God has a Sense of Humour

Saturday Night.

Our motorhome is almost packed and we are heading off tomorrow to Dube Private Game Reserve.

Life is not quite so simple however. I have asked one of our fellowship group members to lead the group in my absence.

The church has a lovely support system for group leaders with a monthly breakfast get-together and training. It was due to be tomorrow at 8am. I invited the stand-in leader to join me. My husband and I would go to church in the motorhome, I would attend the meeting, he would attend the early service and we’d leave straight after.

Meanwhile, today was the day when our Gideon weekly prayer meeting was to be in person rather than on WhatsApp. I don’t often attend the monthly in-person meetings. On Saturdays I usually take my granddaughter to Brownies and the timing might be tight. The WhatsApp method is easier. It’s not a problem to pray in bed from 7am to 7.30 and still be able to leave by 8.10. Assuming I would not be going, my husband planned a breakfast meeting with a friend and a fellow Gideon after the prayer meeting.

However, my granddaughter didn’t go to Brownies today because of a ballet rehearsal. I made my own plans. I needed to buy last-minute fresh vegetables before our trip. I decided I would go out to breakfast at a restaurant in the same complex as the fruit and vegetable shop, then buy the vegetables and be home in time to make soup for guests arriving at 12. That would leave the late afternoon to pack. My husband invited me to join the friend at breakfast. “Then I’ll have to attend the prayer meeting,” I replied. “And get up early,” I thought.

Then I remembered. I have given my time to the Lord. I don’t get to make the plans. He does. I didn’t even need to ask. I knew what the Lord would prefer between my praying and my spending an extra hour in bed.

Both the prayer meeting and the breakfast were blessings. I suggested that I could give our friend’s wife some documents at the training tomorrow, to which her husband replied that he wasn’t aware of a training tomorrow. It was almost six weeks since I had diarised the date so I checked with the elder who is my supervisor/mentor.

“Didn’t you get the message?” she asked. No, I didn’t. It appears that while I am on the email group, I am not yet on the WhatsApp group. The meeting has been cancelled.

Imagine how embarrassed I would have been if only our stand-in leader and I had arrived at the church for a meeting that wasn’t! That’s what would have happened if I had opted for the extra hour in bed.

I am sure the Lord had a good chuckle. He has a sense of humour.

My Prayer

Thank You Lord for giving me free choice. Thank You for Your amazing ability to co-ordinate events and work all things together for good for those who love You. May Ibe more and more aware of Your presence with me every day. Amen.

The Birds and the Bees

Our dining room table is near the window that overlooks the bird feeder. While we eat breakfast, we enjoy the birds visiting our garden to eat fruit, bread and seeds.

Black Collared Barbets are frequent visitors

Every morning I put out bread and apples or oranges cut in half in the fruit feeder. The bread feeder hangs beneath it. It is like a cage which can just accommodate two slices of bread. As the sparrows and weavers eat the bread, crumbs drop onto the ground so clumsier birds like doves cluster under the feeder to forage for bread crumbs.

When I go out to replace the fruit every morning, a buzz of up to ten bees greets me. They think I put fruit out for them. My purpose is to feed sparrows, weavers and mid-sized birds like barbets, starlings and occasional go-away-birds. However, doves also benefit and so do bees.

This illustrates to me that all our actions have knock-on consequences. “The Butterfly Effect” is a metaphor to demonstrate that little insignificant events can lead to significant results over time. Recently both my husband and I have had feedback about something we did or said at least ten years ago, that we have forgotten about but had an impact on other people that they still remember.

Adam and Eve made a decision to go their own way instead of God’s way and the whole of humanity was contaminated by sin. The Bible says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22 ESV)

The things we do and say have consequences that we might never have imagined. They will affect people we might not even know. The things we do matter. The things we say matter.

My Prayer

Lord, I sometimes speak without thinking and act on the spur of the moment. Please teach me to guard my tongue and measure my steps. I want to commit my ways to You so You can direct my paths. Every day. Amen.

Welcome Home

My daughter had to go to hospital to have a node removed. It was just one night and she came home today. Her three children wanted to make a surprise for her. They worked together as a team. There were constant requests to me. “Granny, can we pick some of your white flowers?” “Can we pick the rose? It’s the last one. Usually the rule is you have to leave at least one flower.” “Granny, do you have any eggs? We want to make scrambled eggs for Mom.”

One request I had to refuse. All three children were in the kitchen, one peeling pawpaw, one doing something else. The seven-year-old asked, “Granny. can I come and cook bacon in your house? We’re all busy in here.” I had to say no, as I was quickly cleaning the kitchen (today’s housework task) before going off to Cresta with my husband to try to secure our tickets to New Zealand on a special that is only valid until 6 April.

As we were about to leave, I checked on the children again. They had cooked the bacon as a team. The oldest girl actually cooked the bacon. Her younger brother separated the slices and popped them in the pan because she doesn’t like touching raw meat. The youngest had thawed the bacon and made a welcome home poster.

So much love. So much excitement to be able to show their love to their mother. So much welcome. The children had been working on their surprise for about two hours. It brought tears to my eyes. When my daughter got home she was treated to breakfast in bed.

I thought of all the preparations. How much more will Jesus prepare for us to welcome us home to be with Him. The children know what their mother likes and her favourite food.

Our Lord knows exactly what pleases or inspires us and will be prepared to spend time to make sure we know how much He loves us. He will welcome us with special surprises.

Jesus promised, “Let not your hearts be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:1-2 ASV)

My Prayer

Thank you, Lord for families, for human love. It just gives me a taste or Your great love. You went to the cross for me. How can I ever doubt Your love? Amen.

Rainbow Under My Table

On Saturday mornings I take my granddaughter to Brownies. The meeting is held in a suburb about fifteen minutes away from where we live and I usually go out for breakfast at a Mugg and Bean in the area. Quite often I am joined by a friend or my husband, but today I was on my own.

I hadn’t had a quiet time with the Lord so I asked Him to join me for breakfast and I read through the devotion for the day (I’m going through the Daily Devotions for Lent by first15 on my You version Bible app.) Then my breakfast came. I became aware of a rainbow under my table, caused, no doubt by sun rays shining through some glass prism or joint in the window next to me.

A rainbow appeared under my breakfast table

I don’t normally look down at the floor under furniture (unless I’ve lost something under my bed and use the torch to look for it and all I see is accumulated dust.)

I took it as a sign that the Lord was with me. After breakfast I still had time to waste so I read my book on my kindle. Every now and then I checked that the rainbow was still there and I reminded myself again that the Lord was with me. At one stage it disappeared but I found it had only moved behind the table leg and I could still see it if I peered around.

Much later in the day, after my husband and I had practiced some ten pin bowling, we went to the nearby shopping mall so he could deposit some money. It had been raining and there, over the shopping mall, was a rainbow. The Lord was with us even as we walked around a crowded shopping mall!.

rainbow over Cresta

The Lord is with us all the time although we are not always conscious of it. I feel so privileged that today He gave me two gentle reminders of His presence with me.

The Psalmist says, “‘Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

My Prayer

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are always with me. You promised never to leave me nor forsake me. Thank you for the rainbows, little tokens of Your love to remind me of Your presence. Please help me to look around and keep my eyes open for signs of You with and around me. Amen.