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Hallo Ma

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  En net so het Ma se eerste hemel-verjaarsdag gekom en gegaan. My kop het geweet Ma verjaar maar my hart wou nie toelaat dat ek te veel daaraan dink nie. Ek ontdek nou op my eie rype ouderdom dat daar beslis ‘n plekkie in my is waar seer gebêre word. Dit voel vir my asof hierdie plekkie se deur net so stuk-stuk oopgemaak word sodat ek nie my asem verloor nie. Ek sal nie verbaas wees as Ma die engel wat daardie deur se oop en toe beman, self ge-interview en aangestel het nie. Dankie daarvoor. Hier by ons het ons nog twee spesiale feesvieringe gehad op Ma se dag. Ma se jongste kleinkind het verloof geraak en Ma se tweede jongste agterkleinkind het haar vierde verjaarsdaggie gevier.  As ek nie van beter geweet het nie, het ek gesweer Ma het dit so gereël. So het ek Ma my lewe lank geken, daar was nie ‘n berg wat te groot was om geskuif te word sodat ons hartseer met blessings verruil sou word nie. As dit wel Ma was, het dit gewerk. Ons kon lag en met sjampanje cheers, al’s is ok. Ma hoef
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Unconditional love - the greatest gift of all.

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Today is Christmas, a  day of reflection, gratitude and celebration. It is also one of the saddest days of the year for many.  As I clear the dishes left from our own family meal, I find myself reflecting on how sadness has sneakily creeped into my own life, taking up space right next to love, gratitude and happiness. I remind myself of the importance of not allowing it to overshadow the legitimate tenants of my head and heart, sadness is limited to enjoy short visits only. Our tables are still filled with laughter, good food and crackers, but the empty chairs are stark reminders of  the reality of a life lived here on earth. Nothing remains the same. Life in our own country in particular has become incredibly challenging and the reality is that many families have decided to emigrate. We were not exempt. Parts of our family heart is now scattered all over the world.  We will celebrate Christmas with them during whichever month of the year we are able to see each other. Christmas in Jul
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Prayer in the time of Covid.

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Inspiration has been lukewarm during the past months. Sometime in January of 2021 though, the title 'Prayer in the time of Covid' fell into my soul like a heavy bag. A heavy sand filled bag. One that I knew I couldn't ignore. In October 2020 I had written the words of Psalm 119:133, 'Direct my steps by Your Word', on my blackboard. So I already knew that the the words I was looking for to encourage, guide and console when praying in this very intense time we are living in, would be found in the Bible. I just had to look for it. As I navigated my way through wisdom penned so far back in time, I felt a very specific prayer developing. A prayer that would be made up of words dealing with faithfulness, truths, warnings, fear, pleading, requests, promises. A heavy bag. I started writing down the verses as I found them. A whole A4 page of them.  Around me, I felt the Covid net being pulled tighter as friends and family battled the monster that had turned their lives upsid
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Nowhere to go.

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As I looked at my own reflection in the mirror as I dried my hair this morning, I found myself asking the question: "Why are you doing this, you have nowhere to go?". I have nowhere to go. Millions of people all over the world are facing the exact same predicament. We have nowhere to go. Life as we know it will probably never be the same again and even once we are allowed to move around freely, I suspect the statement will change from 'you have nowhere to go', to 'where to now?'. Where to, once we step back into a world that has been shaken to it's very core. A world that has questioned and cried out in the midst of chaos: "Where are You God?". Where is the God who answers prayers and whose very core is made up of love, grace and mercy? Has He deserted us and is it fair to say we have nowhere to go because He has given up on us? While I continued to dry my hair, I found myself answering my own question. "Just because you have nowhe
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Can you hold space for someone?

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For a while now, I've been thinking about the concept of 'holding space' for someone. This is the kind of space one creates when you choose to walk alongside or stand in for another person. My curiosity was sparked by an article that I read about the topic and I thought it would be interesting to explore the importance of implementing this as a way of living.  The idea of creating space for, or sharing space with someone is not something new to me, I have just never heard it put that way. Holding space for someone. I liked the idea. In the article the author wrote about how their family had someone who comforted them while her mother was dying, helping them cope whilst they in turn were carrying their mother during her battle with cancer. Supporting each other whilst things were dark and difficult. Holding space for one another. I wondered how one should view this concept, from a Christian perspective. I turned to the back of my Bible to find referenc
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Standing through the storm

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Today, as I walked along the beach, breathing in cool salt air, I was reminded of the little bee I found on that same beach not so long ago. I remember being on auto pilot at the time, my body operating automatically, one foot moving in front of the other whilst my mind was a million miles away. The chances of me spotting a single struggling bee on the wide expanse of sand in front of me was really remote, and realizing that fact now, as I reflect on it, makes the significance of the encounter stand out even more. I saw her struggling to move, a little black dot that did not belong on the white canvas that stretched below and beyond her.  She was in obvious distress, seemingly unable to fly, as if something was weighing her down. I was immediately drawn to her and picked her up. In her distress she did not even attempt to sting me. I had no idea what to do to help but taking her away from the water, which clearly wasn't were she was supposed to be, seemed to me the onl
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A language of confirmation

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I’ve always felt strangely uncomfortable when someone states, with bold presumption, that the Lord told them to do something, to go somewhere or to believe or not to believe something. My discomfort lies not with the fact that someone feels that the Lord has guided them somehow, but to say that the Lord ‘told me’ or ‘the Lord said’, implies that He communicated almost audibly, in no uncertain terms - the same way as we would to each other. It does not factor in that we are human, flawed and fallible and perhaps what we thought we heard, came from ourselves and not from God. We know that the Lord spoke to a fortunate few who lived in Biblical times. Moses heard the voice of God coming from within a burning bush, Saul heard Him through a light on the road to Damascus. There are so many more examples. I love the story of how God spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun. After Moses died, the Lord instructed him in no uncertain terms regarding the future of the Israelites. The Lord tel
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