Carol’s Blog

The Sunflower Seeds

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She discovered the seed packet at the bottom of the drawer. The date made her wince, what good would they be now? She couldn’t read from the packet what they were as she shook them into the hole she’d made. Half-heartedly she watered them and then forgot all about them.

Months later little green shoots appeared, but still there was no indication of what they were. In faith she now watered them and removed any diseased leaves. It wasn’t until July that she realised her mysterious seeds had grown into sunflowers. And not just any sunflowers but the largest and tallest she had ever seen, bright yellow and a beautiful rust colour.

Neighbours began to notice and those who had never spoken before congregated on the pavement and started swapping stories about their families. The street outside her house became a regular meeting place. Invitations for coffee were exchanged, some neighbours even shared outings together. Baby minding groups were formed and long after the sunflowers had died friendships continued. It all started by an old packet of seeds and the beginning of a dream.

Are we like old dried-up seeds? Can God galvanise us to share His word and make a difference? That is what happened to the disciples after Pentecost. Their tiny beginnings grew into a movement of millions and millions throughout the centuries. May we all be apart of it!

Not depleted

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In the gospels we read two accounts of Jesus feeding the hungry crowds. As different figures are involved we assume they are different occasions, but the need was the same – hunger. Seven small loaves had been found and after they had been distributed along with a few small fish there were seven baskets of left-overs. The lack of bread was eventually turned into left-overs.

Today God gives everything to His followers. Abundantly and miraculously we are all wonderfully blessed. In every country of the world, wherever the name of Jesus is lifted up people receive His abundant promises, throughout every generation.

Yet God is not depleted or diminished by His giving . He has still more to give. His wells of love will never run dry. By comparison our giving is so limited as we run out of money, resources, strength and enthusiasm. We need the energy of the Holy Spirit to help our limited generosity. Everything needs to be done in the name of the Lord. We are not called on to be do-gooders only, we are asked to show God’s love. Our strength is not sufficient, our enthusiasm not enough. We can never meet every need. May our generosity be God led and directed.

Tired as He Was

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As had so often happened, Jesus and His disciples had been travelling around the countryside. No catching a bus or train for them. Their only means of transport was donkey or walking. The disciples were now hungry and went into the village to buy food. Jesus foot-sore and weary needed rest.

Nothing happens by co-incidence with Jesus. We read ‘He had to go through Samaria.’ There was an alterative, but by divine intervention the route had to be through this unfriendly country. Jesus just happened to sit by a well where a certain woman came to draw water. We know that at the end of the story ‘many Samaritans believed.’

Jesus was divine but also human and reading through the gospels we catch glimpses of His humanity. On this occasion He was tired, often He showed compassion on those who were weak and suffering. In the temple He was angry at those who who were making His house into a den of thieves. He looked at Jerusalem and wept and at the death of Lazarus He also wept. His emotions could clearly be seen just by a look; think of Peter’s denial. He loved little children and gathered them round Him.

I’m glad that Jesus was human, so He can understand my small troubles and pains. I’m happy that He is divine, so He has the power to redeem me from my sins. 1

100% human and 100% divine.

The Lad was not Lost

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In later years Mary would tell the story of when Jesus was lost in Jerusalem. In actual fact he wasn’t lost, just lost to Mary and Joseph. They didn’t know where he was. But the lad Jesus was exactly where He wanted to be – in His Father’s house. It was natural for Him too be there, listening and asking questions of the wise and learned religious leaders of the day.

For His parents it was a time of unimaginable worry and concern. The boy was only twelve, Jerusalem was a large, noisy city full of foreign pilgrims. On the journey of a day back to Jerusalem the couple were alone without the protection of the extended family. When they got back to the city it took three days of searching before they went to the temple. It seems it was the last place they thought to look.

Mary’s comment to her son was only natural ”Why have you treated us like this?’ But this wasn’t about Mary and Joseph, it was about Jesus and His need to learn more about His Father. In our own lives we can think it’s all about us, but it is about the larger picture, about God. The world does not revolve round us, it revolves round Him. We are part of God’s plan, not Him part of ours. The world would be a better place if it always centred round God.

This is the Day

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As I said the other day. I see the daylight breaking and thank God for another day. Whatever our circumstances it is a day full of possibilities where I can receive blessings and tell others of His love. I don’t know what will happen during this day but God does. I have been graciously granted this day and I need to take full advantage of it.

There is no point in clinging to previous days, whether they be full of regret or not. They are gone, they can’t be redeemed. We can learn from our mistakes but we can’t live those days again. We can think the past was better but we are looking at them through rose-tinted glasses. On the whole they were neither better nor worse.

Nor can we live thinking only about the future. We need to make plans but it is not right to think that everything will be better in the days to come. They won’t necessarily be. We will still have our same sins and failings. The same people will still be around us. There will still be the same temptations.

This is the day we have today. I’m writing this on a Tuesday and this is a unique Tuesday, just like every day we have been granted. We have been given every waking hour of this day. We need to make the most of them. They won’t come again. And the best way we can make every second count is to give every moment over to God.

Open My Eyes

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‘Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.’ Ps 119:18

My friend Wanda is gradually losing her sight. She is suffering from hereditary problems and nothing can be done to save her sight. On the other hand, another friend Kitty is taken regularly to see the optician. In this way he can see any problems and take steps to correct them. We all need to do everything we can to protect our eye-sight. I’m told that sailors have good eyesight because they often look into the far distance. And we know that peering at screens too much can be detrimental to our vision.

As well as our physical eyesight, our spiritual eyesight can be damaged. King David needed to pray ‘Open my eyes that I may see.’ He knew only too well that our spiritual sight can be weakened and sightless. We can all become blind to our ‘neighbour in need’ and think they are someone else’s problem. We can become blind to our own failings and sin and imagine we are always in the right.

We need to have our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit. He will warn us when we are stepping off the straight and narrow. The devil would give us spiritual cataracts. We need to pray them away. We can turn our eyes heavenwards.

Do not Worry

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‘Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough worry of it own.’ Matt 6:34. Or as it says helpfully in the Message version ”Give your entire attention to what God is saying right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.’

I expect we all know someone who worries because they have nothing to worry about! It seems worry is built into our DNA. But why do we worry about things we can do nothing to change? Why are we concerned about the ‘maybes’ and ‘what ifs.’ Of course there is plenty we can be concerned about for ourselves and our loved ones. The whole world is a dangerous place with wars and fears of wars. . Poverty, sickness and natural disasters can all occur. but we are not expected to cope alone. We have a loving Father who who only wants the best for us. .

Do you remember what you worried about exactly a year ago today? It probably never happened, and if it did God was by your side.

‘Said the robin to the sparrow, I would really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush about the worry so..

Said the sparrow to the robin, I think that it must be that they have no Heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me.

Elizabeth Cheney

This Day

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‘This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ PS 118:24

As I pull back the curtains, the sky is still dark. I can’t even see the view outside. Gradually the sky will lighten and I will be able to pick out the at present unseen items in my garden. God has been gracious enough to give me another day. I have various things planned to do but I don’t know exactly what will happen. Good or bad, the events of the day are only known to God.

I need God’s mighty right hand to hold me. Peter didn’t know the day he was going to walk on water. It wasn’t in his plans and when he took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink. When Gideon was on his threshing floor expecting an ordinary day, he didn’t know God was going to have an encounter with him and call him to service. David wasn’t to know that an interview with the prophet Samuel would lead to him being anointed king.

If it isn’t raining, we can watch the sun rise higher in the sky and we will be living the day that God has given us . Only He know the outcome. Working with him can be a day of fulfilment or going it alone it can be a day of no worth.

What Were They Praying For?

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If the disciples were praying for Peter’s release, when they heard knocking on the door, surely they would have declared ‘Our prayers have been answered, Peter has been released.’ But no, they were baffled when the knocking came late at night and when Rhoda told them it was Peter, they declared that it must be his ghost. Stephen had been martyred, James had been martyred and they were expecting Peter to be the next. Maybe they had they been praying that he would die a good death and be true to his faith?

We should not judge them. How often do we pray for the wrong things or are amazed when God gives us what we have been praying for. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. We tell God what we want and the thoughts that we have but our ways are not God’s ways.

Peter had quite a different mindset from his apostle friends. He was so much at peace and trusting God that he was able to sleep deeply and peacefully. When he was free and staggering along the road, he thought he was dreaming. We know that Peter was prone to dreams, think of the large sheet of unclean foods and God’s lesson to him then.

We need to pray that God’s will be done and not our inferior will. He alone knows the end from the beginning and knows how things will work out.