Ice breaker

Last week, while the temperatures rose to incredible heights for early/mid April we were up at the cottage with dear friends (who are also colleagues). So it was a bit of work and a bit of rest after a very busy Holy Week.

When we arrived at the cottage the lake was as we left it — snowy and entirely covered with ice.

As the temperature soared, the sun blazed to melt away the ice.  We literally sat on the deck and watched as the ice broke way and melted into the waters below.  It was incredible to watch. Much more interesting than watching paint dry ;).

Within 48 hours the lake was transformed.

There was still some ice just beyond our shore but that did not deter Brian from grabbing the kayak and breaking through 100 yards of the soft ice and paddle into open water.

As he broke through the ice he created a channel it got me thinking about a common allegory.  A picture of Christians being a channel through which God’s love can flow.  The love doesn’t come from us. Rather, God is working through us.

And yet sometimes, things in our lives hinder the flow of God’s work through us. Stressful circumstances caused by work or relationships or finances, whatever it is.

Okay work with me on this… just like Brian in the Kayak broke through the ice, so can God break through all the stuff in our lives that constrict the flow of God’s love in and through us.  Okay, I get the analogy of Brian in a Kayak as God breaks down quickly, but as I was watching him breaking through the ice to open water —praying he wouldn’t tip over and die of hypothermia— that is the image I saw. God loving us so much that even when our hearts are frozen by the stresses and complication that life can bring — God can and will break through.  We just need to be willing, open and ready.  Not only can God break through and melt the ice but God can use it for good.

Look what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:4-3,

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I like this quote from Tozer: “When I understand that everything happening to me is to make me more Christlike, it resolves a great deal of anxiety.”

What do you think?

Can God be your ice breaker?

Walking the path

What an amazing Holy Week at Amberlea!  Beginning with our Community Easter Event, followed the next day with Palm Sunday. On Friday we gathered for a powerful Good Friday service, and then on Sunday, we had wonderful celebration, complete with bubbles, easter eggs, puppets and powerful music! Throughout Holy Week we had the privilege of walking the Prayer Labyrinth in the Fellowship Hall.  I say privilege because my very first experience on that exact mat, was — at the risk of sounding dramatic — life changing.

It was almost 20 years ago, before beginning my studies at Knox College at the compulsory Guidance Conference for all Presbyterian Church in Canada potential ministerial candidates (whew, that was a mouthful ;).  I remember it like yesterday. I really wasn’t quite sure why I was there. I didn’t want to be a pastor, and yet circumstances, and encouragement from others had led me to this place. A Master of Divinity degree? Me?  I remember feeling very alone and very confused when I found myself in a room where the gigantic Prayer Labyrinth was laid out on the floor.  The purpose was to focus on prayer as you walk on the blue path that lay before you.

“How hard could this be?” I thought.

I stood at the edge of the mat, kicked off my shoes and began the walk.  I wasn’t very far along when I began to feel rather anxious and even panicked.  I could see the centre of the mat – which was a large blue circle – but I had no idea how to get there. I remember having a conversation with myself about how “…this was so stupid…” and “… no one was forcing me to stay on this mat and no one would know if I jumped off…” (which, by the way I was tempted to do).  As I was having this conversation with myself, however, I kept my eyes on the path and kept walking and the next thing I knew I was standing in the centre of the labyrinth.  Having arrived in the centre with bold blue lines swirling all around me, I fell to my knees and began to cry.  I called out to God saying, “I don’t get why I am here.  I don’t know what you want me to do.  I don’t want to be a pastor.  I can’t see me doing that. I am not gifted that way. What do you want me to do? Tell me! What do you want me to do????”

And then it became very clear.  The whole walking-on-the-labyrinth was like my life.  It was as though God was saying to me, “I have set the path before you.  Walk in obedience.  Don’t worry about the end.  I know what it is even though you don’t and that is OK.  Just be obedient and walk.  This may not be the plan you have, but this is My plan and I will reveal the plan in MY time”.

At that moment all the anxiety I had felt before was lifted.  I knew that I had to prayerfully and obediently walk the path before me even though I wasn’t quite sure where the path was leading and what the end would look like.

Now with the benefit of hindsight, I can honestly say the journey, though not always easy, has been amazing, particularly because it brought me to you —to Amberlea.

God has a plan and a calling on each of our lives.  Take the time to stop and listen.  Here’s the thing, you don’t have to walk a laybrinth to hear the heart of God.  And don’t be afraid to listen, for fear of what you might hear. God may not be calling you to something big that uproots your life, it might be something small that has big, maybe even huge impact. Like,

• Text your wayward kid that you love them.

• Stop self-medicating.

• Call your mother.

Or maybe God is calling you to something bigger.

• Go back to school

• Start a business or a not-for-profit

• Give back generously

Our response to God’s leading is an act of obedience and faith.  Oh, and just wait for the outcome — I promise, in hindsight, walking the path God lays before you will be worth it.

What is God calling you to do?

Born to serve

This week, Holy Week, we reflect on Jesus. His life, death and resurrection and what that means to you and me.  As I have been taking my own time to reflect, this verse has repeatedly come to mind.

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Light of the World, the Vine, the Resurrection and the Life… came to serve.

One thing is clear, that the kingdom of God operates very differently from our world - the promises of heaven, the fullness and newness of life, healing and so much more. It seems to be completely opposite to the world we live in.

In the scripture found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is taking the opportunity to teach about the Kingdom of God after a heated moment among the disciples. It seems that earlier in this chapter the mother of James and John wanted to make sure that her boys had the best seats in heaven.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

LOL…I get it.  As a mom, I want the very best for my kids. I want them on the top, in the front or at least on the list, right?

The disciples, however were none too pleased about this request. They were like, “Dudes, you sent your mom? Really?” Which led to a kind of uproar among them.

But Jesus knew what was at the heart of the matter, they didn’t understand how the Kingdom of God worked.

So he begins to break it down for them, leading to what he said in verse 28. It’s as if he is telling the disciples, I am not here to show you what it looks like to be at the top.  I am here to show you what it is like to be in My Kingdom.

As a Son, Jesus understood the depth of God’s love but as a servant he understood the seriousness of God’s command.

This is what Jesus wanted us and the disciples to know, that the hierarchy of the kingdom looks nothing like our world. It is as much an honour and privilege to be a servant of God as it is to be a child of God.  And, to serve God is to see the act of serving as one of the greatest honours on this side of heaven.

So, friends, today as we prepare for Good Friday, and the celebration of Easter, remember that Jesus was sent to give His life as a ransom— for you and me. Which means we have been set free of sin and shame. We are new in Jesus Christ… Hallelujah!! So, with that knowledge and gratitude let us continue to seek God first and serve God well!