Monthly Archives: April 2024

But I want to do it my way!

There is one mistake we all make. Life is not easy. It is complicated. It is difficult but we all make the same mistake. We want to live our lives in our own way. We want our independence.

But did you know we cannot do it. It may seem to work for a while but then the complexities get deeper. And we find ourselves drowning.

This is because we were made to be dependent people. Oh how we hate that word dependent! The fact is we cannot plan our lives from beginning to end and work out all the twists and turns. There is always some factor that comes on the stage i=of our lives and changes the plot.

It is at this point that we can find our mental health suffering. Life is too big for us. We feel confused, out of control, unhappy, and we no longer know what to think, or what to do. There are too many competing thoughts.

Life turns into a nightmare!

But there is an answer. We have tried to be independent and it failed. The next human thing we do is go to a friend for advice or help, but they cannot see into our lives to help us unravel it.

So what is the answer? What can we do to stay sane?!

You might not like this but it is the only solution. Go to God. He is there. He knows you from before you were born, He knows your coping abilities and He knows where your weaknesses lie. God wants you to find peace.

God says, ‘Give up your independence and lean on Me. Stop trying to live life on your terms. Why not see what I suggest?’

Listen to these words. This is God speaking to you. Proverbs 3:5-7. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding’ ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths.’ ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes ; fear the Lord [put Him first] and depart from evil. It shall be health.’

This is the true beauty of dependence, provided you depend on the right One. Would you like to have health and direction in your life? God keeps His promises. God says to you, Prove Me! Put Me to the test. You will find good and hopeful things coming into your life. Hold on to these things. Would it be worth a try? You know that independence did not work.

Capture The Golden Hours

I enjoy simple photography.

Sometimes you can see something so beautiful, so heart stirring and you did not have any means of capturing it and the opportunity has passed. Occasionally I have been fortunate and have just been able to capture that moment. Looking back on that photograph recalls all that was beautiful in those few minutes.

The first such moment was when we were driving from South Island to North Island, New Zealand following the coast road. On our left were hills eroded by time and just for a few moments those hills glowed, bathed in a glowing light, with a deep blue sky behind. It was a sight that could never have been part of an English landscape.

Then as we were travelling in Sweden late one autumn afternoon just before sunset it seemed as if the tops of the trees alongside the road were touched by soft fire. For a few miles I was spell bound and then it faded out and was gone. But that scene is etched in my mind for its beauty.

The third moment was the most striking. We were travelling in the south of France heading down towards the Mediterranean. We had been on the road for some time and I had drifted off to sleep in the back of the car. Suddenly something woke me up. And as I looked, it was if I had been transported to another place and time. The entire countryside was bathed in a soft warm golden light. The purplish shadows highlighted the beauty of the scene and its stillness.

Then alongside the car flying parallel to us following one of the long drain canals were four flamingos. They too were soft gold. It was so good to watch them turning their heads at the end of their long necks from side to side, as if looking for a breakfast spot. And then the flamingos were gone, the reeds were grey, and the light had changed . It was an ordinary bright South of France morning, just another day. But I can visit those moments any time I choose in my mind’s eye. Those golden moments have stretched into golden hours for me.

Were these times just my imagination? No! The golden hour comes twice a day. It is a time, not really a full hour, sometimes only a few moments, just after the sun has risen above the horizon, then at the end of the day at some time in the hour before it sets again, when the light changes. To capture that golden hour is to capture a time of beauty and mellow stillness.

Life is not easy for anyone. Do you have a store of good things in your heart and mind to fall back on in the rough times? Keep looking and begin to build a gallery of your own golden hours.