Weeding Out, Decluttering, Making Room/Space

In May this year I wrote about a small miniature pansy that I discovered hidden among all the weeds that had grown over the winter and the very wet spring.  After I cleared away all the surrounding weeds, you could see just how beautiful this tiny plant was.  (You can see a photo of it here).  Later I carefully dug it up and put it in a part of the small rockery where it had more space and plenty of sunshine.  The other day I took a photograph of it as it is now.  What a difference.  Removing it from the things that were stifling its growth allowed it to flourish and give more flowers than I had hoped.  I also found a couple more plants in similar circumstances that I consequently ‘rescued’ and am pleased that they also have flourished in their new surroundings. 

 

Over this past week we have been doing some more decluttering and recycling things that are no longer in use.  Yesterday we were able to fill a charity bag with unwanted clothes for McMillan charity shop.  On Wednesday we also put out for recycling a load of old magazines, well past their usefulness.  The result is that now we have more room in the wardrobes and there is an empty drawer where the magazines had been kept.  At first glance the idea of getting rid of something or throwing away things may seem on the negative side but actually it turns out to be something very positive.  Turning our backs on something that is no longer helpful or useful can actually be very beneficial.  Sometimes we need to make room, have space to grow and flourish. 

 

The danger of course is that we don’t really like empty spaces.  We try to fill the gap with something.  A friend mentioned the other day that she had been looking forward to her break from her studies over the summer but had filled up the days with so much activity and commitments that she feared she wouldn’t have time to relax and have some free time to herself after all.  I remember that when I retired from work, there was a danger of over committing to other things now I had the time.  It seemed that others also thought that I could be a part of this and that and something else ‘now that you’re retired, you’ve got the time’.  I had to learn to use my time wisely.

 

I used to think (and say) that you can’t do away with something unless you have something better to put in its place (referring particularly to church attendance) but over the years I realise that sometimes God wants us to make the space first and ‘declutter’ our commitments to organised stuff, clear out our diaries and just have space and time with Him in order to flourish.  You can’t always see how this will happen until you actually take the first step.  There is a danger of wanting to fill the gap that is left with all sorts of new ideas – we’ve got to do something, anything rather than nothing.  We are tempted to re-invent the gathering and do the same things but in a different way when actually we shouldn’t be doing anything.  What God is trying to do is give us more space, more time just to be with Him without any other paraphernalia.  To not be doing anything is not necessarily a waste of time.  It can actually be a very productive time when things happen to us rather than us trying to make them happen.  We give God a chance to do what He wants in us without us trying to control and manipulate what is going on.  Just let Him have His way in the stillness.  'Be still and know that I am God.'

 

 

As a Child

Jesus often mentions the children, welcoming them and saying that we should be like them.  We may have differing thoughts about what exactly this means and how we can apply it to ourselves.

The first thing that comes to my mind is how dependent children are on others to provide for them and take care of them.  In the western world we have turned our backs on child labour.  This is no longer acceptable for us, (although we seldom think of this when we seek ever cheaper products!) So we consider that being as children shows how dependent we are on Father to provide for and take care of us.  That can sometimes prove difficult as we like to feel that we are able to take care of ourselves and that having a work ethic means that we should indeed provide for ourselves.  It is when we run into difficulties that we turn to God for help; otherwise we can manage on our own, thank you very much.  That’s the warning that Jesus gives when he says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.  God is not just a trouble fixer, He is Father.

 

A child needs to learn through education and experience.  We have all been impressed by Malala Yousafzei, the Pakistani girl who was shot for writing about the rights of girls to have an education and the world listened intently to her words in front of the United Nations Assembly.  We also know that there are some things that books and learning in school cannot teach us.  Some lessons are learned by living.  I was impressed this week to watch a short video about the different reactions of some adults and children about a particular cereal advert.  You can watch it here.

I just pray that those children, as they grow into adults, may still keep those ideals and attitudes.  Sadly life shows that many of them will eventually conform to what previous generations have (erroneously) instilled into them.  It reminds me of the words of a song from the musical South Pacific:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

 

It seems a shame to me that some find it so hard to be like children in having a simple and open acceptance of others.

The third and last thing I want to mention is something I read this week. ‘Children do not believe theologies or strive for moral certitudes. They respond vulnerably and openly to what is offered them moment by moment.’  As we get older, logic and reasoning take over our thinking.  We need to have a set of rules and beliefs that we adhere to.  We have lost some of that ability to just sense God’s presence.  When Jesus says about children that of such is the Kingdom of God I think He is meaning that they don’t need to sign up to some theory or doctrine.  They don’t think about the long and sometimes convoluted explanations about where God is or how He is with us – they just sense His presence, they ‘know’ Him in a very pure and simple way.  We might call that innocence while Jesus says that actually it’s the very nature of God’s Kingdom.

 

So for me those words of being as a child means seeking God’s plan for my life and not striving to feel capable of doing it on my own; being dependent on Him for direction; trusting His direction and guidance even when I don’t understand it.  It means that even though I might study His word, there are many lessons that He wants to teach me that aren’t written down in any book; that I might learn from what goes on around me; that I might find wisdom and knowledge in unexpected places; accept that such learning is as important as any word from any book or anything I have been taught by others.  I want to be like the toddler that takes in and absorbs everything that is going on; so many new experiences.  I want to be in that place of knowing His presence without having to put it into words or find an explanation; I want to just ‘be’ with Him; to capture and enjoy the moment with innocent simplicity and eagerness to know Him more.  I just want to journey with God and be a child – His child.

  

 

 

Ramadan for Christians?

Although I have mentioned before about the gospel being all-inclusive and that God loves everyone, my mind has turned to it again this week.  I think that maybe this is as a result of it being Ramadan for Muslims and (as I have also mentioned before) I have someone in my extended family who is Muslim.  I have been thinking about her and following her blog as she writes about her experiences during this time of fasting. (You can click onto her blog here.)  We know that God loves everyone but I must admit that Christians particularly in the western world, believe this with a sort of condescending, patronising attitude of ‘yes but we have the truth’ as though we have the monopoly on the truth.  I say this having been guilty of this same attitude myself.  We tend to look at Muslims with a certain western arrogance.  And so this week as I rethink some of my attitudes and realise that I really know very little about Muslims or Islam, I thought that this would be a good time to try and learn more.

 

Rashid Kahn

Earlier this week I watched a programme called A Very British Ramadan. (You can find it here.)  It lasts just over 24 minutes - sorry about the adverts in the recording.  It is presented by Rashid Kahn, a Muslim with a very northern accent!  What I found quite surprising was how everyone seemed to be actually looking forward to the month of fasting – no food or water from sunrise to sunset.  After sunset the subsequent meal (iftar) is very important.  Many meet together, almost in festive mode and share the meal together.  They break the fast with dates and water and then whatever meal they want.  Some of those of Asian ancestry keep up family tradition but there was a group of very English Muslims, who had converted as hippies in the 1960s, and they celebrated together with vegetable soup! 

 

But Ramadan is not just about fasting and eating in the hours between dusk and dawn  but about prayer and charity to others.  There was a group of Muslim bikers (!) who stopped at a café and knelt down on the ground and prayed.  They were doing a charity ride to raise money – not for a Muslim charity but for Great Ormond Street Hospital.  There were those who shared food with neighbours as a gesture of charity towards others and those of other faiths.  One 24 year old young man was looking forward to part of the time (10 days) when he would be in solitude, praying and reading.  He was looking forward to what God (Allah) would be saying to him and what changes he would need to make afterwards to fulfil God’s will.  He said,

Seclusion is everything.  All hope, all fear of the world, worldly attachments and so on are removed and the only thing you care about is the love and mercy of God and 10 days pure – you and your Lord.

 

So I learnt that Ramadan is not just about fasting from food and drink.  It’s not merely a tradition that must be obeyed.  It’s more – it’s about charity, doing good, looking beyond the physical to our spirituality, learning where we need to improve etc.  I feel Christians could learn a lot from our Muslim friends.  I know of times when Christians have used the prayer and fasting thing more as a kind of spiritual bribe for God to do our bidding rather than it being for us to draw closer to learn what God wants to say to us.  For many the time of Lent is more about doing without sweets or some luxury rather than a time to hone our spiritual appetite.  These times should not be in order to fulfil some expectation that others may have of us or that we may appear somehow more holy by doing them (that is a sanctimonious, self-centred reason if ever there was one!) but for real spiritual growth.  I know that God does not love us more because of our efforts – He loves us just because He is Unconditional Love.  That is His nature.  I am not saying either that we should be tied to such disciplines as a necessary part of our communion with God but I feel that there is maybe a place for such times of discipline.  The mystics and the old Desert Fathers certainly thought so and I know that when I have carried out a 30 day Daniel fast (eating as Daniel and his friends did in the Old Testament) I found it of great spiritual benefit and could understand why those in authority took notice of Daniel and his friends.

 

It’s not about watering down my faith and beliefs to accommodate others – not at all!  There are points where I may disagree with Muslims but I think that if I am trying to understand people of other faiths, then at least I need to accept that for some people, this is a way that they connect with God.  Or as Richard Rohr so succinctly puts it,

When another’s experience of God isn’t exactly the way I would describe it, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t had an experience of God or that their experience is completely wrong. … … Could it not be that this Hindu, this Sufi, this charismatic, this Jewish woman has, in fact, touched upon the same eternal Mystery that I am seeking? Can’t we at least give one another the benefit of the doubt? I can be somewhat patient with people who think they have the truth. The problem for me is when they think they have the whole truth.

 

I feel that in the end what matters is that we connect with God in whatever way we feel is right for us.  I’m sure God accepts the prayer of a person regardless of their background – He looks on the heart.  I’m sure that He who is Unconditional Love doesn’t just listen to Christians and ignores everyone else.  Maybe I should try to understand others more from their point of view; see them how they are and not how I think they ought to be; see them as God sees them; not be judgmental towards others; be more willing to learn from others, whoever they are.  I am still learning.

 

 

 

 

 

Props and Supports

When we teach our young children to ride a bicycle we have either bought them something with 3 wheels to learn the motion of pedalling or have got them a bicycle with stabilisers to stop them from falling off and maybe injuring themselves.  When they grow up and get used to cycling, they won’t need that support and they will be free to cycle without fear or losing their balance.  It is a natural progression to want to be independent.  It’s a new adventure to go it alone.  At the other end of the scale as we grow more elderly we may need to use a walking stick or Zimmer frames to assist in walking.  Life in general is full of support mechanisms and groups that we find useful and often necessary to cope with life. 

Often the argument in favour of an organised Church is just that – that it provides a whole range of props and supports for our children and those new in the faith to help them walk the new path without stumbling.  Sadly what can happen is that the support mechanism becomes the actual way of doing things for all, even when they should have grown up.  Certain props in some denominations would be called idols in another.  We think of idols as statues and icons and associate them mainly with Roman Catholicism or Orthodox religions.  But an idol is anything that takes the place of the supremacy of God.  We begin a project and if we are not careful the project, which should be a means to fulfilling God’s work, becomes the end in itself.  We can get so caught up in the organising and making rules for ourselves that the original movement of God that inspired us soon becomes the tradition that must be kept going at all costs – after all this is God’s work.  The structures and supports take on a life of their own and many feel that such customs and ways of doing things are indispensable for a successful and spirit-filled walk with God.  Things that have been useful to our walk and connection with God can so easily become the focus of our attention – a legalistic approach to things like tithing, Sunday observance, daily devotional, the Bible itself, the need to be involved in organised activities within the denominational set-up etc.  They might all be good and useful but have taken on a role that is more important than is due to them – the usefulness has become the necessary tradition that we must conform to.  It has become the end in itself instead of being a means to the end of connecting with God one-to-one.

 

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how our walk with God is enriched when we can become more spontaneous and just listen to what He is saying directly to us without necessarily this being an integral part of the organised set-up of Church.  It is an adventure with God that is exciting but a bit scary as we don’t always know what to expect.  But without this it wouldn’t be an adventure – we would be comfortable to stay in a safe place and not venture further.  It’s a bit like taking away the stabilisers from our bikes and feeling the freedom to venture a bit further than we dared before.  Trying to be a little more detached from the organised construct of Church is a bit like that and it’s as though God is taking away the safety supports one at a time, layer by layer until we learn to ‘go it alone’ with Him our loving parent keeping a watchful eye on us so we don’t fall.  In an adventure the unforeseen often happens and we have to learn another way of coping; the safe organisation is no longer there.  We need to get to the heart of the matter – God Himself and nothing else.  I am reminded of Matt Redman’s lovely song –

When the music fades
All is stripped away,
and I simply come … …

I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, all about You, Jesus

How often we prefer the security of the safety props and so remain spiritual infants.  Maybe it’s time for us to grow up and leave off the stabilisers and enjoy the adventure with God.