A Well Watered Garden

It has been a restless kind of day. It actually started the night before. A decision to watch the Daily Wire before bed Numbers, reports, job losses, deaths, projections... Anti-isolation protests rising. My mind filled with questions... Is the collapse of the economy worse than the pandemic? Do governments have too much power? How did we get here? Just because someone ate a bat? Will my dental surgeon ever open again? I turned the lights out, My body fell asleep but my mind was in park mode. Parked in anxiety, fear, doubt. I did not need the alarm to wake me up. My mind was up and ready to go. From park to high gear. Checking my phone, Answering emails, making phone calls, Planning more zoom calls, And sending even more text messages. Towards the end of the day, came a text from a dear friend. Reminding me to go for a walk. "Walk very far" was her quote. And so I did. My mind unravelled and undone. My restless heart slowed...

         The sun was just peeking through the clouds when I decided I would go out for an early morning walk. The air was crisp and still quite cool. Since it was early enough that not too many people would be out, I decided to go to the ravine. The trail is narrow and does not lend itself to social distancing later in the day when more people are out walking.         This has been my safe space, familiar and calming. Memories of walks with Julius are a soothing companion. It is almost 7 years since he is gone. The landscape has changed some. The bulrushes are much taller, the wooden bridge re-built and the signposts worn and faded. A favourite tree uprooted and lying down after a storm brought it down some years ago.       The sights and sounds of Spring were everywhere. The green blades of grass are visible as they force their way up. The forest was up early and busy. In these days of isolation, the constant hum or...

Today was a hard day. How much more Lord? Destruction is all around us. Destruction in a world that is broken, oh so broken. The reach of this evil has no limits or boundaries. What is tomorrow's news going to be? What am I going to wake up to? Can I escape the news if I don't listen to it? How long Oh Lord? How much more? Today was a hard day. It is Good Friday 2020 and our places of worship are closed. I struggled to stay tuned to any one live stream. Online church hopping that would not satisfy. And so I shut my laptop and opened my well worn and beloved bible. It was a hard day 2000 years ago. A day when the Son of God was put on trial, judged, mocked and hung on a tree. A day that had consequences of the kind nobody could've imagined. A day when the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  A day when a way was made for us to reach the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. It was felt good to linger at the cross. It wa...

Lord, I am so weary...           weary of being alone,               and yet hearing the constant noise of news and notifications                   of zoom meetings and Facebook live events                       of receiving and forwarding funny memes and not so funny videos           I am so weary               of seeing others being weary and not being able to fix it for them                 of long prayer requests                       and not knowing where to start and whom to pray for                  of trying to sound spiritual and strong                     ...

This morning we celebrated Pastor Paul and his wife Sue. After 11 years of ministry, they are moving on to a new assignment that God is calling them to. The  Whittingstalls  are much loved and as you can imagine it was an emotional morning at church as he recounted the journey over the last 11 years. From working out of a coffee shop to get wifi and Sunday services in a school basement, to being presented with a building and then sending groups of people to start two churches in different parts of the city, it has been a wonderful and blessed journey and as he rightly pointed out, for all this we are grateful to God. I have personally loved and appreciated Pastor Paul and Sue for many things over the years that I got to know them. I have sweet memories of Pastor Paul's relationship with Julius. Of seeing him at the hospital before we could get there and sitting with us for hours in the ER, waiting for news. For the days following and the ...

My Papa A Poem Written by Alekhya Always loving, always forgiving, always kind, always compassionate You were made in God’s image; a man after His own heart Hugs, laughs, cries, road trips, and family dinners Your love for me helped me to see how much more a Heavenly Father could love  Your bravery and courage set an example  You never kept score; there were no grudges  Just like with Christ I knew I never had to earn your favor   My darkest days were in the wake of your absence My heart was heavy.  Is it all true? Papa, is it everything that He said it would be? For He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. Because of our shared belief in Jesus, Papa one day we’ll walk hand in hand on streets of gold  I can almost hear the sound of the saints rejoicing at the final wedding feast We’ll be h...

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”  (Matthew 1:23,  NASB ) In these verses Matthew was quoting the prophet Isaiah, who seven hundred years earlier had foretold the birth of Jesus Christ.  “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7: 1 4).  Immanuel. God with us. God with us. I have read these words often. So often, that  they have become familiar. So familiar, that I ask myself: Have I lost the awe of what they really mean? Immanuel. God with us. This morning I decided to stop and ponder like Mary did. God with us.  How can this be?  The God of  creation, who spoke the universe into being, Who hung the stars on nothing and knows them by name. Who created the earth and all that is in it.  The One who is, and...