Adapting to change

We have had a few changes this week.  Over last weekend we learnt that our next door neighbour had moved out.  It was a surprise as no-one seemed to be aware of it until some men were there emptying the house of things that she hadn't wanted to take with her.  She was a single mother who had personal problems and although she had 6 children, she herself was rarely seen outside so it was difficult to really get to know her.  We are now waiting to see who our new neighbours will be and what they are like.  It is a 3 bedroom house so we expect a family with children.  It will be interesting to see if friendships develop at some point in the future.



The other day the man who has helped me with the large back garden for the past couple of years delivered the news that at the end of October, at the end of the season, he will be giving up that particular job as he is training to be a coach driver.  He hopes to start his new job in November.  We have quite a good sized lawn and knowing that he comes regularly and keeps it under control, is a great help and relief.  For the rest I manage to potter about and see to fruit and vegetables and tend the flower beds.  So come the spring, when things begin growing again, I will have to reconsider whether I'll be able to manage it all on my own or look for someone else to help.  Who knows, our new neighbour might be just the person!


Last Saturday my son started a new part-time job - 12 hours a week as a cleaner at an Express branch of a large supermarket.  He works 2 hours a day for 6 days, starting at 5.30 in the morning.  Fortunately it is within a 5 minute walk from our home but it still means a very early start to the day.  My plan was to continue sleeping and get up when he returns but as I am aware of him moving about, I am usually wide awake by the time he goes out at 5.15 am.  I have found it a very good time of the day to read, iron, catch up on Facebook (or my blog) or just think and organise my day.  Yesterday was his day off (although eventually he will get a Sunday off) and it felt as though I had a good lazy start to the day - I slept until 6 am!



Choices that we make for ourselves often means some change in our daily routine.  The thing in all these situations is that sometimes things happen in our lives because of the choices of other people that need some adaptation on our part to the new circumstances.  I have no control over when other people move house or change jobs but their choices can affect me in some way.  Life is continually evolving and we have to sometimes change direction in order to compensate and cope with the change.  This week I also received the latest newsletter from Martin and Gayle Scott.  He was commenting on things that had changed and people with whom he had connected who had since moved to another country.  The comment that caught my attention was - 

Our strong encouragement is ... not to focus so much on what has been but to look to see where and to whom he (God) wants to connect you.

It's such a temptation and pull to stay comfortable and stick with what we're used to.  We're fine just as we are, thank you!  But in life, the reality is that things keep changing and evolving and we have to move and adapt to the changes - whether physical, emotional or spiritual.  Here's to change!

Talk about Church

There has been much discussion about the word 'church' and what exactly we mean by it.  But the other day I got to thinking about the phrase 'doing church'.  Although we say that church is not the building, it does imply the meeting together.  There are those who claim not to 'go to church' as in attending a building.  Instead they meet in houses in small groups.  My question is 'what's the difference?'  It seems to me to be the same thing only in a different venue.  There tends to be some singing/worship, some chatting and some reading and explanation of some verse(s) of Scripture and prayer.  We claim that the small groups meeting in houses is how 'church' began.




Others who have left organised religion sometimes talk of 'doing church'.  This seems to incorporate the occasions when we meet up with someone for coffee and chat, visit someone or organise a meal or get together with some friends (who are often also among 'emerged' Christians).  But using the word 'church' still seems to imply some sort of gathering together, meeting, whether that is in a large congregation in some purpose built building or 2 or 3 sharing coffee.  Again I strain to find the real difference.  With or without the organised setup and music, (somehow, for some, music equates worship and 'feeling' near to God) the idea of assembling, meeting and sharing together is the same.


Jesus teaches that we are temples of the living God.  He lives within us.  The Bible clearly teaches that God does not live in a temple built by humans, no matter what we like to think.  Jesus is referred to as the 'cornerstone' of His temple and we are 'living stones'.  There is nothing there about going to some place.  It's rather about living and being part of His temple.  So maybe we should stop talking about going to church or doing church and start using the phrase being the church.  I love the words of the song Breathe:  'This is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me.'  You can find a version of the song here.  Jesus says the Spirit is like the wind blowing where it will.  You can't go to air; it's all around us; how do we 'do' air?; we just breathe it in; it becomes part of us; it makes us live.  And each one who breathes in the living breath of God is another living stone in His temple.  He doesn't put a load of conditions and rules, He wants us to breathe in His presence and be His presence wherever we are. 


We seem to get so hung up about some details of our living in God's family.  There is a danger of focussing so much on one aspect, sometimes the wrong thing.  It's not about taking sides for or against or how we 'do' church.  So much energy is being used up in negative attitudes, searching for a specific verse to prove our own particular standpoint and show that we are right, that we actually miss the point - that God loves us all and wants to be with us and in us.  I believe that God in His graciousness reaches out to all who seek Him, whatever the circumstances.  Going to church?  Doing church?  Maybe it's time to think differently.  We should start changing our whole concept of what church is and how we are church instead of trying to redo it and just bringing about another version of the same thing.  We live church by breathing in His presence whether that is on our own or with others and in His love He meets with us in His temple that He has put within us. 

Honesty

Every other weekend my nephew has the pleasure of having his lovely 3 year old son to stay with him and his mother at their home.  Oliver is a typical 3 year old, full of curiosity and the innocence of a child becoming aware of new experiences daily.  You can almost see his little brain working as he processes new things, growing and learning with each new encounter.  He always enjoys his food as the photo clearly shows - he is in ecstasy enjoying the delights of some chocolate cake.  He especially likes vegetables - not always so common in small children.  His Grandma (my sister) had made a lovely rice pudding to have after dinner.  Oliver tried a spoonful and then just sat looking at it, not wanting to eat any more.  His Dad, Darren, told him, 'well tell Grandma what you want then Oliver', to which he replied, 'I want pudding ... ... a nice one!'  Aahh!!    The honesty of children.  There was no real problem with the rice pudding - the granddaughter enjoyed it and others ate it but Oliver just didn't like it.  I guess that goes for most of life -  we are all so different, some liking some things while others not. 

A day out at the zoo with Grandma.

What I liked about this anecdote when I heard it was the fact that Oliver felt so comfortable and safe in his relationship with his dad and grandma that he didn't have a problem in saying exactly what he wanted.  He wasn't afraid that maybe if he said the wrong thing that he would be told off or punished.  He loves spending time at their home and has no problem when his mother leaves him there.  And yet how often when we talk with Father God do we choose our words carefully; we seem to use a special 'God/prayer' language; some words we wouldn't dream of using, even if we use them frequently in daily conversation with others.  It's as though we feel we need to be on our best behaviour - after all we want to make a good impression and not give God the wrong idea  - as though He didn't already know exactly what we're like.  It really is ok to tell God how we really feel - He's big enough.  He can take it!  When Jesus says we must be as little children, I like to think that includes their openness and honesty.  And there's a lot to be said for being so comfortable and safe in our relationship with Him that saying it as it really is, isn't a problem.

I also saw this picture on a friend's status on Facebook this week.  It was actually an article about a newspaper (not in the UK) saying how it distorts things and ends up telling untruths.  I found it a very powerful illustration of how we can so easily get caught up in one part of our Christian living, focussing on a few, specially chosen verses of the Bible instead of looking at the whole picture.  The danger about homing in on one particular aspect (say sexuality, worship, creation, end times ...) is that we lose sight of the bigger picture of God.  These things have their place but are only part of the big picture.  Again I think it's about being honest to God, ourselves and each other about how we really feel and think and not just what we have been told or feel we ought to comply with in order to fit in with our particular congregation.  I think that feeling comfortable with being really honest also applies to the Christian family we choose to be part of.  Let's not distort the good news of God's gospel by focussing on only one small part of it and maybe giving a totally erroneous idea.

We think that we are teaching our children but actually they are teaching us - quite a lot if we let them.

Departments of Life

The thing about large department stores is that you can do a varied shop all under one roof once you know where the different departments are.  The annoying thing, however, is when some manager decides that it would be better to change things around.  This happens especially in supermarkets.  You go in knowing where you want to head for and when you get there, the thing you want is no longer there - it has been moved!  Aarrgh!!  How often have I spent time just looking for what I'm looking for!  We like to know where everything is - everything has a place.  Parents, especially mothers, know very well the frustrated cries of 'where's my ... ...?' or 'have you seen my ... ...?'.  Some things in life seem best if they are in some sort of organised compartments.  We want to know that when we go and look for something that it will actually be there.

We carry that into other aspects of our lives. We talk about work/home balance.  In our minds we separate things into home, chores, employment, leisure, quality family time etc ... ... and God.  We allot God a space in out busy schedule - usually a Sunday morning.  During the week we try to keep to our carefully programmed schedule so that each department of our lives is maintained and in order.

The trouble is that we cannot do that with God.  It's as though we 'cater' fro Him and invite Him into our weekly 'God space'.  The truth is that it isn't possible for God to fill our 'God space' because He is already everywhere.  We are wrongly urged as children or seeking adults to 'let God into your life' when, as Jesus says, the Kingdom of God is already within us.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit.  The Psalmist reminds us,

Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I run away from where You are?  If I go up to heaven, You are there!  If I make my bed in the place of the dead, You are there!  If I take the wings of the morning or live in the farthest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will hold me.  (Psalm 139:7-10)

Sometimes we get things totally the wrong way around.  We seem to think of God as part of our consumer lifestyle - an object to be possessed and stored in the right place along with all the other objects.  Some try to keep Him in a 'box' and take Him out when they remember or think of Him.  Some expressions imply that He lives in a particular place - God's house.  He is not an object, even a very treasured object.  He is not confined to one place - He tore down the confines of the curtain in the temple.  He is rather the One who wants to share our lives, every part of our lives, each compartmentalised bit of it.  We do not invite Him into our space but instead God invites us to enjoy living in His presence wherever we are.  I am not closer to God on certain days or in certain places (unlike the old saying that you are closer to God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth) even if that's how I may feel at times from my finite human perspective.  God is everywhere and so I cannot be closer to Him than I am at this moment in time, wherever I happen to be.  So I'm not going to ask Him into my life but rather ask Him to reveal Himself to me each day wherever I am and whatever I'm doing.  He is my constant friend and companion on life's journey.  He is in all and through all, ever present.