In this week’s chat we talk about trying to juggle everything we have going on in our lives and how through all that God sees us, knows where we’re at and encourages us through it all.
Thank you Emma and Rosemary for this chat. I can imagine both of your lives would be busy and that you may have to decide what are the most important priorities in your lives as I know we can’t do EVERYTHING! I could fill my day in doing a lot of everyday housework, going for walks as I need my vitamin D as well as exercise. i do make an effort to pray and spent time pouring out my heart to the Lord. I do try to listen what the Lord is trying to say in my heart. Just only today i imagined seeing, a rich green rolling hill and I heard myself say the Lord is my Shepherd. Two days ago while walking on my own, I sat in a park near home, that has a picture of St Mary McKillop in it. I opened my little Italian booklet that I carry of St John’s Gospel and there I read Jesus, explaining how He is the Gate for His sheep to enter and to leave. Also that He is the Good Shepherd. This did make me feel comforted as I was feeling down and lonely. My husband didn’t want to walk with me and I have made no friends in Canterbury. Acquaintances yes, but no real friends. I missed the interaction I had where I was previously living. Most of the people who I got to know really well, came from the Catholic Church I attended. It wasn’t that I didn’t know anyone outside the Church or my neighbours, but the parishioners and I shared something very valuable in common.
That was our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! The Church I had attended here was not quite the same. I did want to start a group where we all could watch Bruce, Emma’s and your messages Rosemary and discuss spiritual matters together, while getting to know one another. but that didn’t happen. Instead a knitting group was formed and the little group of friendly women virtually never chatted about their faith. So I left the group.
Bruce did explain in one of his messages that just gathering around believers would not draw other people to the faith, nor those who left to come back. I do agree with him. But the culture we live in these days is mainly secular and to discuss spiritual matters and more to the point Christian matters is not so easy anymore. Also participating in activities when the majority are non believers, can be uncomfortable as what may be acceptable to say and do, may not be for us. It is also very easy to slip away from the faith too as I did in the past. I also recalled a former Christian who was an Islander who attended the same Art School I did. I used to love his work as he would merge his heritage and faith in the most colourful expression. Months later I saw him at another Art School where he was exhibiting his art work. He told me he was no longer a Christian. As I looked at his work, gone was his colourful faith filled heritage. What replaced it was a white canvas and black lines intersecting from all directions. He said he was copying a style that was currently popular at that time. i came away so disappointed! It was as if he had lost himself.
I had lost myself too! It took a diagnoses of me having cancer to come back to the Lord! i do not want to go down that path again! Now my relationship with the Lord is closer than it’s ever been, but the rest of my life, where i live, the lack of true friends, the changes in my closest relationship and family, what I will be doing in the future seems to be out of my control. I have to cast all my cares to the Lord because He appears to be the only one who is able to resolve our lives and cares beyond what others can! God bless you both and thank you that I have a space to share with other sisters in the Lord, other human beings! And I’m the only one who has made a comment!!!
One Comment
Valerie Simms
Thank you Emma and Rosemary for this chat. I can imagine both of your lives would be busy and that you may have to decide what are the most important priorities in your lives as I know we can’t do EVERYTHING! I could fill my day in doing a lot of everyday housework, going for walks as I need my vitamin D as well as exercise. i do make an effort to pray and spent time pouring out my heart to the Lord. I do try to listen what the Lord is trying to say in my heart. Just only today i imagined seeing, a rich green rolling hill and I heard myself say the Lord is my Shepherd. Two days ago while walking on my own, I sat in a park near home, that has a picture of St Mary McKillop in it. I opened my little Italian booklet that I carry of St John’s Gospel and there I read Jesus, explaining how He is the Gate for His sheep to enter and to leave. Also that He is the Good Shepherd. This did make me feel comforted as I was feeling down and lonely. My husband didn’t want to walk with me and I have made no friends in Canterbury. Acquaintances yes, but no real friends. I missed the interaction I had where I was previously living. Most of the people who I got to know really well, came from the Catholic Church I attended. It wasn’t that I didn’t know anyone outside the Church or my neighbours, but the parishioners and I shared something very valuable in common.
That was our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! The Church I had attended here was not quite the same. I did want to start a group where we all could watch Bruce, Emma’s and your messages Rosemary and discuss spiritual matters together, while getting to know one another. but that didn’t happen. Instead a knitting group was formed and the little group of friendly women virtually never chatted about their faith. So I left the group.
Bruce did explain in one of his messages that just gathering around believers would not draw other people to the faith, nor those who left to come back. I do agree with him. But the culture we live in these days is mainly secular and to discuss spiritual matters and more to the point Christian matters is not so easy anymore. Also participating in activities when the majority are non believers, can be uncomfortable as what may be acceptable to say and do, may not be for us. It is also very easy to slip away from the faith too as I did in the past. I also recalled a former Christian who was an Islander who attended the same Art School I did. I used to love his work as he would merge his heritage and faith in the most colourful expression. Months later I saw him at another Art School where he was exhibiting his art work. He told me he was no longer a Christian. As I looked at his work, gone was his colourful faith filled heritage. What replaced it was a white canvas and black lines intersecting from all directions. He said he was copying a style that was currently popular at that time. i came away so disappointed! It was as if he had lost himself.
I had lost myself too! It took a diagnoses of me having cancer to come back to the Lord! i do not want to go down that path again! Now my relationship with the Lord is closer than it’s ever been, but the rest of my life, where i live, the lack of true friends, the changes in my closest relationship and family, what I will be doing in the future seems to be out of my control. I have to cast all my cares to the Lord because He appears to be the only one who is able to resolve our lives and cares beyond what others can! God bless you both and thank you that I have a space to share with other sisters in the Lord, other human beings! And I’m the only one who has made a comment!!!