Let your light Shine!

The Listener magazine caught my eye today. On the cover is a photograph of Eleanor Catton. She's just won the Man Booker prize for her second book, The Luminaries. She's only 27 years old!
I came away from the shop feeling past it; over the hill; on the shelf.

At home I read Psalm 47 :4
"He chose our inheritance for us
The pride of Jacob, whom he loved."

or as the Message translation puts it:

"He sets us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favourite."

I felt better after reading that. Earthly accolades will fade away. I wouldn't say no to some along the way, but I sense God is saying to me, as he said to Elijah in 1Kings 19,
"What are you doing here?"
My answer has little to do with collecting prizes and everything to do with becoming the person God created me to be.
And it occurs to me that, when we are united with Christ, we are all luminaries.

All change.

"I Am ...this has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known." Exodus 3:14-15

I came out of the doctor's surgery today and spotted that my car had a flat back tyre.
"Great! That's all I need." I said as I kicked it.
I drove to the nearest garage and pumped in some air. It looked OK. Maybe I could just ignore it and get on with my day. I pondered this idea for a few moments before heading into town, straight to the garage which sold me the tyres.
Once there, the mechanic took off the wheel and showed me the screw that was deeply embedded in the rubber. The tyre would have continued to deflate; it was unsafe. I asked him to repair it.
I had twenty minutes to kill so I went into the Christian bookshop and "Becoming myself" by Stasi Eldredge caught my eye. In the first chapter she speaks about God being called I Am.
"He is not becoming. He already is. And now because of him, I am becoming myself."
This resonated with the journey I feel God is leading me on. I'm excited to have been led to Stasi's book. I have struggled with poor health for as long as I can remember. I've started on yet another regime of liver detoxing and healthy eating. This time I'm bringing God into my struggle. I feel that I'm like a punctured tyre, constantly running flat. I keep getting a little more air in but I'm soon deflated again. I'm trusting that my journey of healing will be different this time. I am seeking to become the 'myself' I was created to be. I hope that in uncovering that person God will remove the screwed up image I've been bumping along with all these years, and that he will fill me anew.

Today's thought is:

Are you pressing on with life when you know that there's something which needs to be removed?

Prayer:

Thank you Lord that you are leading the way on my journey. Help me to keep my eyes on you, trusting that I am being transformed into your likeness with ever increasing glory.

Going deeper

I was in the library yesterday when a group of women came in. They were wearing cycling gear and had just been out together cycling around the hills. I overheard the following snippet of their conversation:

"Janet's just been cycling the Loire Valley in France."
"Oh really," her friend replied. "How long did that take?"
"She said she didn't know, because she got lost a few times."

This made me smile. It seems to fit in with my ideas about the winding path of life. Perhaps some of the best bits of the journey are seen when we are technically 'lost'.

Yesterday I went to a funeral of an amazing woman who was only 49 when she died. The funeral chapel was packed - there must have been around 400 people in attendance. Alison had been a key member of the local tennis club for over 20 years. What surprised me was that she'd never been on a plane. She'd not gone far from home at all. On her bucket list was a trip to see her brother in Perth. Unfortunately the cancer meant that she never got to tick that item off the list. And yet, for a woman who travelled so little, she achieved a huge amount. Hers was not a wide influence, but the development of very deep connections that few of us will attain. I only knew Alison for a short time but her life has made a big impact on me. She has made me re look at the depths of my relationships. I was blessed to know her.

Today's thought is:
How can I go deeper in my relationships with friends and family and the wider community?

Prayer
So often Lord I'm looking over the next hill. Help me to see what's around me right here and now.

The journey begins

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” 
~ Alan Alda


Somehow it seems fitting to start my first blog post with a quote from someone else. I doubt myself. I wonder what I have to say that would be of interest to anyone else. Well that may be the case, but if you are a reflective person I hope you will find my musings of interest.
I have been pondering for some time the 40 years in the Wilderness that Moses spent with the Children of Israel. I remember being told once that the journey to the promised land should only have taken about two weeks. Now I know men don't like to ask directions but all that wandering is stretching things in my opinion! So why did they have to spend 40 years getting there, and what can I learn from their experience? I think I will ponder this question over the coming weeks on my blog. 



Today's thought is:
How comfortable am I in Egypt? Do I even want to follow God's leading?

Prayer:
Today Lord we have so many ways we can read your Word. It's available online, in the Bible and as an App. The Children of Israel had a pillar of cloud and fire to follow. Help me to see that I have an equally clear guide if I choose to follow your Word each day.