Focus on the crocus!

Today has been good. Cold, but sunny- so I went for a walk round the green spaces near home. At last, Spring is nearly here. Crocus blooming, a few daffodils waving merrily, snowdrops nodding.

It isn’t just the flowers that cheered me up. It was being able to go for a walk (or slow ramble, if you like). I set no records for distance or number of steps- but I did get out for a walk. That’s a win in my book.

Focus on the crocus! A simple thing, but gorgeous.

Seeing simply in a complicated world is a great discipline to learn. I could have stayed home in the warm, but I ventured out and in the simplicity of spring flowers I sensed the joy of God! I didn’t sort out any problems, or solve a world crisis. But I was aware of God, and He is able to look after everything beyond my scope. As someone put it, as Christians we “are in sales, not management.” We are walking adverts for grace and love- God must handle the big stuff. If me walking round with a smile on my face and a prayer in my heart made any difference to anyone I met, that’s all I can take credit for. All because of a crocus or two.

Today- focus on ONE simple delight. Be grateful, and thank God. Leave the rest to Him.

Filling a Vacuum

“Nature abhors a vacuum.” This saying is traced back to the ancient Greek philosophers, probably Aristotle. It has become a statement of fact and observation. Whenever a vacuum exists, it seems that “nature” insists on filling it with something, even it is only air (a colourless, odourless, invisible mixture of gases).

My schoolboy physics is pretty limited but I have seen this in action. On a field trip, my Thermos flask knocked against a tree branch. As the glass inner vacuum tube shattered, air rushed in, chasing the coffee out and making a right mess. Now I have a stainless steel vacuum flask, and that works perfectly.

Adult life sees more proof in the existence of Hoovers (other brands of vacuum cleaners are available). They suck up the dirt so well. Didn’t Mr Hoover do well to nick the name- even when using a Dyson we say we’re doing the hoovering.

I’ve been thinking about “vacuum” because life-changes make vacuums. I used to have certain obligations and responsibilities at work. Paper round- must deliver. Digging graves for the council as a summer job- they have to be a set size and shape, and in those days it was done with a pickaxe and a spade. Office work… college course… Christian ministry… There were always expectations, timetables, diaries, accountability.

Now I am “retired” and my time is my own (mostly… Juliet has some ideas!).

I’ve started to notice there is a pressure. How will that time be filled? Horror of horrors- if not used profitably, there is daytime television to leach away the will to live… Honestly, I don’t need a funeral plan, I won’t borrow at 1,295%, and I’ve seen those shows before… Save me!

There is time to explore new possibilities. There are many things I could do; and many others that I have had to give up. I’m writing this as part of my response, to find useful ways of using gifts and energy. I love words, I love pictures. Rather than watch “Homes under the Hammer” I am using this blog as a kind of journal, exploring me-in-my-new-world and hoping somebody else may find common interest.

To leave my life as a vacuum is dangerous. Unless I choose what to fill myself with, something else will take up the space. “We put forth our best effort to defeat our worst habits. But every attempt to get rid of unclean thoughts, attitudes, and desires is destined to fail because getting rid of one creates a vacuum in our souls. As soon as we empty ourselves of one vice, others move in to take its place, and we end up just as bad or worse than when we started.” – Julie Ackerman, Daily Bread

I need help to fill my vacuum. Writing this is a way of building a structure that can contain the wealth of grace that is available if I make time for God and choose to focus on Christ-like attitudes and actions. Writing helps me think and therefore to pray. Balancing writing with silence and contemplation, and allowing time to seek Presence in Creation and beauty… that will fill the vacuum with what is good, holy, and true.

My photo today was taken down at the beach as a storm was clearing away. A sky full of rain emptied… and sunlight turned it into a double rainbow. A sign of Hope, of Promise, and of Presence. May the Light shine in me; may I be filled with Christ-Light.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT) When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Seeing with the eyes of the heart

Changes beget changes.

I didn’t expect to be doing this. My calling was to be a local church pastor. You may find that odd- do normal people still do stuff like that? (Depends on how you define normal.) Life changed in unforeseen ways. That’s why I now have the time to write- I was moving too fast before.

Thirty years in different communities, discovering how interesting people can be and what surprising things they have done; discovering more of my own centre, and the diverting experiences that made life so varied. Being a pastor isn’t all about Sundays. Much of my time has been spent on encouraging and managing change in others. Change for others also means change for me.

I have been learning how to see better. When I rushed busily around, I only skimmed the surface- the obvious things. Having been forced to slow down, I am discovering the more I look the more I see. The more I see, the more I pray. The more I pray, the more I know about myself, about God, and what makes sense.

Look at the photo. An early morning in a misty Norwegian fjord. At first glance, it was a dull and disappointing day. Then I began to look harder- I had the time, nowhere else to be. The perfect reflection on the mirror-like water, subtle changes of the colours in the soft light, and the sense of amazing peace. No-one else was up. Work hadn’t started for most of us, and there was no traffic noise. It was almost silent.

Quietness is an invitation to see more deeply. Time spent “looking” opens the eyes of the heart- and that opens the spirit to the revelation of love and grace that is God.

My hope is that pictures can be worth a thousand words: and with a few chosen words we can explore together so we see, think, and feel more deeply. No longer blinded by busyness… may God open the eyes of my heart.