Spirals

Life is full of spirals. Things that happen again and again. Like my mum forgetting something every time she has to go somewhere. Or my dad being a perfectionist.

Some spirals embrace you like a whirlwind, you can't escape and they take you places. They can pull you down, down to dark places where there seems to be no way out. Depression. Desperation. Hopelesness. Or they can take you up, up to new hights and to freedom. God's healing. Forgiveness. Joy.

Can you think of some spirals in your own life, or in your family history?

If you're thinking of a positive spiral, then what can I say, that's great, happy easter to you, enjoy the ride!

If you're thinking of a negative one, it doesn't seem right to just say happy easter and be on my way. This easter I wanna acknowledge those of you who are struggling, those of you who want out but feel powerless to change the situation, those of you who feel the world, or God, is against you...

Cause this is where the easter message steps in and becomes more than chickens and chocolate eggs.

This is where God shows himself as a warrior, who fights for us and for our freedom.

Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, disarmed the spiritual forces that are making it impossible for you or your family to escape whatever negative spiral you're in. (Read colossians 2:15.) This is God's truth for you this easter. A truth to be embraced. A truth that brings hope. A truth which somewhere along the road will bring final freedom.

If it's difficult for you to embrace this truth, ask someone to pray for you or your family. God's intervention in your situation could be immediate, or it could be a process. Whatever the outcome, I want to encourage you to continue to trust that Jesus died and rose again to free you! It will happen. God wants freedom for you no less than he wants it for others. God has not forgotten you. He loves you.

Trust him.

And keep trusting.

A hopefilled easter to you all!

A poem about Silence

Sorry, did you just call me friend?

I mean, I've always known of you. Don't think I ever knew you.

You confronted me for a while but I excluded you every time.
Pretended not to hear,
was up to my ears in some new project or some new party or some new program on TV
and I expected you to leave.

If you stayed, I didn't see.

I mean, I thought you'd take a hint when I filled my life to the brim,
thought you'd realise you couldn't fit in.

Sorry.

I see you now.

Okay Silence, speak to me.
Or rather, tell me how can I hear?

I mean, it's become a fear,
a fear to make room for you,
a fear to get close to you.
It's like I can't stand you, so forgive me, but I can't...

But maybe I can this time. So I wait a second,
I expect for a second.

But as soon as you speak, my throat tightens.
I need a get away, an escape route, where's the closest exit?
Tell me whatever it is you're saying but don't expect me to look you in the eyes cause I need to find the exit - what's the next step?- and suddenly I'm up to my ears again and you're gone I think,
cause I'm up to my ears in some new project
or party
or program on TV.




Sorry...

Did you just call me friend?

Which way does your wind blow?

Not seldom do I find myself getting caught up in a need to control my life and my future... This is inevitably an impossible goal and only causes a huge amount of stress for me, as well as affecting those around me. It's a weakness I have had for a long time, but I want to be free of it and I believe learning to let go and trust God is where I'll find freedom!

Lately the battle in my mind has been over deciding what to do next year. On one side of the battlefield is the stressed out control freak which wants to take over and drive my decision making. On the other side is the childlike faith in my Father, wanting me to let go, relax my shoulders and calmly trust him in my decision making.

Jesus uses the wind as a metaphor to describe the Holy Spirit and those who follow him. It blows where it wants to, we can hear it, but we can't tell where it's been or where it's going. I've experienced that when I delight and trust in God, I lose the weight and stress of control; it's like I know I'm light as a feather, being blown in the right directions and at the right times by his Spirit. As followers of Christ, we may not see where we are headed - we may not feel like we are being blown anywhere at all - but we can trust that our love for Jesus means we are in his Spirit's wind, and that's the best place we can be.

If you've read this and felt you can relate to it in some way, I wanna recommend the song "which way" by Andrew Ehrenzeller. Click on the album to hear it on Spotify...