We were told that, seeing the patients sat around he would think he was in church so would preach to them, telling them about Jesus.

God cares for these people who are shut away because of their disabilities and so, as Jesus came among us, sharing all the frailty of human flesh, sometimes he allows his own to share these infirmities and the diseases we fear so much that they may demonstrate this word, that life is for living.

I thank God that day by day he teaches me to trust him for health and always for strength to take the next step. May I, and you too, always remember that indeed, life is for living.

Sibling Rivalry

Hearing the news of the death of Joan Fontain, I was so sad to hear that the sibling rivalry between her and her sister, Olivia de Haviland, also a film star, had persisted as a life-long feud.

‘Excuse me, but is she your sister or your friend?’ a child asked, when Mary came out to New Guinea to visit me. How thankful I was that I could assure her that she was my sister and my friend. But for God’s grace it could well have been otherwise.

Sibling rivalry is a common theme, in the Bible and in life. Cain’s jealousy of Abel led to the first murder, and the saga of Jacob and Esau, beginning in the womb, has repercussions even to this day.

How lonely is the child who has no brother or sister, and yet those born into a family often do not know how rich they are. I was third in a family of four. Such a secure place, and yet I was full of ‘if only’s. If I were the only boy; or the oldest girl, - and of course everyone knows the baby is special.

We need to bring assurance to our children, to let them know that each one of them is loved and special. It wasn’t until I learned that if no one else in the world had sinned, that Jesus would still have gone to the cross to save me, that I began to experience a deliverance in my life from this curse of jealousy.

Do we know the ten commandments? Most of us remember about not killing, swearing or committing adultery. I wasn’t guilty of any of those. But what about the last one; do not covet? In other words, Don’t be jealous.

Oh yes, I was jealous of my sister. 18 months older, she was always the pretty and the clever one. Or so I believed. Our parents thought it was bad for us to be praised, so if something good was said to me they sought to deflect it by referring to my sister.

Even in adulthood, I never knew my mother approved or was proud of me until I chanced to overheard her speaking on the telephone, but thank God we have a heavenly Father who delights to let us know that he is pleased with our endeavours, and who lavishes his love on us.

I adored my sister, but it was a love hate relationship, until I invited Jesus into my life. He showed me that my jealousy and sense of inferiority were sin, yes, SIN, because it meant self was on the throne of my heart instead of Him. And when jealousy reared its head, as it still can, I learned to claim the promise, ‘Jesus saves me now.’

Most of us know the story of Joseph, with his coat of many colours. No. 11 of 12 siblings, he had no need to be jealous. He was his father’s favourite, and it seems, God’s too. It is no wonder his brothers suffered from jealousy; a jealousy that could have ended in murder.

But if only….. if only they had gone to their father to ask if they too were loved, I hope he would have reassured them, and maybe suggested they needed to sort out some things; but I know if they had gone to God he would have told each one of them, ‘Of course I love you. I have a special purpose for you too.’

What a joy it is when brothers and sisters, and especially twins enjoy each other even from birth, and how sad when some wait until old age to discover they are best friends. If only those two gifted actresses had learned to recognise each other’s gifts, and instead of feeling threatened, been able to rejoice in each other’s success, how different their lives would have been.

Let’s make sure we do not have such regrets, but learn to be confident in the love of a wonderful God to whom each one of us is special, and let’s share this confidence with our children.

Christmas 2013

Christmas again? How does it come around so quickly? And how is it there still seems so much pressure?

I wonder. Are you looking back with nostalgia to the warmth and excitement of those Christmases of your childhood? Or maybe you are much too busy creating the mystery and thrill of Christmas for your own children?

Yes, we know there is so much commercialism and partying associated with Christmas and, for many, it is a pagan festival, the Christ of Christmas forgotten or  unknown.

Even so, I hope we may not ever become cynical about Christmas, for it is a time for us to remember and spread abroad the wonderful story of Jesus. It is Christ-mas.

I love to tell the children the Bible story; of the Babe,  lying in a manger, because there was no room in the inn; the child sent from heaven, announced by angels, described by the prophet as Wonderful, Prince of Peace and given the name Jesus because he is come to save his people from their sins.

I  encourage the children to identify with the little ones of Bethlehem, watching in awe as so many strangers crowd into their little town. Some might have stayed in their homes as they were all in need of a place to sleep.

With our houses full,  might we children have been sent up onto the roof? But doubtless  we would have been too excited to sleep. We might even have seen Joseph and Mary, he so anxious and she so weary, - but there is no room. We can’t help.

Maybe, in the early hours of the morning we are wakened to hear excited voices, and leaning over the parapet of the roof, we could hear the shepherds sharing the wonderful news of the angel’s message and how they had actually found it all to be true. Yes, they had seen him, this very special babe, lying in a manger, just like the angel said.

Having heard that,  would we have quietly gone back to sleep? Did you, when, as a child, you thought you had heard Father Christmas? I don’t think so. I’m sure those children would soon have been creeping into the stable, or cave, or whatever it was (having asked their parents first – we have to emphasise that.)

Sometimes we end the nativity play with the children too gathering around the manger with their toys or lambs, perhaps  singing

          What can I give him, poor as I am

          If I were a shepherd I would give a lamb

          If I were a wise man, I would do my part

But what I have I give him – give my  heart.

But this can’t be the end of the story. You see, by the time the wise men arrived it says the star was over the house where the family were. After all, who would allow a mother with a new born babe to continue to live in a stable?

I’m sure those children, having seen the holy Baby and heard the wonderful story would have begged their mothers, ‘Couldn’t they come and stay with us? We can make room. Please? Please?’

Somebody made room for that holy family, and today that is what God is asking of us. In all the joy and celebration and partying, will we make room for Jesus?

Instead of nostalgia and regrets for the Christmases of long ago, I am so thankful that Jesus is willing to come and share our hearts and homes, and yes, our Christmas too. 

Contentment

‘I am delighting myself in the Lord, and he is giving me the desires of my heart.’ That is not exactly what it says in the Bible, but it is my response of faith to David’s words in Psalm 37:4, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart,’ and I am doing what God told Joshua to do, to have God’s word in my mouth and in my heart.

It is many years ago since I learned the importance of speaking out these words of faith and my life was transformed, but it was a simple question from a friend that caused me to look back, to remember and to do some revision too. And so, here I am, sharing with you.

‘You don’t mind living alone, do you?’ was the question. ‘No’ I assured her. ‘I am content.’

Recently widowed, she could not accept that she was meant to spend the rest of her life alone. I have another friend, gregarious by nature, who finds great suffering in her singleness. So is it just the way I am made that I find contentment in my single state?

Memory takes me back to the remote highlands of New Guinea. I had always lived with my parents, and if they were away I would stay with my sister. I was expecting Mr Right, for God was calling me to the mission field and I was sure he would not expect me to go alone. Had he not given me assurance that he would bring someone into my life?

In the end I set out, yes, alone, but sure I would meet someone out there. When John, from New Zealand, came to our remote mission station it seemed like a fairy tale romance, but when he walked, or flew out of my life three months later I was left, broken hearted and desolate.

It was then that I was challenged by God, to have his word in my mouth; not to say, ‘Why won’t you heal me?’ but ‘You are the Lord who is healing me,’ and especially these wonderful words, ‘I am delighting myself in the Lord and he is giving me the desires of my heart.’ I spoke them in faith and in simple obedience, and little by little I found a joy and contentment in my circumstances so that when, a couple of years later, a colleague came, all aglow, to announce her engagement, I was not only delighted for her, but I realised that her joy was not any greater than my own in my present circumstances.

God was giving me the desires of my heart as I worked amongst the Enga people, known now as the ‘little children’s mother.’ It was another ten years before, my work abroad completed, God gave me a wonderful husband. I had 22 fruitful and joyful years with Joel before he preceded me to heaven and once more I am returned to walking alone.

I am so thankful that I had learned to be content as a singleton, for if we are looking to a husband to make our lives complete this will put a terrible strain on a marriage. But it is not easy to be alone, and the older we get the more it seems we are in need of company. After all, it was our Creator himself who said, ‘it is not good for man to be alone.’

But I’ve got my very special verse, and yes, I still have need to speak it out. I am delighting myself in the Lord and he is giving me the desires of my heart.’ In every need I am proving God, and I believe I have a very special privilege to pray for and sympathise with and encourage those who are finding it hard to walk this path of singleness.