Hope

One of my favourite parts of Winter is its finale. The moment when Winter begrudgingly gives way to the freshness of Spring. When buds push their way through the hard ground and battle against the elements in their determination to win life. When small leaves appear on the bare branches of trees and hedges, breaking up the jagged jigsaw of brown and grey with little splashes of vibrant colour. When the sun breaks through the clouds in bursts, letting its rays light up the sky; the very manifestation of God with us.  

In celebration of this transition between the seasons, I have filled every corner of our home with daffodils. I absolutely love these flowers, largely because they’re my Mum’s favourite, but also because of the hope that they represent – the beginning of the end of the icy, cold season. Hope and energy bubbles up in me every time I see the splashes of sunny yellow, brightening up areas of our home. 

Because of my Christian faith, hope defines my life. Not in the dreamy, wishful thinking definition of the word, but rather a confident expectation and firm assurance. The hope that God loves me and that I am beautifully and wonderfully made in His image. The hope that God has my life held securely in His hand; that my life has meaning and purpose. The hope that there is forgiveness available to me for the mistakes that I make. The hope that my future is secure and safe in Him.

"Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised"

(Hebrews 10:23)

At this time of year, Hope becomes manifest in the re-emergence of life around us. I pray that you will find the reassurance and comfort of the hope we find in God, portrayed through this wonderful transition between the seasons.

Squeeze the Juices out of Life.

In our family, we have a saying…‘Squeeze the juices out of life’.  It’s something we’ve always said to each other, often on the brink of a big opportunity or decision in one of our lives. It instils courage and motivation in us to live life to the best of our ability; to enjoy each and every moment, never taking life for granted, but living it with open eyes and a thankful heart. As a result of the regularity with which these six words have been spoken over me by my loved ones, it has undoubtedly become a refrain that I tell myself in my own life and I have found myself subconsciously falling back on those six words as a phrase to live by. 

I’ve never thought about the effect that this simple saying has had upon my perception of life, but thanks to the newly created ‘Sunday Blogging Space’, I feel compelled to explore it now.

Were you to look up the word ‘life’ in the dictionary, you would find a highly uninspiring, unemotional definition: ‘The existence of a human being or animal’. It’s a scientific definition of life, distinguishing living beings from inanimate objects. It’s inevitable that the dictionary definition of life would be unsatisfying and incomplete; the very concept of life being too huge and varied to define in a simple sentence. Despite this, I’m saddened to observe that this definition is an accurate description for some people’s perception of their own lives. When days blur into each other, lacking shade or colour, devoid of meaning or emotion I can understand how ‘existence’ could provide an apt definition.

But I refuse to settle for existence because my life is worth more than that.

I want to live my life in vibrant technicolour, greeting each and every day with a positive attitude; recognising the potential that it holds to be a great day. I want to build relationships anchored in mutual love, respect and honesty. I choose to stand up for my beliefs in a society that prefers to follow the crowd; to never allow my Christian faith to be dumbed down in order to ‘fit in’ with the expectation of my generation.

‘Squeezing the juices out of life’ demands action on my part to make my life great. I believe that God has a plan for my life and my future, but I need to take ownership too. I choose to trust Him in all that I do – to listen intently and keep humility. I also choose to live life well. To enjoy it every day. To gratefully take opportunities that are opened up to me and to thank Him every day for the gift (yes, GIFT) of life.

And so I’ll leave you with the wise words of a woman who viewed life as much, much more than simple existence. In fact, the OED should take note – it certainly strikes me as a more worthy definition of this amazing thing we call ‘life’:

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realise it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”

(Mother Teresa)

Love is...

So it’s nearing THAT time of year again. When the card aisle in the supermarket becomes awash with bold splashes of red and pink fighting for your undivided attention, claiming superiority over all other colours. ‘The Greatest Love Songs of all Time’ is played in stores across the country on repeat, champagne bottles are moved to the entrance of the shops and men can be spotted panic buying red roses and chocolates on Friday 13^th, with a somewhat deranged look in their eye.  

Valentine’s Day is rearing its head again and, as ever, I am left with the feeling that somehow commercialism has stolen the show once more. The very fact that Christmas cards were immediately replaced with Valentine’s Day cards on the 27^th December did little to quell this feeling. Now, I have nothing against the premise of this day. I think it is absolutely important to acknowledge love in our lives and will be enjoying a rather lovely dinner date with hubby on the 14^th. However, I also think it is essential that love is acknowledged, celebrated and shared every day. 

For me, love is rolling out of bed first to make the cups of morning tea. It’s in the quick peck on the cheek before he goes to work and the encouraging text at the beginning of a tricky day. It’s taking the time to pray for him during that meeting he’s been preparing for all week. It’s leaving that pile of marking for tomorrow in order to spend more time with him tonight. It’s the lift home from the station on a cold and icy winter’s evening. It’s saying ‘thank you’ when he sorts the dinner and lets you sit down for a few minutes at the end of the day. 

Love is so much more than the slushy words in a Valentine’s Day card. The cards, roses and chocolates are all superficial and meaningless unless you act on your love each and every day; actions speak louder than words after all. The cards and roses should supplement an action-based love which is as real on a rainy Monday morning as it is on the evening of Saturday 14^th.

As a teenager, I championed WWJD wrist bands. The phrase ‘What Would Jesus Do’ helped me to focus on my own attitude in life and to advise me on the best way to react to situations, as well as how to communicate with people. 

I wonder what Jesus would think about Valentine’s Day? 

Personally, I think he would be pleased with the sentiment, but would probably be quick to remember love in the unromantic sense of the word  too - love displayed as patience, kindness, generosity and modesty. He would point to the Father’s unconditional, immeasurable love for each and every one of us and would encourage us to love one another with a selfless love. 

Whatever your plans for this Valentine’s Day, whether with a special someone or not, I pray that you will experience personally the unparalleled love of Christ, which is beyond our understanding or comprehension and which stays with us every single day.

¹⁴ So I bow in prayer before the Father ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name. ¹⁶ I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit. ¹⁷ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. ¹⁸ And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. ¹⁹ Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

How 'rich' is your life?

My husband and I live in a nice house. We have a functional car (thanks to a recent, unbelievably pricey clutch replacement) and go to bed every night with full stomachs. We meet the tax, insurance, utility bills and mortgage demands each month without feeling the pinch too badly. Most months, we have enough left over to go out for meals, day trips and other events some would consider to be luxurious. We have constant jobs, with a consistent flow of finance that keep us in this privileged position. As I write this blog from the comfort of my sofa, on my personal laptop, the TV is running in the background, the central heating is turned up and there is a steady flow of hot tea at my fingertips. I imagine most of you, for the very fact that you are reading this blog, can say the same. If so, congratulations; you join me in the world’s top 8% of wealthiest people, even those of you who are going through hard times at the moment. 

When we take the time to count our blessings, we can surely find reason to be thankful. These few alone will inspire gratitude in us and we haven’t even scratched the surface… Should I continue to list things in my life to be grateful for, in no time, I’d have a list a mile and a half long. And yet, how is it that we still manage to find the points of contention, the gripes, the moans so often in our days? We, often subconsciously, compare and contrast our lives with those of our peers, finding reason to be jealous and resentful of what others have; 

In wealthy terms, you’re wealthier than the majority of the world’s population. But, in my opinion, this does not mean that your life is rich. 

Because a rich life is defined by gratitude, satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment.

It’s spent investing in positive relationships.
Laughing with abandon.
Smiling without hesitation.
Listening with attentiveness.
Giving with boldness.
Loving with selflessness.
Praying with fervency.

It’s about finding joy in the ordinary things. The everyday. The moments that we so often take for granted. If we focus on these things and I mean really focus on them with eyes that are opened to the good, rather than the ‘not-so-good’, ‘could-do-better’ attitude we are taught to adopt by our Western society, then who can say how our lives could be changed? Try it, it’ll make you richer.

‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich’.
(2 Corinthians 8:9)