Sunday, 19th September 2010
Plan C
It is a good and helpful thing to know which direction you are living and moving in, and even to make a daily plan which follows these purposes, roles, hopes and expectations. Here in Vanuatu we have come to realise that plans need to have a built-in flexibility to absorb the myriad unanticipated things that just happen along the course of each day. For us as a family, no particular day necessarily resembles another. However, at the start of each new day, I do make a Plan A. I also make a Plan B (in an attempt to anticipate and absorb some of the major variables of Plan A), and even something of an ‘emergency contingency Plan C’. With very few exceptions does any given day follow Plan A. Sometimes, the day follows some of Plan B, but more often than not, it is something quite different again – maybe a bit of a Plan C. So is the stuff of life here in Vanuatu!
The day-shaping ‘variables’ for us can be related to the various electronic, mechanical or technological devices which may or may not decide to ‘tow the line’ on any given day. Items such as cars, trucks, ships, generators, motorbikes, planes, computers, modems, printers, mobile phones, batteries and chargers, you name it. And also the availability of technological expertise, spare parts and time that most of these ‘time-saving’ technologies require.
But without doubt, the major ‘variables’ in everyday life are people. Some of these people are those I know and love - my own family, also friends, or people I know a little, also people I have never met before. I have been thinking a lot about this lately, and especially about how an unanticipated ‘intrusion’ to my Plan A or Plan B can effect my state of mind. It is so easy to get irritated and start to feel a bit grumpy with those around me. “How dare this person upset MY agenda for the day!”
In your study of the life of Jesus, have you ever become aware of his attitude whenever a potential 'change of direction' came up in one of his days. Have a quick look at Mark chapter 5. Jesus was amongst a very demanding crowd, all clamouring for his attention (v21), when the man Jairus came and fell at his feet, pleading for special help for his dying daughter (v23). What does Jesus do? Immediately he ‘downed tools’ and went off with Jairus towards his house (v24). On the way there, Jesus was met by a sick woman also needing special help, and so sensing the urgency of her need, compassionately helped her too (v30). Notice how Jesus responded to each of these intrusions to his day? It is clear that on each occasion, Jesus willingly gave his time and attention to these other people, looking to their needs over and above his own. How unselfish he was with his time! This must be what love is all about.
“Oh Lord, help me to see the big picture of what life is (and of what it isn’t). As I ‘seek first your kingdom’ for each day (Matt. 6:33), open my eyes and my heart to receive what you are doing in and around me. I don’t want my Plan A to so blinker me, that I miss the new things you are doing around me.”
Lukim yu, Jon
Sunday, 12th September 2010
You don’t need that poison!
It’s been a ‘different’ last few days. We had a fabulous Monday evening catching up with a couple of good friends and families over a local style BBQ. There’s not much better than a good Barbecue with friends, in whatever culture you live. In hindsight now I can recall eating a piece of meat that may have been ‘not quite right’. It was 3 o’clock in the morning when it all came back to me! Again at four o’clock, then for the last time again at five, just before sunrise. On each occasion, both ends at the same time, as if synchronised! The ferocity of the diarrhea was extraordinary to say the least, and my rib muscles are still sore from the violent heaving into a bucket. Oh boy! Consequently, the next day passed in a bit of a haze, sipping my way through a jug of home-made ORS*. Thanks Lyndell. A few jobs put on hold, and a good bit of time spent either snoozing or pondering the ceiling.
I have always been amazed at the specialness of the human body. Upon detecting the entry of a toxic substance that will do more harm than good, the body’s natural defense mechanisms kick into action. No sooner has the message “Let’s get this stuff outta here” been relayed around the body, than there is the release of chemicals into the bloodstream, reverse peristalsis, and all the rest of it … and the purge is on! And it doesn’t stop till it’s complete, and we’re left feeling exhausted, yet knowing that we are on the road back to good health! Remember that great feeling after a good vomit? Your body knows how to look after itself, as if to say “You don’t need that poison!”
Do we look after ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities with the same diligence that our body’s defense mechanisms look after our own bodies? Or are we often complacent, even slack, in our attitude towards much of the stuff that goes on around us each day, which in the end might be nothing more than a toxin, stealing from us the blessing of good, balanced health? What do we do with that insatiable desire for more stuff, the idol of materialism? What do we do with the temptation towards not forgiving a family member or friend who has done us wrong? Are we providing the guidance and counsel for the young people around us, so many without any teacher other than a violent uncle, or a French soapie TV program, or a pirated B-grade American DVD from the Chinese trade store? “You don’t need that poison!”
God calls us to be diligent, to be careful. The challenges in Ephesians 5 are as real today as they have ever been. 15“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. … Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
I was riding my old postie motorbike back to our house last Thursday evening after trying to fix a broken water pipe out at the campsite. The sun had already set, and so I was unable to wear my sunglasses which I usually do whenever I ride the bike. About half way home, I came across a thick swarm of flying insects and one insisted on having a closer inspection of my right eyeball – and so found his way in. Man, did that hurt! There wasn’t much I could do then and there, and so I kept riding. Soon at home, I was able to bathe my eye, and some of the bug parts washed out.
It is absolutely amazing how the human eye looks after itself! My eye gently ‘watered’ by itself for the rest of the evening, through until I fell asleep. Upon waking at 6 o’clock the next morning (not 3 this time), it was feeling so much better, although a little bruised. But what was so pleasing to find was that during the night, my tears had flushed the remaining bits of carcass out to the corner of my eye, to where I could simply wipe them away. Amazing! Our eyes have their own diligent purging systems too! “You don’t need that poison!”
*Oral Rehydration Solution
Lukim yu, Jon
Lukim yu, Jon
