A life guaranteed...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Every mother I know has her own arsenal of wisdom that she imparts to her children. Words of encouragement, words that are meant to sooth, words that direct and guide. The underlying sentiment of these arsenals is always one of positivity. I have always told my children that you can only ever have one thought in your mind. If negativity fights to invade my mind, I actively work on replacing it with something positive. I have found that this strategy has had a profound impact on how I navigate my way through life. What a tremendous gift it is to discover time and again, that every bit of wisdom that we need to understand our own bigger picture, is to be found within the pages of the Bible. The only thing required  from us is to make the time to search, understand, embrace and implement it. One of  the rewards of reviving this blog, for me personally, is that I am actually making time to think about topics that are important to me. Then I go on to research it somew...

I was drawn to this woman from the minute I saw her. She sat quietly in her little corner but her smile had a magnetic force that was irresistible. We were in Funchal, Madeira and she was taking part in one of the many Christmas events that they had all over town. I started chatting to her in my broken Portuguese and even though our exchange was basic, the warmth that emanated from her was tangible. The thing that stayed with me most was the expression in her eyes. She truly smiled through those eyes. When she heard I was from Africa she handed me a handful of goats hair as a gift - little did she know that the real gift she gave me was so much more precious! This morning, as I prayed about the Lord laying a message on my heart, I was led back to this picture and the following piece in the Bible: 'No-one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on a stand, so that those who come may see th...