Actively Involved

As a parent, I do not just keep thoughts of involvement with my children as ideas in my mind.  Similarly in all my interactions with others,  not all the plans and hopes in my dreams come to reality, but certainly some do.  One of the joys of life is experiences shared together.  I am delighting in holiday time by the sea with our youngest four.  The pace of life here leaves time for games of "Sorry", "Pick Up Sticks" and even some fast paced spoon card game that is just too intense for me.  Mornings are spent wandering the low tide beaches discovering those  fascinating creations normally hidden in the seas depths.  We all read together and swim and wander along the beach chatting with others and dropping in on our neighbours.

I am reflecting that often my time with God is purely an exercise in my mind.  Indeed God takes up thought and prayer time.  I do believe that He loves each of us beyond all measure.  Often my relationship with Him stops there.  Life can involve active interaction with the God of the Universe,  affectionately known by many as "The Universe."   Listen to those inner promptings of your heart.  Step out and act on them.  Be still and receive love and care from our Creator.  Wait and see what blessings come.  Develop eyes to see and ears to hear not just in your mind but the fullness of your being.    May we share those God or Universe moments with one another.  Recognize them.  Interact with them and have them be part of the fullness of life.  Life has so many dimensions: emotional, physical, mental and spiritual!  We read of others who speak of personal relationship with God.  Go further to notice those moments of experience in your own life. Write about them.  Include them in the internal story of your life.  Most of us do not recognize God in the everyday experiences.  I want to take time and grow in this experience of life with God.  Practice and jump in to the love and involved interest of God for you with all of your being.

Up on the Mantelpiece

Many of our family treasures are proudly displayed on the mantelpiece over our fireplace.  While some things come and go, others stay put.  The brass clock stays steady, faithfully ticking away over the years.  A solid Inuit carving, smooth and carefully crafted, serves as a place where those transient cards come to be propped up during times of celebration.  Shells and special pieces of driftwood come and go and give variety and beauty.

Though not specifically displayed on the mantel, each of our children are treasures to be appreciated and placed firmly in the heart of our family.  Painfully, I am aware that sometimes our children in this life may not be a constant in our lives.  Sometimes the tragedy of death takes them from us.  No less devastating, sometimes children decide to leave in anger, or mistakes made cause distances that never seem to be able to be bridged.  As I wrote yesterday about our children feeling increasingly secure as the waves of love are washed over them, I was aware that none of us have guarantees of that ongoing sense of belonging and love.  Sometimes those beautiful pieces of driftwood washed up high on the beach that we hope will stay forever do get washed away in the storms to continue their life journey on other shores.  Even chunks of rock on those sandstone beaches get broken off.

I have a mantelpiece in my heart that I cherish and admire whenever I want.   All my children and loved ones have a special place on that mantel.  No earthly or heavenly reality can remove them from that most special place in my heart.   No disappointments, failures or harsh words can touch this sanctuary.  I try not to bring my own guilt or pain there and instead come to my inner mantelpiece with deep love and prayer.

I can let go of guilt in my own sanctuary when I remember that I am firmly placed forever on God's mantel.  I believe we are all there, displayed with joy and care in God's heart, even when we ourselves do not know or even want His recognition.  Nothing can remove us from that place in His heart.  It is His place to hold and treasure the great wonder and love of each unique person of His creation.

Sometimes in life those special treasures we that thought were safe in our keeping are ripped away from us in any number of ways.  We all have people who we are deeply missing.

I am thankful for that central place in my own heart where I can honour and hold my special ones forever.  I have lasting security in the knowledge and experience that God has me and all these others on His mantel too, far from any harm and eternally treasured and held no matter what.

Sixty years and counting!

Congratulations to my dear Mum and Dad!  Today you begin your sixty-first year together as partners on this journey of life.  Thank you for your love and commitment to one another all these years.  I have noticed your constant faithful caring and thoughtfulness to each other through both good times and those more challenging times.  You have been steady and consistent and have done your best even when it has not been easy.  You have made allowances for areas of struggle in each other and have  selflessly supported one another.

Your love for each other has given deep foundations of security for many of us whose lives you touch.  You are an inspiration for me and for our children.  Your steady love for one another will continue to bear fruit over many generations.

By the sea we are always reminded of the impact of the waves.   It is the waves that smooth the sandstone and create beautiful and surprising creations over the years.  Waves wash up all those interesting delights along the shore.  Similarly, the steady love and commitment that you have for one another gives great gifts for eternity.

I know best those gifts that you have given to me and my family.  Often in my own relationships I think of your steady love for one another and take a few more deep breaths of forgiveness and start again.  As we celebrated yesterday, I thank you for your opening embrace for your four grandchildren by adoption.  Your steadiness has brought hope of the possibility of lasting relationships.  As the girls seek to rebuild their own lives, they truly have increasingly felt washed by the waves of your love on their shores.    Although they often have times of feeling like disconnected driftwood being aimlessly tossed around in the waves,  being welcomed into celebrations of faithfulness year after year brings memories shared and gives the security of strong and steady rock supporting them!  Their rocky beaches  are washed steadily by your faithful love and hospitality that gradually will give stability and hope for commitment and good things discovered.  I think they are increasingly knowing that the shape of their lives has incredible beauty even by virtue of its long journey and weathered and unique appearance.  They are beginning to feel like the treasures that they are, appreciated like the unique rocky formations on the beach and the delightful driftwood creations safely placed on the family mantel.  They are recognizing that they are special and indeed a part of this shoreline where they will be enjoyed and delighted in forever.

Not all of us will have sixty years together.  We all have the new start of today.  May we be faithful in love to those around us in the reality of right now, remembering that the love that we express today will, like the waves,  make their mark!  Today may we appreciate the unique beauty of one another, treasuring and accepting one another as you began in your care and commitment for one another those sixty years ago.  Thank you for this precious legacy of love, dear Mum and Dad!  For each day together we are thankful!