Mum's the word

After all the 'overdosing' on mothers yesterday I'm daring to visit the subject one more time! I have to agree with a number of the sentiments, but was left with the conclusion that no way did I have the best mum ever - if you take a look at fb messages, there are just so many others out there! None of us is perfect and I didn't have the perfect mum - but the most important conclusion I came to yesterday was that she was mine and I loved her.

More importantly my heart went out yesterday to some lovely friends who I know longed for children they were never able to have; others who lost babies and children and never had others; and some little children who have lost mum. It's true of any celebration of anything - there will always be those for whom 'celebrate' is not quite the right word.

I have met some amazing mothers - here, but especially overseas. When things were tough many years back in Peru, mothers came to me looking for food - not for themselves, but always for their children - and often sacrificed everything short of life itself to feed them. I still meet incredible mothers in Rwanda, who against awful odds, raise strong, beautiful, Godly children. And I meet many many orphaned children, who without a mother, have raised themselves with the help of some often unsung mother figures. 

And I am 'mama' to some of the most amazing children ever - but then maybe I'm just a little bit biased! I never had children, but I love my African and Peruvian children with a passion. In Peru we often sang the song 'Jesus loves the little children - all the children of the world'. Today I am so thankful for all 'my' children and trust they will always know themselves much much loved by me, but most especially by God.

And to all you lovely friends out there who are mothers - for the last time this year - HAPPY (belated) MOTHERS DAY! May God help you do an amazing job x

  

Sound talk

Someone somewhere, according to a news report today, is making an archive of sounds from the past before the time comes when we hear them no more. Got us thinking what sounds from the past would we preserve or love to hear again. I'm sure, given time, I could come up with quite a list - but here are some. 

The sound of lawnmowers (the push kind) and old style hedge clippers ushering in long, hot summers - well, that's how I remember them!. The ring of the hand held school bell - especially when you were given the privilege of

ringing it. I remember being allowed to ring a similar bell in hospital to signal the end of visiting. The sound of guiders racing down the hill at the end of our street on ball bearing wheels. River sounds as we played endless games by the Lagan with no 'health and safety' concerns. The noise made by a steam train approaching the station - it scared me a bit, but often meant holidays in Bangor! My grandad's voice saying my name. 

Sounds, like smells, can be very evocative and moving. They can take us back to places and events almost forgotten. As I was doing the list above I was well aware of sounds that would haunt me if I let them - sounds I'd rather  be able to forget if I could. But I choose to remember the good sounds.

We live in a world today of constant sound - or noise. Some people seem permanently attached to sound from phones, ipods and the like. You could get the impression that there is no room for 'the sound of silence'. I'm reminded that God speaks often with that still, small voice; God speaks often in the silence. 

And my favourite sounds today? Babies giggling - the best sound ever. That first Sunday back in Rwanda each time with the sound of worship coming from church. 

Rust Proof

I love a bargain. I love something that proves its value. So many things today are throw-away, and while some of that is good, it makes for a lot of waste. Everyone has to have the latest whatever, so the not-the-latest becomes quickly obsolete.

Yesterday I was sorting my sewing box and found these little fasteners. The age might tell you how long has passed since I sorted my sewing bits! The 7D was what I noticed first, and that made me smile. I'm still trying to work out how much pre-decimal 7D is in real/today's money!? I am old enough to remember the arrival of the 'new pence'. I remember my grandmother handing her purse over to a shop assistant and saying - 'take what I owe you from there' - as she struggled to cope. Like most things with my gran, 'nothing good would come from 'them' changing our money'! And every time I spend 60p or so on a wee bun or a chocolate bar I can still hear my mum saying - '12 shillings - I'm not paying that!'

Then I noticed the 'rust proof' on the card of snap fasteners. And, would you believe it, there are 6 little poppers left on the card and not a speck of rust to be found! I have to say I was impressed. I wish I could find Mr Newey and tell him how good his fasteners were. I reckon they are certainly around 50 years old. Now for whoever bought them - that is a bargain!

I wish I'd lasted as well. I wish I hadn't the spongey bones, creaky joints and crummy vocal chords - though thankful for the good bits too! But one thing I never want to do is rust. Rust happens when something is neglected and not used. Or not made of the right stuff to last and do its job. I want to keep on going right to the end - bright and shiny and useful to God who made me. He certainly made me of the right stuff. It's up to me not to neglect what he has given me and to use all the resources he has provided me with for the purpose he made me for. 

The sewing box is all tidy with things I'm likely to use now easier to find - and whether I'm likely to ever use them, the poppers are going back in there cos it would be a shame to get rid of them after all this time now, wouldn't it?!

'Yeh but, no but.....'

At times I have to confess to being a bit of a procrastinator. I could make those calls now, but I'll wait until I've worked out what to say. I could do

those letters now, but there's still time. I could do some cleaning today, but there's always tomorrow. That last one tells me why putting off stuff is not a good idea as 'there is always tomorrow' is not necessarily true. Don't they say that 'procrastination is the thief of time'? That little word 'but' is a dangerous one, used for putting things off, making excuses or really saying no in another way.

A while back I remember saying that I don't think I've ever said 'but' to God. It made me thing really hard, wondering if that really was true. There have been times when I could have maybe:

Ok, I'll become a Christian, but I don't want to be like the rest of them!

Ok, I'll go anywhere, but maybe not Africa - God got the last laugh on that one 30 years later!

Ok, I'll go and live and work overseas, but after everything's sorted at home.

And I could go on. 

It would be so easy to try to go God's way on our terms - with the 'buts' taking us on little, seemingly more convenient detours. 

I want my 'yes' to God to be YES. The minute I say 'yes, but' it is no longer 'yes' but 'no'. And I'm sure we've all heard the old thing about you can't have 'no' and God in the one phrase. 'No God' simply can't be said.

'Yes, but' is really saying 'If we can do it my way at my time, when it suits me'. It's making excuses - we call them reasons! It's saying that I still want control. And that's precisely why we can't say 'but' or 'no' to God. He is in control and saying our yes to him is acknowledging that and going for it with him.

I just know that if I'd said 'but' to God in the past, including those above, I would have missed out on so much. I quoted above the old saying about procrastination being the thief of time - I heard another version recently which said that procrastination is the thief of dreams. So I hope I do always have the grace to stifle the 'buts' and say my YES to God each and every time he calls. 

Now, does this mean the housework will be done today? - in a word - NO! 

And if tomorrow doesn't come, too bad!

Enough is enough!

Some people have a 'bucket list' - things they want to do before they die or run out of steam! This can include places to visit. Last year I got to visit Rome - somewhere I'd always wanted to see. It can be something like learning a new language - maybe I'll get to grips with Kinyarwanda before I run out of steam! For some, it might be something new to experience - swimming with sharks, riding the world's most scary rollercoaster or jumping form an aeroplane - that's a no, no and another no from me then!

Others have a similar list, though this time it's the 'when I win the Lottery' list. I don't even get off the starting blocks on that one because it's hard to win when you're not in! But like many others I imagine, I have dreamt about what I would do with £1,000,000. 

I spent an hour in church this morning as we're open for 24/7 prayer. I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the way it helps me focus on God and the things of life that really matter. A phrase that stands out for me today from that experience is 'I lack nothing' reminding me that I have so much, and so much to be thankful for. It reminds me that whatever I have, I have enough. I lack NOTHING.

The world might tell me I need this, that or the other to be happy or fulfilled. It might tell me that without such and such an experience I 'haven't lived'. I might be led to believe that I am something less than complete because I haven't done . . . . whatever. 

But I know better. I know 'I lack nothing' and in Christ am happy, fulfilled and complete. 

Pancake anyone?

I have just had a pancake - hardly an earth shattering statement, especially considering it's Pancake Tuesday. The thing is pancakes are not my favourites. I'd never think of having one normally. They come pretty far down the list of my 'things to have with my coffee'. But today I had one - lovely actually - filled with raspberry and white chocolate. Yum!

But why? Because it's what you do today? because everyone else is having pancakes? The latter is certainly not true because by nature if 'everyone' does it the rebel in me rises up and refuses! I suppose though there is something in me that likes these little customs and traditions. I especially love it when we carry on family traditions and then, even better, make our own. There's something comforting in it all.

Today the pancake custom reminds me that Lent begins tomorrow and I'm still considering what I might do to mark it this year. I'm not one of the 'giving up chocolate' brigade. I will certainly give up something, but only in order to 'take up' something else - something beneficial; something of a challenge; something that will cost me; something I can offer God. What that is stays largely between me and Him - once I've come up with IT!

But my very tasty pancake and the coming of Lent and then Easter reminds me of all I have. I have so much to be thankful for. I have a home I share with my best friend. I have 2 mad dogs which bring us lots of laughs. I have things to do which bring me real joy and satisfaction. I may not have much 'real' family left, but I have a wonderful world-wide family and am 'mama' to some fabulous children. And as I think of them I am thankful that on this day I have more than enough food to eat - including pancakes - and pray that they too will eat enough today.

And I am thankful for Jesus. No matter what I might give up or take up, nothing compares with all he gave up, and the cross he took up, for me. So I simply say thank you Jesus.

And the Oscar goes to .....

The Oscar winners are in and I was glad to see '12 Years a Slave' was successful. That's partly because for once I have kept up and have actually seen the film. I found it powerful, moving and harrowing. It left me with the question of how could such a thing have happened? What ever made man think he could use and abuse a fellow human in such a way? 

I think the answer is in the question. Man didn't see man as a fellow human. He became something less; he became a commodity to be traded. And today, maybe for different purposes at times, trade in humans continues because someone looks at another and sees a 'For Sale' sign; a commodity to be traded.

And lest we self-righteously feel our hands are clean we need to remember that when we look at ANY human being and see them as 'other'; as less than human; we ought to beware. We all need freeing from self-righteousness, judgmentalism and prejudice. 

Coincidentally (?) today I just read this - 'If the Son sets you free, you are free through and through'

'One person's rubbish . . . . .?'

The car boot queens were at it again this morning. This was another of those fundraising mornings involving selling stuff no longer wanted or items donated - and being careful to BUY NOTHING yourself! The second part of the deal didn't work and never does - home with some lovely boxes, notebooks and new coffee mugs!

Every time I look at our boot table I think - 'who on earth will buy (this time round) a watch with no battery, a giant dice, a bag looking like it was made of your granny's old curtains and a back scratcher?!' But yet again we discover that there is a buyer for most items out there and a home for each treasured piece.

Doing boot sales is as much about the people and the conversations as anything else. We hadn't done one for a long time so it was good to see some old 'booty friends'. It is also a great place to people watch and play the 'I know who that is but - 

* where from?

* what's her name?

* how is it she seems to know me?' game.

I also think that one day I will be that person who finds the buried treasure bought for £1 and sold for £1,000's. Boot sales remind me that what we might call rubbish isn't so when in the right hands. And that's exactly what God says to us. You might think you've messed up, rubbished life or aspects of it - but God calls you treasure because in His hands that's exactly what you are - highly prized treasure - worth dying for.

By the way we raised some money for Rwanda. The dice sold to a lady who said they were hard to find! The bag looked amazing, quirky and cool over its new owner's shoulder, the back scratcher is still there - but if suddenly your back is starting to itch you know where I am! And the watch - gone to the great watch-maker in the sky!