Walk On

Life can appear to throw curve balls at times. Conflict can emerge from the most unlikely quarters. Life can be tough.

But here's what I've learned...

It's in your paths' twists and turns, in the unexpected, the unplanned, the inconvenient and in the downright pain in the backside, that you will find grace and direction.  So embrace the God-shaped surprises that you stumble over; laugh with the angels as the next stepping stone seems to shift and stride out knowing that your Father has a plan.

It's at the edge of your comfort zone where God will meet you and where you'll see his hands at work.  So don't hesitate to go there and meet him and marvel at his works.

And take his word as your guide: His written words will sometimes act as a sword to pierce, cutting through unnecessary distractions.  Sometimes his written words will act as spears in the ground to set safe boundaries for you to find confidence as to how far you can go.  But always his written word will provide light for your paths, giving you direction.

So walk on.

WAITING IS CHALLENGING. HERE'S HOW TO MAKE IT JOYFUL...

Waiting is one of my least favourite things in life.

Whether it's in a queue at the supermarket, waiting for results from an important exam or for an answer to prayer, I feel the same old tension build up inside.

These days I can get almost anything I can think of the next day on Amazon Prime, any kind of food I want delivered to my house within the hour, or rent a movie instantly without needing to get up off my sofa. Technology is moving forward at such an astonishing rate that the next faster, more advanced gadget always seems to come out straight after we get the previous one.

It's no wonder we can start to get frustrated when the rest of life doesn't work out that way and we have to wait on something.

But when we think about God's view of time we see some pretty different thinking.

God is outside of time. He isn't constrained by it, and he knows the end from the beginning – nothing comes as a surprise to him. If he knows the end, and I don't, why do I think that my expectations on timing might be better than his?

What does our struggle with waiting say about who we think we are?

So much of our identity is in what we do, the measurable and achievable.

Noise and activity, not silence and waiting.

We often have nothing to show for our waiting, and this is uncomfortable. But waiting gives me a unique opportunity to pause and look inside and see what I really believe about myself. Brennan Manning talks about this in his book Abba's Child:

‘Our longing to know who we really are - which is the source of all our discontent - will never be satisfied until we confront and accept our solitude. There we discover the truth that we are the beloved. We are often so busy trying to prove to ourselves that we are loved that we do not hear God telling us he loves us. Silence is not simply the absence of noise, but rather a process of coming to inner stillness, and this requires waiting.’ (My paraphrase)

So how can we wait well?

These three concepts have challenged and helped me recently in the things I'm waiting for and I hope they can help you too:

1. God is always working good things in me even when I’m waiting – I don't need to wait until I've arrived for this. ‘There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.’ Philippians 1:6
2. God is never late. And his timing is focused not on the transient results that I look for, but things that matter for eternity. ‘The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.’ 2 Peter 3:9
3. And most importantly, completely aside from whether you're waiting or not, and whatever is or isn't happening in our lives, we can be sure of this one thing: He is with us. ‘I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:20

Sometimes we have to make a choice about how we want to face these seasons of waiting and uncertainty. I love the attitude of this quote I recently came across:

‘Let's find the unknown irresistible, let's sit in its calming presence and be glad that we are never 'lost' but wandering with purpose, excited, free, expectant. Loving the mystery of it all.’

MY MATERNITY LEAVE CHALLENGE...AND YOUR OPPORTUNITY

Since being on maternity leave I have loved hanging out with my two boys.

I feel incredibly blessed to be a mummy, and thank God every day for the two little dudes he blessed me with.

But after six months I was getting itchy feet to do something other than:

• changing nappies
• sterilising bottles
• washing clothes
• cleaning the house
• dressing boys
• (followed by undressing boys when one is sick all over himself and the other one hasn't made it to the bathroom in time)

As much as I love doing all of these things, I felt like I needed an extra challenge to add to my week!

Redeemer's just finished running its first term of meetups.

I had the pleasure of hosting a parent and toddler meetup at my home. I invited parents from Redeemer, as well as other local mums that I've met over the last few years.

Despite being a reception teacher at a local primary school, for some crazy reason I felt the need to turn my own home into a classroom for 9 weeks!

My flat was full of baby equipment and all sorts of toys. It felt like mayhem, but the kids had a blast.

It turns out toy trains, cars and the play kitchen were the most popular toys!

We sang songs together, and snack time was loved by all (adults and kids).

Mums enjoyed connecting with one another, sharing stories and advice about the latest milestone their children were going through.

It was a great experience I felt privileged to be a part of, and I met some cheeky adorable kids and some incredible new mum friends throughout.

I had 49 kids and parents through my door over the 9 weeks!

When our final session came to an end earlier this week, one thought came to mind:

Why should this end?

The answer is - it shouldn't!

I am heading back to work next month, and will be surrounded by many other kids that will keep me busy...but the opportunity is there for someone else to host next term!

As I summarised my ramblings of my last blog in 5 easy steps I thought I would do the same:

1. Take on new challenges
   The tots group is just my example of taking a risk in leading something new. You could lead a meetup in the future!
2. Use your skills to connect with others
   I've discovered I'm actually good at being with kids! It's probably because I am a big kid at heart (and so is my husband, he keeps me young). Think about what your skills are - how can this help you connect with people locally and build friendships?
3. Try not to focus on WOE IS ME
   Don't feel sorry for yourself if you feel that you don't have any friends and haven't been invited to things. That was their loss not having you there. Instead, make the first move and...
4. Invite people to an event
   It doesn't have to be in your own home. It doesn't have to be run by you. Everyone loves being invited to something. From experience, not everyone will turn up - so be brave, and invite twice the amount you were planning on.
5. Love being local! (That's my blog copyright if you'd not noticed)
   Enjoy your surroundings, the people around you and what Ealing has to offer.