Cowards and a cold ride

I enjoy re-reading the inspiring stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Despite being children’s books they contain much to motivate and encourage as they cover the journeys of a settler family in the USA pioneering westwards in the 1800s. Recently I read the cold ride where Laura’s future husband Almonzo takes his sledge and horses six miles through deep snow to pick her up and bring her home from school. Love makes us do strange things and he battles temperatures which break the thermometer at -40 before dropping lower still. Frequently he has to stop to break the ice from the horses noses so that they can even breathe. He risks his life, their lives and then Laura’s as she sits wrapped in skins and multiple layers of clothing nearly succumbing to hypothermia before eventually arriving home safely.

When asked later why he did this he replied “God hates a coward”

That got me thinking, does he? Mercifully no! However it is possible he is disappointed if we use fear as a reason to take our eyes off Him because it betrays our lack of faith in his infinite care, protection and provision. Without faith is impossible  to please him and we lose our way very quickly when fear not faith leads us off at a tangent. With faith it becomes possible  to attempt the impossible and he can give courage in the most stressful of circumstances. As I write this I am aware of many friends who today are facing horrible things with courage and faith and lack of cowardice.

“Do whatever your  hand finds to do for God is with you” 1 Samuel 10:7

Friends

My hubby and I have often said we make lousy friends – not that our friends are lousy but due to our nomadic life-style we find time to commit is challenging! Interesting that on my travels and as I spend time with church leaders wives I am frequently asked about my friendships, do I have any, is my life lonely, how do I manage? Picking up my Bible and scanning its pages I think of how Jesus was described as the friend of sinners and wonder if my idea of friendship is mis-placed. We tend to make good friends with those who are like us or who share a common interest or hobby, make us laugh or are there for us when life is difficult. A best friend is someone who is always there for us, listens to us and who takes a genuine interest in us.

Facebook accounts theoretically tell us how many friends we have, but checking through my account I realised some are more acquaintances than friends, but what does that mean? Is it only me that on a bad day Facebook makes me feel lonely and therefore assume I have no friends?! An orphan spirit creeps in and we believe its lies. Are friends therefore to cover the aching void we feel when alone or lonely? Looking at the lives of others  can lead me to generally assume that everyone’s life is more exciting, more friend filled, more fulfilled than my life could ever be!

I wonder how many of us seek to be a good friend rather than want a good friend?

A Bible verse I often have quoted to me is “he who shows himself friendly will have many friends” which takes the onus back to me rather than putting it on others.

Cats and blue tits

Guy in his wisdom has made a cute little turquoise bird box on our patio. We can see it day by day from the comfort of an arm chair. We were delighted when we discovered blue tits had found it and watched intrigued as they bought twigs and straw to kit it out. They flit cautiously from branch to branch, their heads cocked to one side alert for any danger, their beaks full of construction material. However danger abounds a-plenty in our garden as we have two cats.

This morning we drew back the curtains to see one cat balanced precariously directly on top of the box, her head cocked to one side, hopefully listening and waiting. To her credit she almost looked sheepish as Guy yelled out of the window and she reluctantly withdrew. It is in her nature to kill, she is conditioned, she cannot help it, stop it or feel  ashamed. She can not be talked to, appealed to, made to feel guilty and despite ever increasing barriers of holly, upturned nails, citrus peel she is drawn back again and again. She has no free choice.

Unlike our cats I do have choices despite the times it seems that what I do is not the good I want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. How nice it would be to blame our instinct when the truth is we do feel the shame, the guilt and the disappointment when we get it wrong. We do have a conscience, not to condemn us but to help us.

Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Our beach

This morning I popped down to our local beach to pick up a small quantity of sand, shells and little pebbles for a project I’m doing in a local hostel. The sun was shining, the air clear, the sky blue and the cliffs were covered in a blanket of amber gorse blooms with a wash of blue from lingering bluebells. As the beach came into sight instead of the normal swathe of golden sand there were chain fences, digger tracks, porter cabins and workmen. Not far out to sea is the enormous dredger lifting sand and re-distributing it over over the beach to enhance it ready for our summer visitors. Despite all this, it did not spoil the still beauty of the morning.

It reminded me of a conversation I had yesterday with a friend. She is going through a hard time, her faith is being tested. She is daily struggling with the churning up of opposition and criticism. There is a slight sadness to her that was not there before. She is disappointed. However despite this there is a new clarity to her, a new beauty, a softness, a fragility. Her “light and momentary troubles are achieving for her a glory which far outweighs them all”.

My thoughts are with her and others who today are struggling, but still shining.