A Collision of Old and Young

As a faith community we have created an environment we call “Upward Worship”. It has elements of food and fellowship, input and worship, reflection and mediation, prayer and ministry.  People enter in at all different levels during the worship and reflection space and all ages are present. 

I remember this one night when a young single mother came with her twin 12 month old babies. We had cushions and rugs all over the floor and while the worship was happening the children were playing up the front on the cushions. They would adventure to different spaces and at times they were hard to take your eyes off. They were so gorgeous. I wondered a few times if it was too distracting. I watched a few of our elderly and wondered if this would be a problem. The mother was so gentle with the children and had to rescue them a few times, but generally they we just being 12 month old babies and their innocent play was captivating, but not distracting if you didn't allow it. 

A few weeks later, one of the elderly women in our community asked me if at next “Upward Worship” she could share a story. I was delighted and then she asked me the name of the mother with the young children. It was an unusual name and she kept forgetting it. I giggled and wondered what that was all about, but didn't think much of it. 

So “Upward Worship” came around again and Ruth took the mic, sat on the edge of the stage and began to share. 

I recorded this moment so I am going to use her words for the next few paragraphs. I don't want to miss a word of her wisdom. 

She began to share… “how great it is to be in a church from young to old, and old to young”.  She said she wanted to encourage us and began to talk about the mother and her two beautiful children. She stopped and began to cry as she tried to describe how beautiful they were. She continued on to say that the mother “was such a beautiful mother, she just let those little children investigate, and then rescued them if they needed it, gave them a cuddle when they needed that. It really touched my heart”. She continued … “One of them climbed up onto the stage and then wanted to get down and he came up and touched the pillow and realised it wasn’t secure, so he turned around and went down backwards…and I thought it was just so beautiful". 

She was clearly enamoured by these children and after the worship had finished she went up to the young mother and told her she thought she was doing such a beautiful job with these children. How amazing it must have been for that young mum to hear those words of encouragement.

Ruth continued to share about … “how good is it that we can be in a group where we appreciate each other so much”.  

So then she said … “I went home and in the early hours of the morning I believe the Lord gave me a picture. A beautiful picture of myself and my heavenly father. How He is allowing me to go out and discover new things, experience new things and if I trip He just picks me up and loves me and holds me.  I want to say, those children ministered to me”. 

She talked about the power of a smile. She said, “A friend and I were talking not long after that about the power of a smile, and how if we smile to each other, we can affect and minister to others.   Isn't it amazing that God has created us with a muscle in our face that can effect someone’s heart”. (This was a statement of Gold to me) 

“I had this beautiful thought that not only was my father looking after me in that lovely time I had with him that morning, but He was also smiling at me. I am not special. He does the same for all His children and I just wanted to encourage our hearts tonight to the reality of God with us, caring for us, watching over us, helping us when we get into trouble and go the wrong direction.” 

She continued …  “When I was bringing up my children I would have smacked them and said “get down”, but this mother was just so gentle and I think that is what struck me most. You are all very precious to Him. He loves you very much, and He is on your case, but with a smile”. 

She asked if she could pray for us all and as we bowed our heads and closed our eyes, I could see her weeping, as she found it hard to get the words out. Her love for God often overflows in this way and as she prayed you could see the ways in which God overwhelms this beautiful woman. She prayed …

           “I thank you God for the compassion that you 

have for the youngest to the oldest. 

That you have brought us together as a 

community to share life together. 

 I thank you so much for your great heart of love for us. We can never thank you enough. 

I commit these precious people to you tonight, 

that they may know the deep reality of your 

powerful and gracious love. To be able to smile at you 

and to give us the awareness that you are not a Judge, 

but someone who loves us.” 

She finished with a verse …

Is 40:10-11

“The sovereign Lord comes with the power. The Sovereign Lord tends to his flock like a shepherd. He gathers His lambs in his arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those that have young.”

Ruth was open and willing to be taught by the play of two innocent babes and a young mother’s love. God can use anything, if we have eyes and hearts that are open.  When I consider all the things we could be doing as a “faith community”, it is moments like this that remind me that all He wants from us it to be together, to care and appreciate each other, to learn from each other and to honour Him with all that we have.  Is there anything more wonderful than that?

Faith Holds

There are modern parables everywhere if you have eyes to see. ‘The winds will blow and the storms will come, but the house on the rock stood firm (Matthew 7:24-27). It was all I could see as I walked the beach today. The morning after a big storm and there was seaweed all over the beach. It had been uprooted and thrown about by the sea all night. The storm had been violent and rough, the lightning lit up the sky, the rain heavy. The seaweed’s roots were planted in the sand and as the wind blew and the storms rolled in, the seaweed was easily tossed around. There it lay, all over the beach, being tossed by the waves back and forward as each new set came in. 

And then I saw a whole lot more seaweed that had been

knocked around, but their roots were still intact. As I pulled and dug down deep … they were in the sand but had laid their foundations tightly around a rock that was buried in the sand. During the storm and winds, those that had built their life around the rock, stood firm.  

As I walked a little further, there were a few that had been uprooted by the storm. It was a strong and violent storm that night, but when this seaweed had been dislodged the rock came with them and the connection between the roots and the rock were very firm. I liked the thought that even though they got tossed around and even thrown off course, the rock stayed with the seaweed. 

“I will always be with you, even to the ends of the earth”. (Matt 28:20)

The wise man builds his house upon the rock; a parable, my childhood song, a simple but valuable teaching. Today as I walked on the beach, it had another strong reminder.  As a child I could never imagine being uprooted, being dislodged, being thrown around by life. I was blessed with a strong and stable life, living life with Christ as the centre and a family that was stable. I always thought that was a story about the importance of building your life with Christ as your foundation and if you did all would be fine. I chose to do that from a very young age. A simple and “childish” faith. 

Today I still hold onto that faith as if a child. But it is no longer “childish”. It has been tested, pushed around, knocked down at times and even at times hard to get back again. Because of that it is now a strong faith.  Seeing the seaweed today,  holding tightly to the rock as it was getting tossed by the waves in the aftermath of what would have been a big night of being thrown around, there was something about the desperate way the roots clung onto the rock, that reminded me of myself, and brought me a sense of peace. 

A reminder of when you are only holding on by a small strand, but it is enough to get you through. The thought that even when you want to let go, your roots have been growing for so long they are entwined together and very hard to break. The hope that whatever is the connection between the rock and the roots, the rock is playing a part we can’t see and we should never let us go. 

Today, I needed to know He would never let me go. We all need to know this most days, more than we are sometimes willing to admit. The storm has passed today, the calm is here. But the storm will come again. Lord, like the seaweed, give us enough time to catch our breath, to plant ourselves deeply in You even more before the next storm comes. Help us to know that when the storm comes we will be ready and that You will never leave us. All that is required is the faith of a child, a simple story, a simple visual. Today it will be all we need to face another day. Thank you.

When "crap" literally gets in the way

I have always been fascinated with the sunrise. Something about watching it creep up and

say “hello”, turning darkness into light, and especially over the beach.  That moment when you can see the sparkle it puts on the water.  It is as if you can reach down and touch it. It is in that moment that I feel more connected to the sun, even more connected to my Creator.

I haven’t noticed it before but early in the morning as you walk along the beach the sun’s beam follows you as you walk. Sometimes leading, sometimes walking beside, sometimes slightly behind, but always close. I suspect if someone else was walking one mile behind me it would also feel the same for them. It is amazing that the sun can feel so close to everyone at the same time.

As the sun goes higher and higher, it no longer feels so close. I know it is always there, it is just harder to feel as close to it. But you know it will come close again the next morning … if you are willing to meet it again that early. It is important that the sun keeps moving.  The whole world needs to it too.  It is the sun’s job, but those precise moments when you can draw close to such a force is “life-giving”.

I think that’s why I love an early morning beach walk so much ... so why is it then that I only do it once or twice a year?

Cause “crap” gets in the way, even when you make the grandest plans. 

So just recently, I planned to take my camera and watch the sunrise. I was staying right near the beach, so I thought this was a no brainer. I got up at 5:50am in the morning to capture the sunrise with my camera. It is not so easy for me to get up early. It takes more effort than I want to give in the morning but I am never disappointed. I got dressed and ran down to the beach. I had found a good position, poised ready and set with my camera to capture the moment. It was so beautiful, watching the colours change in the sky. I knew it wouldn’t be long now, the sun never disappoints.

Asthe sun starts to creep over the edge of the world, I feel a sensation in my lower region and know exactly what it meant. OMG, I need to “poo”. Okay, clench hard, hold it in, this too will pass, I am staying here, this is where I want to be.

So, I am taking photos and trying so hard to ignore the urges that are getting stronger and stronger and not going away. This one is persistent. Seriously, why now? I can’t hold it in. I take as many photos as I can and then stand to walk back to my cabin.  I am walking backwards, taking photos and hoping I can control this urge. But it gets the better of me and it is not stopping. I run back to my cabin and the explosion into the toilet is impressive. But sorry to say that some did not make it to the toilet! I have the stains to prove it.

Now I interrupt this story to apologise if I have offended anyone with my detail, but it is strange that we don’t talk about it much. After all, it is a part of daily life, it comes and goes every day and it is NOT a nice substance. Yet we cannot escape it, in fact it MUST come and go each day or we will be in trouble.

When we need to “poo”, it is not a surprise. For some it is a relief, for some it is a pleasure, and for most it is simply a necessary part of life. Maybe if we talked about it more it might help us realise that “crap” is a part of life and we cannot escape it.

Try as I did to hold it in, make it go away, pretend it didn’t exist, stop it from getting in the way of my special sunrise experience, it took over and took me away from the one place I wanted to be. And left me with a yucky remainder of what I now had, in place of the relaxing moment on the beach alone with my camera and the sun.

So when “crap” happens and wants to spoil the moments, you always have a choice.

My choice … 

I got changed and walked back to the beach. The sun was still there, beaming, as if waiting for me to return. I spent two more hours, walking, exploring, taking photos, watching the sun follow me, sometimes lead me, sometimes right beside.

Have you ever wanted to spent time with God, had a plan, and “crap” gets in the way? Of course you have. Any time you want to spend time with God, do the right thing, seek out good things, expect “crap” to happen. It is important to know it will come and go and still the “son” will always be there when you return.

That morning it happened again in another form. Someone rang up to bother me about a vacation deal while I was enjoying my walk with my God along the beach.

My fault, you say?  Yes, I made the choice to answer the call in the middle of my beautiful walk with the sun. The world always finds a way to disturb you with things that are a distraction particular to you.  A holiday, a getaway deal ... I am a sucker every time. You might even ask, why do you take your phone with you, if you didn't want to be distracted? Well, I need it to get my steps counted, so I earn more Qantas points so I can fly for free on my next vacation ... oh, the “crap” that surrounds us, the ways we justify the distractions. 

For all of you it will be different. So, what’s your crap? Can you name it? It might help if you expect it. It will come and go, and yet you always have a choice ... to keep choosing to move closer to the “Son”, the one who never leaves, never fails and never gives up on you, always loves, always cares and walks with you every day.