In the Hands of the Owner

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32 v 8

One day when we were relaxing at home on a Sunday afternoon, my then youngest son Anele asked an interesting question. ‘Mom how come when you clean the house you take so long, yet sisi does it so much faster?’ Sisi means ‘Big Sister’ and that was how they referred to the maid who helped me with my domestic chores. Being a working mother I spent most of the day at the office and did not have time to clean the house that often. Whenever I did clean, it was on Sundays or holidays.

My son was right, when I was the one doing the cleaning; it was like spring cleaning all the time. I’d wake up way before dawn, put on my house coat and start with the kitchen. Of all the rooms in my house I’ve always loved the kitchen the most. Cupboards would be shaken out and reorganised, floors would be scrubbed and movable furniture would be moved. Sometimes I’d even take down the curtains and replace them with fresh ones or wash and hang them afresh. In most cases the work would go on for so long that we would only have breakfast about 10:00am when the members of my family were almost starving. You see, weekends and holidays were one of the few occasions we had the privilege of sitting down to eat breakfast together as a family.

A closer look at how I cleaned the house. I left no section untouched. There were pieces of furniture that my helper was too lazy to move or that were just not convenient to move on a daily basis. It appears I was the only one who was ever motivated enough to move those. Without fail, each time I cleaned the house myself, a lot of missing items were found; lost pencils, books, toys and even items of clothing at times. Cob webs would be removed, piles of dust taken out from under fridges and stoves etc. It was the same all the time. I know exactly how I want my house to be organized. There is a certain logical way in which I want things put in my kitchen so that when I go in to cook, I find things without thinking about where to find them. That’s just the way it is.

In my journey as a child of God, there are special people that God has allowed into my life who are his helpers. They interact with me on a daily basis. My friends and family are there to help me with some of my needs. When I am having difficulties with balancing home and career, my girlfriends are there to give me tips and ideas on how I can be more organised. When the boss is coming heavy on me due to deadlines to be met, my husband is a strong shoulder for me to lean on and his embrace comforts me and assures me that I am still loved and appreciated. When life has drained from me all that it can and I am almost giving up, one of my children does or says something that brings a smile to my heart and I realise there is so much to live for.
Obviously there are certain character traits which are evident to those closest to me. Because they love me, they point out these character weaknesses to me and they help me to clean up my act. Sometimes I become very impatient when things do not move at the pace that I want. My husband has a way of communicating with me that reminds me that I need not be on top of the situation all the time and that somehow causes me to be calm. One of my closest friends was a pillar of strength in prayer when my marriage was going through a particularly rough patch. I appreciate all these people who help put a semblance of order into my life and I know they are there by God’s design. However, they, like the maid who helps in my house have one weakness; they do not know me as intimately as my Maker.

That is why it is important to me to have daily devotions where I sit with God and tell him what pleases me and what annoys me. He is the only One who can go into all the corners of my heart and mind and clean, dust and polish behind the furniture. Family and friends are there to do their part just like my maid gives what she considers her best in keeping order in my house. There is only One who knows what is supposed to be kept in and what is supposed to be thrown out. Just like my maid cannot make such decisions as rearrange the furniture or throw out obsolete items without consulting me, the people in my life can only do so much in keeping me emotionally and spiritually balanced.

I am sure that must apply to you too. When was the last time you were still long enough to allow the Master to look into your heart and mind in order for Him to do what He does best? Life dumps a lot of stuff onto us, stuff that affects our feelings, emotions and our spiritual and physical well being. God is the only One who truly understands why and how we are the way we are and He is the only One who can reorganise and reprioritize for us for our optimal performance. When I have personally done the house, things become more efficient and my husband and children show their appreciation. Take the time to have regular appointments where you sit at Jesus’ feet and allow Him as your Creator to put order and balance into your life and thus make it more pleasant for the people in your life to live with you.

Lord, help me as your child to set aside time where I can commune with You as my Creator and Supplier of all my needs. Most times I become so busy fulfilling my societal obligations that I neglect the most important thing, that of spending time with You. Many times when things become too difficult, I rush to my friends and family for solutions and place unrealistic expectations on them for my wellbeing. I thank You for placing these people in my life. They are a real and tangible support system that I need; yet above all, I need your constant touch for me to function properly. It is such a great comfort to know that You are always there to listen to me and to counsel whenever I turn to You. AMEN

A Masterpiece in the Making

‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh’ Ezekiel 36 v 25, 26

Sometime in May this year we were hosted by a couple who are our friends with my husband. They were in the process of renovating their house. It was a house they had purchased two years back and immediately started on the renovation process. Since they moved into the house immediately after purchasing, it meant that they had lived with the inconvenience of being on a semi-construction site for the entire time that they had owned the house.

What caught my attention when they were narrating the journey thus far was the fact that they had so far only made major structural changes on the inside. This included shifting walls and rearranging rooms to obtain the look and functionality that they wanted. Without shifting the external walls of the house, major changes were happening on the inside. The only changes that they had made on the external walls were the removals of old narrow doors, replacing them with more spacious and modern sliding glass doors. According to their plan they were going to do the outside painting and the landscaping of the gardens last when the inside was to their satisfaction.

To me it seemed as if this couple had bought a house that they did not want. They went on to explain that without a doubt they wanted that particular house when they bought it. In fact what had motivated them to buy it was the potential that they saw in it. They envisioned what it would become once they were through with it. Why spend more than 90% of their time and money on the inside and not the outside? The rationale was that they spent most of their time inside the house, so it had to look the best and be the best functional for their comfort and that of their guests.

Listening to this couple talk about their incomplete house with such passion and expectation reminded me of a different kind of Renovator. God saw me wounded and weary from sin. My life and the condition of my heart were so unsightly that only a loving God would even give me a second look. On His first sight of me he looked way beyond what I was, and saw what I could become when He had worked on me. Long before I was formed, He decided to pay the ultimate price for me, that of His life on Calvary’s tree. Like our couple friend, God chose to move in immediately in spite of the inhabitable state that my heart was in. His focus was on the joy of having me let Him in to be the Master who would decide what needed to be changed and how the change would be organised.

Sometimes those who know that I have chosen to be friend to a supposedly all-wise, all-powerful and loving God wonder at why my circumstances continue to be the same, or even become more unpleasant sometimes since Jesus came into my heart. They ask themselves if my choice was a wise one. What they do not know until they come closer is that God is working on the inside. He focuses on changing the important areas first, those that are His dwelling place and those that impact on those who come into close contact with me. When the inside is to His satisfaction, then and only then will He change the outside, my circumstances so I can fully enjoy the blessings that have always been mine. The ultimate change will be on that great day when Christ shall come to take us home.

After choosing to follow Christ, your circumstances may be leaving many wondering why you are continuing with Him. Do not be discouraged, Jesus did say that the world would hate us for being His followers. The rubble outside are the unwanted characteristics and traits that have to make way for the new design that your inside is becoming. Some of the unsightly stuff outside is the construction material that must be brought inside to build the new walls from which beautiful pictures will hang, to create new rooms from where laughter will ring and beautiful relationships will be built with family and friends. Even before the work is complete, guests who pass by and touch your life will notice the change on the inside and they will rejoice with the re-Creator for the masterpiece that they see coming.

At some point along the journey of life, even though there may be touch-ups that will need to be done from time to time, the essential house will be completed both on the inside and the outside. The external walls shall be painted, the garden shall be done. Beautiful fragrances shall come forth. The fence shall be mended and even the outside will testify that the great Restorer has been there and continues to reside there, repairing what gets damaged and ensuring that the home is properly maintained.

Thank God for not ever giving up on you. Praise His name for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that purchased our pardon from sin. Think of the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit who continually works with and in you to perfect you for the eternal life that God has promised. Be blessed
Further reading: Ezekiel 11 v 19, 20

No Need to Know it All

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil; to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29: 11

A friend of ours planned a surprise birthday party for his wife. He really wanted it to be a surprise. So he roped me and my husband into the plans at first. Eventually my whole family was in on the plot. The plot started on a Monday and the birthday fell on a Sabbath. To remove all suspicions on her part we advised him not to ignore the day but to acknowledge it with a ‘happy birthday’ message and birthday cards from him and their two children in the morning. He bought the gifts and brought them to our house for safe keeping. Some of the food was brought to our house. The other foodstuffs he ordered and left with the grocers for last minute collection.

We were doing very well until on the day itself. On Friday evening we had agreed with other families who had been invited to have our lunch at the birthday lady’s house the following day on Sabbath. Then it clicked that since the party was set for the evening, having lunch at their house would mean her husband saying something about her birthday and a celebration would be held prematurely. So we decided with the others to move the lunch from her house to another home. I sent a text message to announce the change of plans and her husband quickly picked on the idea and encouraged her to join us with her family. The birthday lady would not budge so we had lunch minus them.

Fortunately the husband had managed to convince her to attend the afternoon program at church in order that he could find opportunity to finish off preparations at home and to pick up the gifts and food. He did just that. He drove home with my kids for them to assist. My husband and I were meant to take her home at the close of the Sabbath. We were both involved in the afternoon program at church so we did our part while closely keeping an eye on her not to leave prematurely. She was now left in church with two restless children, not knowing where her husband was and the weather started to get chilly. Somehow while we were busy with the program, we missed it when she came out of church and walked home with the children. When we realised what had happened, we frantically tried to locate her by driving through the ‘village’ to try and intercept her before she got home. I caught up with her as she got into the house and discovered the secret. To shorten a long story, the surprise was no longer a surprise.

For it to be a surprise, my friend’s husband had to do things that did not make sense to her. How could he disappear without communicating and leave her to mind the children all alone. In her lack of understanding and impatience to figure out what was going on, the surprise was spoilt. You can be sure that she was not amused at all with what was going on and must have been preparing some choice words to say when she met her mate.

Many times God has planned surprises for me in my life. To accomplish the surprise, He sometimes has to put me in situations that do not make sense to me. He has the bigger picture which encompasses the end that he has prepared for me. All I can see is the here and now. In my confusion and quest to want to know it all, I interfere with God’s plans for my life. Like my friend who should have had faith that her dear loving husband would not possibly abandon her and the children, I too ought to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46 v 10a). God has promised in his Word in so many ways that He will never leave me nor forsake me. It is so easy to repeat these promises when he has done something tangible that makes me feel happy and special. The challenge comes when he is cooking up a new plan meant to get me to another level in our relationship. I am sure you too have experienced those moments of saying ‘why Lord?’ or ‘what’s going on now?’

My thoughts are not your thoughts & My ways are not your ways God says in Isaiah 55 v 8, 9. My friend did get her birthday party but not the way that her husband had originally planned it to be. We too will get those things that God wants to give us, but maybe not in the same way or at the same time as God had intended if we would not have interfered. If only we would take God at His Word when he says ‘I know the plans I have for you?’(Jeremiah 29 v 11) We would receive exactly what God wanted us to have in the first place, in the right way at the right time.

Dear God, many times circumstances around me can be so confusing. There are times when I long to have something and want to have it now. In your wisdom, You cause me to wait, probably because what I want is not good for me or I am just not ready to receive it yet. There are times when I reach out for You, and I just don’t feel Your presence at a particularly difficult time in my life. At such times I may panic and even doubt Your promises to me. In my impatience and quest to understand what is going on, I may interfere with your plans for me. At such times, remind me of who You are. I thank You because You ‘do not deal with me after my sins’ but ‘You pity me as a father pities his child, and You remember that I am of a weak frame and that I am mere dust (Psalm 103 v 10, 13,14). Thank that no matter how much I fret, Your plans for me shall still be accomplished according to Your will. AMEN

Inscriptions in the Palm of His Hand

Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49: 15, 16

I recall when I was growing up and becoming a young woman, there was a crazy stage of our lives when one of my friends or I would become infatuated with a particular boy in class or at church. The boy would not even know that a particular girl was in love with him, yet the girl would inscribe the boy’s name in the palm of the hand. Not just any ordinary inscription. It would be artistically done with fancy letters and beautiful colours. Each time a girl thought of the boy, she would look at the inscription and smile. The secret admirer and her inner circle of friends were the only ones who knew. Surprisingly though the love was often short-lived, with affections shifting at an alarmingly fast rate to the next more handsome guy who came along.

I recall also the time I fell pregnant. Although I lost the baby at six months term of the pregnancy, I had felt the baby’s movements and seen pictures of him on the ultrasound screen. I anticipated the day I would hold that baby in my arms. I was heartbroken when the baby came too early and could not be saved. This happened to me one more time before I could finally have my first living child. My joy was fulfilled the day that I held my son, Jabu, in my arms for the first time. The joy I felt when I gave him my milk for the first time! I would spend long hours just gazing at him with love and wonder. Finally I understood what it meant to be a mother. I have experienced this same exhilaration three more times after my first son, giving birth to three more boys after him. Each one of them came in his own style and each one took my heart away in his own way. Motherhood has been the ultimate joyful experience of my life and continues to be.

Contrast this with a story that I have read in the newspapers and seen on television news so often. A mother gives birth to a child, boy or girl, and feels so overwhelmed by life’s circumstances that they kill the child or dumps it in a dustbin. Having experienced the loss of a child and facing the uncertainty of not knowing if I would ever be able to one day carry a baby to full term; I cannot understand how a mother can do such a thing. Also having experienced the joy of labour and finally holding a live baby in my arms I still cannot understand how a mother can do such a thing.

The bond between mother and child is the strongest that I know and the love of a mother for a child is the sincerest that I know of all human relationships. Yet God says it is still possible for a mother to forget her nursing child, and to have no compassion for the son of her womb. The dumped babies, the neglected children bear testimony to that. God promises that even if the strongest love known to man cannot be relied upon, His love for us will never fade. He will never forget each one of us. Better than the infatuated girl who inscribes the boy of the moment’s name and soon forgets about him when a better looking one comes along, the inscription of our names in the palm of His hands are permanent.

I imagine God looking at his hand, seeing my name artistically and lovingly inscribed in multiple colours, I imagine Him smiling to Himself because the name of the object of His affections is in front of Him. That really reminds me that I am special. That the God of the universe cares for me to that extent reminds me to pull back my shoulders, hold my head high and face life’s challenges upfront. For a moment I may have been down from the devil’s blows but if he thought I was knocked out he better think again. This imagery keeps me going and helps me to smile when I should be crying, to continue to give when the world just keeps taking from me, to be gentle with those who are rough and inconsiderate, to be graceful when I am exhausted. Only that promise from the Creator Himself sustains me.

There are many women, mothers, and young girls and even men out there in the world from whom the world has taken more than its share physically, emotionally and spiritually. I want you to go to a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for a while. Close your eyes and imagine God sitting on His Heavenly throne. Imagine the angels falling prostrate in worship before Him. He sees all that, but above all, He is looking into His palm, there is a smile on His face, He is toying around the palm with His finger, reading your name there, caressing every letter, longing to one day meet with you face to face. How does that make you feel? It’s not just a feeling, it’s a fact. God loves you and promises to never leave you alone. No matter how much the devil thinks he has battered you, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and receive God’s love. Put your best foot forward and believe that the best is yet to come.

Lord I pray for each woman, young or old who has just read this passage. Each one of us faces challenges at different levels. Some are working mothers who juggle home and career demands and the devil keeps pointing an accusatory finger at them. Some are housewives who are giving their best but feel unappreciated and unrecognised. Some are young women who have made choices that they are not particularly proud of and again Satan reminds them daily of their failures, making them feel desperately unworthy. Some are women, young and old, who have been sexually abused and have lived with the shame, not breathing a word to a single soul, but daily haunted by the reality of it all. Some are women taking care of terminally ill relatives or spouses, even though exhausted from the effort they have to keep going. Some are living with unfaithful spouses and they do not know whether to leave or stay. Some harbour such deep emotional wounds from verbal and emotional abuse. Others worry about wayward children who have wandered away from the principles they gave. Yet others mourn children whom death robbed them of just as they were budding. Others have lost their husbands to death or infidelity. No matter what each woman’s challenge Lord, I pray that you visit each one and meet them at their point of need. Heal the wounds that time has dealt them. Constantly remind each one through your Holy Spirit just how special they are. Help them see beyond the challenge. Give them strength and courage to pick up the pieces and move on knowing in Whom they believe, the same One who holds the future in His hands. AMEN