Being a warrior, not a worrier

We stay in a high-risk area for bush fires and with the extremely hot and dry weather lately, it has become a very real threat. A fire destroyed 56 houses higher up in the hills two weeks ago and two days ago water bombers and fire fighters contained a small fire less than a kilometer away, leaving me feeling very anxious.

The night after the fire threat, I read my four year old one of his favourite bedtime stories, Bob the Bird, by Andrew Mcdonough. In this simple little story, Bob and his fellow feathery friends can’t believe how much people worry about “just about everything” and to what lengths they’ll go to “fix” things themselves.

It was a bit of a wake up call. I was ashamed as to how quickly the anxiety took hold of my heart yet again, blurring out all truth within me, forgetting that I am his precious daughter, in a loving, honouring relationship with Abba Father and therefor I can trust Him fully, even in the midst of a fire.

I read through the specific scripture again this morning, and wow, what amazing comfort lies within the words:

“If you decide for God, living a life of God–worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion––do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best–dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers––most of which are never even seen––don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God–reality, God–initiative, God–provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Mat 6:25-34 (The Message)

If I stop worrying, I can focus on being a warrior within the challenges and hardships every day holds, fighting not by might, nor by power, but by the Breath of God.

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Saying no

It’s hard to take no for an answer.

I realised today that not only does my kids battle with the concept, but I do too. And sometimes Abba Father says no and our world suddenly becomes very small, very self-centred. We want it our way, seeing it from our perspective and in that moment we forget that He is Yahweh Yireh (Gen 22:14) …the God that foresees & provides. Because He is my loving Father, He needs to teach me to trust Him and therefore He needs to say no sometimes. He says no so I don’t become a spoilt brat.

And that is what I have to teach my kids and why I had to take my son’s face in my hands earlier tonight, look deep into his beautiful big blue eyes and just say…”no“.  This is difficult for any child, how much more for a child with pervasive developmental disorder. The tears immediately rolled down his cheeks while trying to change gears inside his head. After taking a deep breath, he asked “why”? And all I could answer was “because I said no“.

My son needs to learn how to trust, but there’s something more. I also want him to know that although he is the apple of my eye, the world doesn’t revolve around him. I have to teach him this, how else will he ever notice others in need or the hurt in someone else’s eyes or understand how to treasure hearts in relationships throughout his life?

He shrugged his shoulders and walked away without questioning me any further. I kept my eyes on him as he walked out the door. Wow, he actually accepted my reply…no further tantrums or sulking. By saying it to him while looking deep into his eyes with all the love in the world, it made the world’s difference. I connected with his heart and the “no” was taken with the trust that I wanted to instil.

Yes, I’m  quick to question and I’m always very quick to say it’s a good thing, but sometimes we just have to accept the small little word, no. And for any child, no matter the age, it doesn’t come easy. This two lettered word can burn like fire. But I now see it as the Refiner’s fire teaching me to be an over-comer and definitely not to be or become a spoilt brat.

Hello to my fellow weavers and the world out there!

Wow, this is all new to me! I’ve never seen and still don’t see myself as this ‘big writer’ or even ‘blogger’. Even texting and tweets take effort.

Yes, I know I’m talkative, all-right  that’s an understatement…my words tumble out like beer bottles on a brewery conveyer belt. Weird…that’s the picture that just came to mind. How will I express myself on paper then? I’m a picture-person. I need my hands and eyes to bring across emotion, observations, words and ideas. I can’t even think and type at the same time. On top of it all, I have to write in my second language, vocabulary and grammar makes me nervous…I read Reader’s Digests under the desk during English class at school.

So, why then even bother doing this?

That will hopefully become apparent when I share & show more & more…