Do you feel lost and alone?

It's a scary thing to be lost in a country where you don't know the language or the culture.  As I travelled through Phnom Penh (Cambodia) by Tuk Tuk just recently, It felt like the local Tuk Tuk drivers are always getting lost.  Talk about the blind leading the blind.

I remember the first time I came here with my family, I loved it, but it was an incredible culture shock. The Cambodian people are beautiful. They always smile and say ‘yes – I know where you want to go’ – even when they don’t, because they always want to be helpful! You explain where you want to go, and they confidently respond yes and then we inevitably get lost.

 I remember one day when I had my children with me; they were travelling in the other Tuk Tuk (with an adult friend who was Australian). We got separated and lost and I had no idea where I was let alone where my kids were. It was a scary 15 minutes that felt like forever. When we finally found each other, even my friend was scared. It’s that feeling of being completely lost, helpless and vulnerable.

As a result of visiting Cambodia over the past 5 years we have made good friends. So now travelling around, even when I don't know where I am going, is now a different experience altogether. I have learned to rely on locals who have become wonderful friends.

So on this recent trip, when travelling the streets that still are foreign to me, once I realised my driver was lost, I was at peace. I could even enjoy the adventure because I knew my friend Pheakdey (a Cambodian local) was only one phone call away. But even then, it was amazing how quickly you can find yourself in a situation you hadn't expected.

This day we had to ring Pheakdey, 4 times and by the 4th time we were still no closer to our destination. But for me, I was feeling at peace and enjoying the ride. As we travelled through a completely unknown area of the city I was just watching the view, which is enlightening, feeling calm, until my phone went dead.

I hadn't charged it when I left home - it was only on two bars when I left home. So very quickly I find myself sitting with my sweet Tuk Tuk driver, who is still smiling and nodding on the side of the road, together and waiting. I thought to myself, at the very worst I can go back to my hotel. I think I can find my way there. As I was thinking what I should do, I could not help but think if this was 4 years ago I may not feel so calm. I am a white woman, all on my own, in the back streets of a big foreign city, with Cambodian men talking all around me, no one looking any the wiser as to where we are.

I wondered how it might feel to be truly lost, feeling all alone, helpless, with certain options taken away and being at the mercy of a foreign outside force. Some people find themselves in this place by choice; others don't have a choice at all.

It can be a scary place to feel that you might not know how to get to a safe place; it is scary not to know who to call or who to trust or who can really help you. It is scary not to have the assurance of a higher power that will never leave you.

Of course this day I learned that my part to play in this situation is to make sure I am fully connected, always charged with His presence and in constant communication with the one who can help me best. If I had done this, on this day I wouldn't have been in this position.

But the underlying comfort for me was that I had heard my friend’s voice only 5 minutes before and after 10 minutes waiting and wondering what to do, my friend came and found me. He was my savior, rescuing me that day.

God is like that. We need never feel alone. We may get lost but if we seek Him He will find us. If you feel helpless He will comfort you. We may be like a foreigner in this world, but walking with Him means it can become an adventure, not a scary ride, until we finally come to the place where we live with Him forever and never have to feel foreign again.

It was just a Tuk Tuk ride in a foreign land, but this adventure could have been so different if I didn’t know where I had come from, if I didn't have a friend who was only a call away, if he wasn't tracking me and if I had my method of communication to Him fully charged.

Who was the real "neighbour:?

I am sure I am not the only one that has gone to the shop with the intention of buying one thing and coming back out with an armful. Today I had a good excuse, there was a great deal on kid’s crafts and I got a huge box full for an upcoming camp with 70% off. What I forgot was that my car was parked far away, but I was so excited about the deal, I felt like superwoman and was determined to carry them to the car anyway. About half way, I realised I probably was a little bit hasty in thinking I had the strength to do this. The box was awkward in size and meant I probably looked like an accident waiting to happen as I walked down the street, but I persevered as I continued to reveal in the great deal I had scored. 

While stopped at the lights, a man said to me, “Have you read the Word today?” Holding a tract and very keen to give it to me, I smiled and said, “No thanks”. But he persisted. I am not sure how he thought I was supposed to take the tract from him, but I could tell he was not going to take, “No” for answer. The “no walk” sign still shining so he had me cornered. I decided to pull out the “Christian” card and said, “Thanks, I am a Christian.” Immediately it became clear that this was not going to stop him either as he continued to question me further. I jostled the box backward and forward trying to showing him that I was actually struggling with my load. The light finally went green and I was able to escape further conversation, thank goodness. 

Arriving at the next intersection, I could see my car, the end was in sight, when an older lady walked up to me and asked me if she could help me with the box. I explained that my car was only a few more metres away and thanked her very much for her offer. She made me smile, what a lovely gesture on her behalf. 

This reminded me of the religious scholar who asked Jesus for a sure fire ticket to eternal life. This man had clearly read the Scriptures and knew it read, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbour as well as you do yourself.”(Luke 10: 28-29) “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, the scholar asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbour’?”

Jesus proceeded to tell the story of the Good Samaritan, a story many people still know well, but probably need to live out much more in our daily life. Today, that lady on the street was my neighbour and she probably wasn’t even a Christian. I am part of a movement called “Here2stay” that seeks to look at what it means to help people become lifelong disciples of Jesus. It has been said of Here2Stay (here2stay.org.au) that its focus is too much on DOING and not enough on The Gospel as WORD. We emphatically believe that both are important. I love God’s Word and all it teaches and encourages me, but today reminded me of how important DOING can be to daily life. How easy is it to stand and exhort people to read God’s Word but miss the opportunities to show love in very practical ways.  

We talk about INFORMATION + FORMATION = TRANSFORMATION

They are both important. Some may disagree with me, but I think the church has focused too much on INFORMATION and too little on FORMATION. Both are needed for TRANSFORMATION but the lady who was willing to simply lend her hand and help me, exemplified Christ to me. Through her actions she not only brought a smile to my face, but reminded me of what type of TRANSFORMED disciple I want to be. Would I have done the same if I saw ME struggling down the road with a big box? Or would I have just walked on by? As I sit and write this, I am aware that I can easily and very happily sit in the comfort of my room upstairs at home and read and study God’s Word, write blogs and messages to speak out God’s word as Gospel. Can I easily fall into the trap of becoming like the man on the corner asking people have they read the WORD today and miss the chances to BE Christ to those I encounter.

If we are going to see TRANSFORMATION in people’s lives, it must start first in us. What kind of neighbour are you? In a world that needs God’s love and “Word” more than ever, how can we be a part of the TRANSFORMATION we long to see?

To read more about what it means to be "Here2stay"…….click this link.

Parenting with the end in mind

My son turned 18 this year. A rite of passage that is to be celebrated. And we did celebrate it in a number of ways, but there was one thing that we shared as a family that was one of the most precious moments for me of his actual birth-day.

The kids landed on our bed at 8 am in the morning this morning.  They have done this for many years when they were little but that did not happen that often nowadays. Usually it was because they wanted their presents.

But that was not the reason this morning. For 17 years Sam has been waiting to open his “time capsule”.

At the age of 1 we had a dedication with family and close friends at our house. We asked those that came to pray for us and stand with us as parents and would THEY be willing to walk with our child on his “life” journey. We asked each person if they wanted to put something into the time capsule that he would open when he was 18 and today was the day.

Secretly I was hoping it wasn't going to be an anti-climax for him as I couldn't even remember what was in the capsule myself.

Before he opened it I read from a diary I have been writing for Sam since he was only 10 weeks in my tummy, the kids love to hear stories from it over the years. This first entry spoke about the fact that even before he was born he was loved.

Then Sam opened the capsule. In it was, his first dummy, his first ball, his first jumpsuit, his first shoes and his ultrasound picture.  Then there were letters and notes from the people who were present. Sam was like a child again as we all re-lived moments and memories, we laughed and told stories and then he opened a letter from his grandma (Dave's mum) who had passed a couple of years ago.

She wrote that she knew she wouldn't be here to celebrate this special time but she thanks him for the joy he brought to her life and that she will see him in heaven. Well, we all lost it emotionally at that point and cried together, but what a precious message from beyond the grave. A collision with his grandparent, even one that had passed away.

There were many precious stories and letters from people who are still in his life, some have moved far away, others are still close by and others who thought they wouldn't be alive but are...but what a special morning to share together.

Sometimes speaking into a person’s life doesn't have to be a hard thing to do, sometimes it takes simply writing a few intentional thoughts on a piece of paper. Sometimes it is consistently being there, or simply taking any opportunity to have a party with good friends.  It is Intentionally marking moments and always having the “end in mind”. The wonderful thing is that this was a moment for us all, not just Sam, we will all remember that morning for a long time. It takes a little long-term thinking of setting things in place that can create moments that can become anchors for the whole family for a lifetime. On this day, although 17 years in the making, showed SAM that he was always loved and that he will always be. Our prayer as parents is that he will always have these moments where ever he goes, that they may keep him anchored in “love” for where ever he may sail next.