Interfaith Journeys

The family were all looking forward to the wedding.  Family members on both sides travelled from various places to be there.  We all know of course that there are different ways of getting from point A to point B.  People have different preferences of routes, some preferring the motorways while others opting for the less busy roads, even if it takes a little longer.  The groom's mother and brother travelled up from the south by coach while his aunt and cousin travelled from the same place but by car.  Others travelled by various means from equally various places.  It didn't matter how they travelled or which route they took.  The important thing was to get there and enjoy the festivities of the wedding. 

In case any reader is unaware, this is the time of year that Muslims fast for Ramadan.  A few months ago there was a movement during the Christian time of Lent when a number of Muslims joined Christians in fasting for Lent.  The group called themselves Muslims4Lent and now in mutual solidarity there is a group called Christians4Ramadan.  I have been following a blog hosted by a distant relative who converted to Islam a few years ago.  Having come from a Christian background, she has a passion for Interfaith dialogue, not just between Christian and Muslim but also among those of other faiths and none.  During Ramadan, she has guests to post something of their experiences on her blog every day.  So far we have had articles written by a Christian vicar married to a Hindu, a Christian married to a Muslim, a Sikkh woman, a Buddhist experience in Myanmar (Burma), a Wiccan, a Heathen and an ex-Muslim.  
I have found all of the articles very interesting and eye-opening.  You can check for yourself here, A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy. 
I can almost see many Christian hands going up in horror at the thought.  Surely I've now clearly lost the plot altogether!  Actually reading some of these blog posts has made me realise that the many different faiths are each trying to live good lives, aware of the deep spiritual dimension within themselves.  Each one is obviously influenced by their culture and life experiences.  But I have been aware that we are all on a similar journey to the same end goal except that we are travelling from different starting points and going different routes and preferring different methods of getting there.  Jesus showed his love for all with interactions with the Phoenician woman (the immigrant), the Samaritan woman at the well (the one who left the true Jewish religion), the centurion whose servant was ill (the enemy, invader, part of an occupying army) and so on.  He didn't tell them to leave their way of life but still had time for them, showing compassion and helping them.  The Old Testament also has examples of interfaith living.  We are familiar with the story of Naaman the leper, an important official in the country where the Israelites were taken captive.  Moses' father-in-law Jethro was not Hebrew and Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as a holy man.  Contrary to what many Christians think, God doesn't actually belong to us or our religion.  It's the other way around.  We as his creation belong to Him - and that includes all of humanity.  


What has challenged me this week has been words of the Heathen on the above mentioned blog.  He helps friends find their own faith even if they disagree with him and end up believing something completely different.  Would I do that?  So often we make friends with someone of a different faith really in order to convert them to ours, if we're truly honest.  We think we are right and we have the only true way and we remain friends only as long as there seems to be some glimmer of hope  that they will convert to our way of thinking and come to our place of worship.  That's the main problem in the world, that there is upheaval and wars between those of different faiths, fighting it out as if that would prove who is right.  It's not about watering-down our own faith but it is about really accepting that maybe there is more than one way; that we all belong to God; that we are all on our own different journey of faith; that God loves us all.  Acceptance, not just tolerance.  Very difficult at times but much better than killing each other to try to prove a theological argument.  As Richard Rohr says in one of his meditations this week,  'If you really believe in the values you say you believe in, then put them into practice.  Don't waste any time trying to prove someone else is wrong or evil.  Just live what you believe.'  Amen!  We are all on our own faith path of discovery and I am sure that as God guides and directs me, so he is more than capable of doing the same in the lives of others, whatever faith they seek to follow.  Having listened to the horrors on the news yesterday, I am even more certain that interfaith dialogue is a need for our time so that we can have discernment and be able to know the difference between those who truly seek to live out their faith, cultivate that spiritual inner being and seek to help others and not confuse them with those who twist and misuse the name of a religion and words of Sacred writings in order to inflict terror and killing any who don't see things the way they do.  Such people are not true to the religion they profess.  Tit-for-tat killing gets us nowhere except deeper into the horrors of war.  So, those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, maybe it's time to put into practice the way he showed us, really follow him in actions as well as words and have a little more interfaith dialogue and understanding.  Love not hate.

Some Hope!

Some hope!  When we hear that expression used, it often means that actually there is no hope as opposed to some hope.  It's like saying 'there's no chance that will happen'.  When we look at various situations in the world where there is so much pain and poverty, we could easily be forgiven for thinking that there is no hope for some people.  All efforts seem futile, especially if we're not in some position of authority where we can actually make a difference.  Some things are just beyond our control or our sphere of influence.  The problem is that when we think that we cannot make a difference on a world scale then it's pointless to try to make a difference anywhere.  So we just retire to our own little bubble and let the world go by.  I'm not suggesting that we should become an 'activist', join demonstrations or lobby members of parliament.  Not everyone feels they want to write to someone in authority to complain and often we have the idea that they wouldn't take any notice anyway so what's the point.


You know when a child falls and hurts themselves?  How often have we looked all sorry for them and promised to make it better.  We bend down and kiss the part that hurts declaring that now it's mended, the pain's gone and the tears stop flowing.  We know of course that a kiss doesn't actually heal the physical hurt (unless scientists come up with the theory that human saliva has healing properties) but the fact that you stopped doing what you were doing, paid attention and were prepared to sympathise made the child feel much better.  They were no longer suffering on their own.  Someone had bothered that they were hurting.  Part of the problem in society is that we are so busy doing stuff that we don't have time to spend just listening and sympathising with those who hurt when really that is what they need most.  It has been said that so often in a conversation, we listen only to think of what our reply will be when sometimes we need to just listen and let the other person offload their problems, share their situation with someone.  They don't always need you to find a solution, they just want to be heard or recognised and accepted.  

Making a difference doesn't need to be in terms of some mission far away in another country (unless of course you feel that is what you need to be doing).  Neither is it necessarily about being committed or involved in some project.  So the question is 'How can I make a difference where I am?'  Do you know your neighbours?  When was the last time you stopped and had a conversation with them, not just passing the time of day?  Do you disagree with some of the things that big corporations want to inflict on us?  Have you thought about signing a petition?  The more people who show they disagree, can have some effect.  Nowadays sharing things on social media can have long reaching results and has the potential to really make a difference. Is there a community centre where you live?  Or some charity you could give some time volunteering with or doing a charity run or walk or the like?  Do you go to any activity or meeting that is not connected to your particular church or faith centre?  Do you have any friends who are not connected to the religion you follow?  The answer really is - get out of the box, move out of your bubble.  There is a world out there that is desperate for someone just to listen and maybe lend a helping hand.  It's amazing the difference you will make just by saying, 'can I help?', or 'I can do that if you want.'  There has recently been a photo that went viral of a young police constable who helped to carry the shopping bags of an old man and accompanied him to his house.  What a shame that such things go viral because they are becoming more unusual and things like that happen less frequently.  We can reverse the trend and make the positive things happen more often.  

I read the other day words by the Dalai Lama from his Little Book of Wisdom entitled 'For the Good of All':

Even if only a few individuals try to create mental peace and happiness within themselves and act responsibly and kindheartedly towards others, they will have a positive influence in their community.

We tend to think that things work by trickling down from the top towards those at the bottom when actually it works the other way round.  When those on the bottom, the ordinary, everyday, move and are noticed making a difference then it influences those in higher places of authority. I finish with this video I saw the other day that caught my attention.  It is a very good lesson in that even the smallest can make a difference to the big picture.

You don't need to understand the science behind it in order for it to have an effect.  Never consider that what you do won't make a difference.  It can.  You will.  Be the answer.

Noticing The Familiar

When I receive an online order form my local supermarket, fruit and salad goods are put into a paper carrier bag.  The intention, of course, is to show just how 'green' they are by using paper carriers and not plastic bags.  (The fact that they still use plastic bags for other produce is beside the point!) This has been going on for quite some months so I was surprised the other day to notice something about the paper carrier that I hadn't noticed before.  Apart from their name, there was some other writing on the bag.  I read it and found that it was a useful tip for peeling root ginger.  Why hadn't I noticed that before?  I then started looking at other bags (I don't throw them away but keep them for recycling) to see how many other tips I had missed without realising.

They say that seeing is believing but actually when I read the tip about peeling ginger, I thought about it and then decided I needed to try it just to see if it was as they advocated - and yes, it works exactly as they say it will and so easy.  That's something I will be doing from now on.  Of course it could well be that other people already knew this but it was new to me.  It did set me thinking about how much I just glance over things out of familiarity without really noticing.  How much might I be missing?



We live in an instant, press-button world where things are done so quickly and for efficiency, so it's claimed.  The other day I read on a social media about someone who had gone walking with a friend who walked really slowly. The friend's reasoning behind this was, 'When we walk too fast, we forget to be with each other.'  I like that.  How often in life do we walk so fast that we forget to be present to the moment?  How often do we just skip over things without spending time to really notice or listen?  I guess that as a pensioner, I'm fortunate that I am able to spend possibly a little more time on things - or maybe it just takes me longer now to do things that I did more quickly before!  But seriously, we tend to fill our lives with busyness and so miss much that could be beneficial.  I remember when I first retired there was a real danger of suddenly overfilling my diary thinking that now I had nothing else to do!  Then you find that you're busier than when you had employment.

If only we took notice of God's wisdom, making sure that we have a day of rest.  For those whose 'day of rest' is actually quite busy, maybe you should choose another day to rest.  He also tells us 'Be still and know that I am God'. Stop, look and listen or we'll miss so much of real value, for us and for others.

Thoughts From Down Under

Earlier this week, my elder son Martin and his partner Lisa came to visit for a few days.  They have recently returned from 3 months travelling around Australia, from Melbourne up the east coast past Cairns and then across and down from Darwin through Alice Springs, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and back to Melbourne.  We were able to share in their adventure through their many photos and stories of their travels.  I found particularly interesting the stories of the aborigines and their beliefs.  They are an ancient race having lived on that land for over 40,000 years and so their stories of creation and other spiritual beliefs go back way beyond anything we as Christians may have.  We consider their stories to be just that - stories, myths and legends - not necessarily literally true but they cling on to their beliefs that have been handed down orally over thousands of years.  

A model of a coracle type of ark as on the ancient tablet

I also watched this week a programme about 'The Real Noah's Ark' where a professor and associates reconstructed a boat according to information on an ancient clay tablet.  It was a story of a flood with instructions on how to build a boat to save a man, his family and animals.  The instructions also interestingly said that the animals were to go in 'two by two'.  This particular tablet predated our biblical story of Noah by over 1000 years.  The boat to be built was actually round, more like a coracle than the ark we think of.  Archaeologists have discovered that in that region of the Tigris/Euphrates rivers there were many such great floods in ancient times and many would indeed make super-sized coracles to save their families and belongings.  It is thought that the Hebrew exile in Babylon was greatly influenced by such stories and maybe had some effect on stories that they also handed down to their descendants.  

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a sacred Aboriginal site but so many
lack respect for the religious views and beliefs of others as
this notice and undeterred climbers show.

We look at other spiritual traditions and think of them as fables, myths and not fact while other religions often look at our holy book in the same way.  So it seems to beg the question -  how many of our Bible stories are just that, stories that have been told and handed down over generations in order to teach some spiritual truth.  Knowing how Jesus himself was a great story teller, it seems quite possible that much of holy writings, beliefs and spiritual stories (of many different religions) are just a way of trying to explain some truth that is often difficult to put into words but are not really to be taken literally.  (I can almost sense the fundamentalists putting their heads in their hands, gasping in horror and  declaring that I have surely 'lost my faith'!)  But why do we condescendingly smile at aboriginal stories and yet are offended if others do the same to us?  Who are we to go bulldozing our way in and telling someone whose tradition is over 40,000 years old that he is wrong and we are right?  The arrogance of such an empire spirit never ceases to amaze me.

The first plane that started the Flying Doctor Service

Another interesting story that Martin and Lisa told was of Rev John Flynn.  He had been appointed to minister in the outback.  In 1912 he established the Australian Inland Mission in order to attend to the spiritual, medical and social needs of those living in the outback.  He built hospitals but is mostly remembered for implementing with a friend what has become known as The Flying Doctor Service.  His concern was that people were so isolated and his greatest desire was to help people to connect.with others.  Over the years he managed to get an aeroplane and a pilot but the problem was how people could access this service.  Another associate invented a pedal radio and so in 1929 people could call on the Flying Doctor Service.  Later transistor radios replaced the pedal kind and people were then able to contact their 'neighbours' many miles away and families were once again in touch with each other.  John Flynn was a Presbyterian minister but rather than trying to get people to travel in order to gather in one building to worship together, he saw their need and tried to meet that need right where they were.  He cared for aborigines as well as white settlers whether they accepted his Christian beliefs or not.  That is why he is remembered to this day.  That seems like a Jesus thing to do - not being consumed with the idea of getting people to meet on the Sabbath/Sunday in the synagogue/temple/church building but rather seeing a need and working to meet that need.

Mmm!  Thank you Australia for the lessons you share.  Much to ponder.    

Mam Said ...

My sister has recently made contact with a lady who used to live near to us when we were all growing up.  That started us reminiscing about her and her family.  One day, the lady who lived 3 doors away from us (the said lady's mother) came and knocked on the door of our home.  She wanted to talk to Mam.  She was obviously upset about something.  Mam invited her in, put the kettle on and 'suggested' to us that we should go outside or upstairs and do something.  We knew that that meant that we were not to be around when they were talking adult stuff!  The woman's young teenage daughter (who had recently contacted my sister)) had told her that she was pregnant, and I'm talking about the late 50s early 60s - not at all acceptable!  Mam sat and listened.  They drank tea and talked for quite a while before the woman went back to her house a little less stressed.  That young teenage daughter, now more than 50 years on, is a mother and grandmother and still very happily married to her childhood sweetheart.  The thing about Mam was that our home was open to anyone who needed help, whoever they were.  My sister and I smiled at the thought that she probably knew some intimate secret about most of our neighbours who had at some point confided in her.  She didn't preach at people or spout Bible verses at them, didn't invite them to accompany us to church on Sunday, didn't even criticise them and never repeated a confidence.  Whenever we made some snide comment about anyone, her reply was always, 'God loves everybody and so should we.  It's not our place to judge.  Our job is to help.'  She didn't just believe in God's all-embracing love, she lived it.

The death of Atahualpa, ruler of the Incas

The news recently has had much to concern us about terrorism, kidnappings and persecution.  Many are sharing thoughts and prayers for Christians who are in such a position in Iraq, and rightly so.  How dreadful that they should be threatened with death just because they don't want to accept the religious biases of their captors.  I couldn't help thinking though about many centuries ago when Christians did the same thing.  We are often reminded of the crusades and how still today they are remembered by many but we sometimes forget about the persecution of those of other faiths during the Spanish Inquisition and hardly ever think about the thousands of Incas who were slaughtered because they couldn't understand the Trinity and didn't want to embrace Christianity.  They were a peace loving race of people who had a very good way of life when they were suddenly invaded by a people who had travelled thousands of miles across the ocean, killing and stealing as they went.  All who didn't accept their way of Christianity were mercilessly annihilated.  The verse 'he who is without sin let him cast the first stone.' comes to mind.  


I am not saying that we shouldn't be concerned and intercede for those we love, those who belong to our particular religious group.  Of course we should.  But sometimes I think it is easy to feel that somehow God is more concerned about Christians than others.  We often don't give a second thought about a situation unless some westerner or Christian is involved as though somehow it's not as bad if someone from another religion is suffering but woe betide if it happens to a Christian!  Let us be clear, God is not a Christian.  God is God.  God doesn't love Christians more than he loves anyone of another religion.  It's like, yes, but God leans more in favour of Christians than other religions surely.  After all we accept his son as Saviour, others don't.  The story of the Prodigal Son tells us differently.  God loves all whether we accept his ways or not, remain within his household or reject him.  We are all equal in the eyes of God and he never stops loving us, no matter what.  Jesus cried out to God to forgive those who killed him.  God is Love, all-encompassing and unconditional Love.  Of course He hates the persecution of Christians.  He also hates the persecution of Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists or any other religious group.  People suffer persecution for many reasons.  How many times have we heard of  a young woman being killed to restore some idea of 'family honour' when she didn't want to marry the man of her parents' choice?  The 200 young schoolgirls are still missing in Nigeria, taken into captivity just because they were female and seeking to be educated and going to school.  Homosexuals are being killed in parts of the world just because of their sexuality.  There are those who are persecuted because of their nationality/tribe or shunned and left to die because of some disability.

God's love is all-embracing,  all-inclusive, unconditional.  I ask God that he will help me to not be narrow-minded, thinking only of my own particular religious group but

to see all people as he sees them,  be concerned for all his creation, wherever they are and pray for all who are persecuted for whatever reason.  As Mam said, 'God loves everybody and so should we.' 

What Sense!

I was on the bus going into town to do some shopping.  Many of the usual faces that have a similar weekly shopping routine were also on the same bus.  Some were deep in conversation while others sat in silence in the world of their own thoughts.  The bus slowed as it got near to the roundabout and lined up behind a couple of cars waiting its turn to navigate around the roundabout.  Suddenly my eye caught something moving just to the right and in front of the bus.  It was a squirrel scampering across the road, missing any moving vehicles with such agility before jumping up into a tree on the other side of the road.  It was so quick I almost missed it.  I don't think anyone else actually saw it, except I reckon the bus driver must have noticed.  Its speed and agility were quite outstanding.  I thought of other creatures known for their speed - the cheetah, the fastest land animal that can run up to 75 miles an hour.  However, the peregrine falcon is the fastest member of the animal kingdom being able to travel over 200 miles per hour.  Wow, we would need to travel by car in order to compete with a cheetah and the peregrine is twice as fast as an express train.  We still claim that humanity is the superior species!


Scientists are beginning to learn the secrets of many species of creatures.  Have you ever tried to swat a fly without success?  That's because the fly sees in slow motion so our quick action with the swatter appears slow to the fly giving it enough time to escape before the swatter reaches the place where it has been.  Some creatures, like the North American caribou, see in ultra violet light while others see in infra red, allowing them to see things that we have great difficulty making out.  There is a moth that can smell a future mate from up to 7 miles away while rats and moles smell in stereo, helping to locate food.  Other creatures can hear sound inaudible to the human ear.  Some dog owners use a special high frequency whistle to attract the attention  of their pet - something they can hear but we humans can't.  Other animals hear and use very low frequency sounds.  There are many such instances of heightened senses in the animal world that are impossible for humans.  When I think of the wonders of the natural world,  it makes me aware of my limitations as a human being, in speed, sight, smell and hearing.  Humanity is just beginning to tap into this wealth of knowledge and using it for good as in ultra sound scans and infra red cameras and binoculars that enable you to see in the dark.

The sad thing is that most of the people (if not all) on the bus that morning were totally engrossed in their own world of thought and conversation and quite unaware of life that was going on around them.  I felt that I had just had a glimpse for a few seconds into a kind of parallel universe where life was lived without our being aware of it.  When we consider the incredible variety and abilities in the natural world that is all around us, how can we not marvel at our wonderful Creator?  What a Wonderful World!  Indeed!!!  I know that many live very busy lives and aren't as fortunate as I am in having the time to just be, observe and think.  But I guarantee that if you can possibly make time, you will greatly enrich your life by doing so.  Our God is a great big God and there is a whole great big world outside of the bubble I call my life.  So much to see and so much to learn.  Up until now I have only mentioned animal forms of life but the whole of creation has so much to teach us if we would stop, look, listen and learn.

Lord, remind me to make time to just be in your creation and be aware of what you want to teach me.

Roots

This week has seen the return of a TV programme that I really enjoy watching - 'Who Do You Think You Are?  For those who don't know, it traces the ancestry of celebrities and uncovers some very interesting and sometimes unusual and hitherto unknown facts.  There are always surprises and often tears as the stories unfold about their forbears.  Sometimes the celebrities begin to understand just why they are, feel and do as they do as they clarify some mystery from the past.  A couple of years ago I decided to trace my ancestors on both sides of the family, right back to the 1700s.  I remember as a child that two of my uncles had a shoe repair shop in our local town and I used to love to go and watch them mend the shoes and breathe in the smell of fresh leather.  I was told that the shop originally belonged to my paternal grandfather but looking further into the family history I discovered that there had been bootmakers in the family since the early 1800s, the business having been handed down from father to son over several generations.  The roots of the shoemaking business lay way back in the roots of our family history.

When I am weeding in the garden, I prefer to dig the weeds up by the roots in order to get rid of them instead of spraying them with chemicals all the time.  Occasionally though that is not so easy, on the paths and the front drive where you can't really dig them up.  The alternative is to get some weedkiller and spray them and let the chemicals do their work.  The best ones of course are the ones that you spray on the leaves of the weed and the chemicals go to work reaching right down to the roots underneath the ground.  Otherwise the weed seems to die but then comes back again as the roots go on feeding the plant.  To be effective, you have to get to the roots.

A close relative of mine has recently been in hospital and undergone quite a big operation.  She had been in a great deal of pain for a long time, months becoming years.  She has taken pain relief to relieve the symptoms until eventually the pain was becoming so bad she was sent to see a specialist at the hospital.  Various tests and scans were done in order to look deeper and ascertain the real cause of the problem.  Eventually the day came and she went to the hospital, a bit nervous but really having reached the point of just wanting the pain to go away.  After a time of recuperation she is now well on the mend but more importantly is without the constant pain that she had to put up with for so long before.  Once the specialist was able to get to the root of her problem, then the situation could be dealt with effectively.

The trouble I find in life is that too often we concentrate all our efforts on the symptoms that a problem produces.  A few decades ago, people weren't so eager to visit a psychiatrist or counselor to talk through problems in case they were thought by others to be a little deranged.  In fact such professionals were sometimes considered a bit suspect and often referred to in a rather derisory way as 'shrinks'.  Nowadays we understand that they saw the importance of going back in order to dig deep and find the root cause of a problem.  This often turned out to be not a physical problem at all but some hurt, fear or sense of inadequacy or exclusion or maybe loneliness, things that are hidden so deeply inside that others are not aware of itheir existence.  We think that we are sorting out a problem when the real problem is something quite different, hidden and not obvious until we delve deeper.

I feel that so many problems in the world, on both an individual and group level, whether that be family, friends, tribes or nations, could be solved if only we really addressed the root of the problem.  We waste so much time and effort treating and reacting to the symptoms when the real problem is still there often festering underneath so that the problem we think we have dealt with crops up again and again.  So often we ask the wrong questions!  There is no point in doctoring and treating the hurt and pain if we don't deal with the root cause of that pain and hurt.  Jesus knew that very well when he told the crippled man that his sins were forgiven.  He then told him to get and walk.  He knew that the man was concerned that his physical limitations were because of some sin.  He needed to know that God had dealt with that problem.  People are hurting and in pain and we waste time on superficial symptoms instead of really dealing with their root point of need and giving them the help they're silently crying out for.  Let's not waste time looking at the outside, the symptoms, the appearance of a situation but go to the roots and see where the help is really needed.
  

Talking My Language

This week I have watched a couple of absolutely fascinating programmes about 'talking to the animals'.  Through modern technology we are now able to decipher many of the noises made by animals.  Researchers have discovered that what they thought were simple grunts and shouts of (possibly) fear at the approach of some danger, are actual sounds relating to particular situations and the sounds change depending on the form of danger or situation - they are actual words in animalspeak.  Some creatures are even 'bilingual', understanding the particular sounds made by an entirely different species.  Other creatures that were thought to make no sound at all but only gestures have been found to use sounds that the human ear cannot hear.  I won't bore you with all the details of all the discoveries (if you missed it and are interested, you can catch up on BBCiPlayer) but I will mention the amazing Honey Guide bird that has conversations with the people of the Masai Mara.  The bird knows the exact spot of the bee hive but can't retrieve the honey because of all the bees - their stings would prove fatal for such a small bird - but it knows that the men of the Masai Mara have ways of getting to the honeycomb.  The bird communicates with the tribesmen with a particular call that is used only for the purpose of contacting humans.  The men call back with the same call and follow the bird until it leads them to the hive.  They get the honeycomb which they then share with the bird by way of a 'thank you'.  Amazing!  We talk about 'dumb animals' but it seems that the ones who have been dumb are us humans in believing that they can't and don't communicate with other creatures within their own species and with those of other species.

We can look at some people and judge them to be a bit OTT and noisy when they might actually be hiding behind a front to disguise the deep loneliness that is their reality.  Someone who can appear stand-offish and keeping themselves at a distance might really be afraid of getting too close to someone.  They may have been hurt too many times in the past and now don't trust either their own judgment or the words of anyone else.  They just don't want to go through the experience of being judged or misunderstood yet again so they prefer not to mix too much.  If someone is a bit grumpy, they might not be bad tempered but be feeling taken for granted and unappreciated when all they want to do is strive to please those around them.  So taking a tip from the research into animal speak, maybe we should listen carefully to the sounds instead of judging too quickly.  Why are they the way they are?  Why do they say the things they say?  What do the sounds and actions really mean?

When we say that someone is talking our language, what we mean is that they understand where we're coming from.  They not only hear the sound of our words but know exactly what we mean.  We feel that they can relate to us in a way that goes deeper than sound.  Befriending in this way takes time and effort.  The programmes took 2 hours to share with the general public but the actual research has taken years.  An article can be read in a few minutes or a sermon can be preached in half an hour (some more, some less) but really getting to know and understand a person's deep longings and needs takes much longer.  It takes observation, continuous contact and a willingness to really listen, not just to the words that are spoken but also to what is not said.  People are often silently crying out in their pain, loneliness and unhappiness but how often we just hear words but don't understand their language.  They are in need for someone to talk their language, know what makes them tick and understand what they are really communicating.  

This is not done through big gatherings but on one-to-one.  It is possible to talk to a load of people all at the same time but really getting to know them and what they are saying is a different ballgame.  You can sit in the garden or the park and listen to all the bird songs but identifying each individual bird and knowing what each separate call signifies is completely different.  It is comforting, refreshingly reassuring and in a sense liberating when someone knows exactly what you mean, when they talk your language.  Listening and not just hearing, seeking to understand instead of dismissing out of hand, that's the key to learning another language.  I pray for a world full of linguists. 

Mixed Feelings - That's Ok

Contrasting thoughts, the ups and downs of life, you win some you lose some, disappointment and happiness, painful wounds and joyful celebration, feelings that most people have much of the time.  This week we have been very happily eating the strawberry crop from our garden which this year is abundant.  Some things I planted have progressed well while others have not.  The potatoes and tomatoes are doing great, some carrots are growing while others - nothing!.  The peas and peppers have been quite badly eaten by something - snails and ants probably, despite putting out preventative measures.  I was wondering why it is that snails and ants never seem to go for the weeds in the garden but always enjoy devouring things that I have planted and which we hoped to eat ourselves.  They say that thrushes and blackbirds eat snails so I thought maybe I should put up a notice in bird language, 'Free snail feast here! Chirp, chirp'.  I know, I know, all are God's creatures and all that but quite honestly I don't feel the same towards the snails that eat my plants as I do towards the bees that pollinate them.  Selfish of me I know.  Mixed feelings - disappointment and happiness. 

This afternoon I am going to a wedding.  It's more than seven years now since my friend separated and finally divorced from her husband.  My mind went back to those days of trauma and upset.  He moved out and she kept the house so she said that in all fairness he could take what he wanted.  I had said that for that first weekend when he left, I would stay over with her so she wouldn't be alone.  That first night we slept on the floor - he had taken the bed!  Earlier that evening we had gone to the local chippy for comfort food and we sat there for some time in the restaurant part of the shop. We went there as it was just something we didn't have to make ourselves or clear up afterwards.  She talked and I listened.  We did that quite a lot, her talking and me listening.  But today she is getting married again - a very nice man, loving and caring.  Actually they had a quiet wedding at the registry office earlier in the year and wanted to invite their friends to their home for a blessing and a time of sharing together now the better weather is here.  Mixed feelings - painful wounds and joyful celebration.



You may say, that's life, and so it is.  What really bugs me though is when so-called well-meaning individuals come out with things like, 'All things work together for good to those who love God', 'Time is a great healer', It'll seem altogether different in the morning'.  These words are probably all true but ... ... the thing is that when you are actually going through some disappointment or trauma the last thing you want is for someone to come out with something like that.  Actually what you really feel like doing is shouting at them 'Just shut up!  Life sucks and I feel like crap!'  Oh my goodness, you can't say that!  But if we're really honest that's what we would like to say.  If you sometimes feel like that, don't worry.  You're in good company.  The good news is that we can get angry with God and He takes it.  If you're not sure about that then read the Psalms.  They are full of people who blurt out their anger at God.  The writer of Ecclesiastes says 'So I hated life ... ... All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.'  Hey, even Jesus at his crucifixion felt abandoned by God and shouted out questioning why God had left him to die alone.

Life is a bundle of mixed feelings and that's ok.  It's the same for everyone and if anyone tries to say differently I for one would take what they say with a pinch of salt.  They may smile (rather condescendingly) and quietly say , 'Don't worry'  or offer some other unhelpful advice but that doesn't really help.  If anyone is hurting you don't have to find an answer to their problems. Just walk with them for a while so they're not on their own.  God can take it and He will sort it in His own way and time.  Here's to life - with all its ups and downs.

Listen!

There are times when you see or hear something and you just can't get it out of your head.  So it has been this week.  I follow a website that makes Bible based cartoons.  Some are really funny but one I saw this week got me thinking about listening.  This is the cartoon in question. (You can find this and more here)  







That also reminded me of a video that was on youtube and going the rounds on Facebook - about a 3 year old who was trying to explain to his mother just why he should have cupcakes when she had already said that he couldn't.  She was patiently listening to him and explaining that he was not having cupcakes for dinner and she was putting them  away and that 'NO he couldn't have any!'  He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and kept on saying 'yes but listen to me', 'you aren't listening to me'.  Ah the frustrations that causes.  ( You can hear it Here)

The thing is that for many, as with the small boy, listening is synonymous with agreeing with.  How often do we say that people are just not listening to us when really we mean that they continue to disagree with what we are saying.  Another friend on Facebook and Blogworld has recently had similar problems with something he wrote and quite a backlash of disapproval because others disagreed.  They tried to convince him that he was wrong and in a sense that he wasn't listening to their explanations when really the point was that they didn't agree with what he said when all he was doing was expressing his thoughts and opinions at this point in his life journey.  We so often want to explain everything and accept things as long as they are within our own sphere of thinking but cannot accept anything that might be a bit different.  How often God must want to lead us further and evolve our thinking but we remain adamant that what we think is right and cannot be changed.

The cartoon at the beginning of this post brought home to me how many times God's presence is amazing and we have some wonderful experience and then we try to interpret it in a way that is for our benefit.  Our thoughts are focused on the experience itself rather than on what God is saying through it.  We have what we think are good ideas and ask God to bless our project instead of asking Him and listening to what He wants us to do with what He has revealed.  Again many think that some wonderful spiritual experience or high is for our own benefit and somehow a sign that we are maybe a little more worthy than others to receive such an experience or that it points to our higher position in the perceived spiritual hierarchy.  Those who pray/speak in tongues or have had visions or seen angels often have a sort of 'holier than thou' attitude when talking about it.  How often we wallow in our own sense of piety instead of asking why God has revealed Himself in such a way.  Really God is using it to get our attention in order to listen to His message.  Such experiences are usually not for our benefit but to equip us for what we are to go on to accomplish for Him.

The disciples wanted to stay on the Mount of Transfiguration.  They wanted to preserve the moment by making monuments.  Jesus' response was to go back down the mountain; there were needy people waiting; there was work to be done.  The mountain top experience was to encourage, strengthen and prepare for the work that was to follow.  If all we want to do is to keep enjoying the moment; if the objective is to recreate some experience then we miss the point.  Or as my dear mother used to say - some people are so heavenly minded they are no earthly use!  How often Jesus said 'He that has ears let him hear!'  And how often I have been a bit hard of hearing.