For the Journey of Life

Heavenly Father

Please be with me on my journey

Remind me that I am not alone

I will put my faith and trust in You

Please guide me

As I wish to walk with love

Remind me that what is hidden from me

May still be there, and still be true

Fill my heart with your light

Keep my eyes focused

And my mind persistent

On this journey of life

Opportunities and Miracles

Holding on to yesterday’s thought just a bit longer; a blogger friend wrote an excellent post some time back, reflecting on the opportunities given to us in life, and how we sometimes tend to complain about what we do not have instead of making an effort to change it.

You can read the full post here Opportunity is the Blessing

followed by my response Be the Miracle

Have a blessed day!

Linda

What’s in the Mail Today?

I remember before my kids were born, I used to have all kinds of expectations of motherhood. One of the things I was really looking forward to, was teaching my kids about life. What I didn’t expect though, was how much they would be teaching me.

This morning when I was heading for our mailbox, mr S wanted to come with me. This seemed to be very important to him, and I asked him why.

His answer to me came immediately: “Maybe there’s something for me?”

“But honey” I said, trying to avoid him being disappointed “You know; normally it’s mostly bills and newspapers. It’s not your birthday yet, and I didn’t order anything for you”

“But mom” he said, looking at me as if I was a child that needed to have things thoroughly explained -

“Sometimes we get things even though we haven’t asked for them. Perhaps God sent me something?”

I stopped for a second. In a way, he did have a point.

Sometimes we do get things even though we don’t ask for them. And yes, perhaps God sent us something. Maybe not through the mail as mr S clearly expected (or then again, why not?)

Anyhow, it’s an exciting thought; God actually does send us things. Every single day we are given new opportunities, a chance to change an unwanted situation, or make the most of our dreams; changing our lives – or even the world – for the better. That is our challenge; being able to see the exceptional in the ordinary. Seizing those moments in our everyday lives, instead of just watching the days go by.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a five year old.

My youngest has a somewhat similar approach to life. He has his own special morning ritual; the minute he opens his eyes, he gets out of bed, running over to the nearest window to have a glance at the world.

And then, the question: “What’s outside?”

Is it rain? Is it sunshine? Snow? Green grass? Is it dark outside? Summer? Autumn? Or…?

From a little boy’s view, the world is new every morning. There is a multitude of options out there, and you never know what might happen. To him, every day is a wonderful adventure.

These were my thoughts as I was standing there with a very impatient five year old by my side.

And I said to him: “You know, you’re right; let’s go check the mailbox together”

After all, we never know what life might have in store for us. There just might be some great adventures out there, if we just remember to seize the opportunities given to us and.. well… keeping our minds and hearts a bit adventurous.

Thanks guys, for reminding me

May You Be Blessed

Counting our blessings in life, we normally concentrate on all the good things given to us. But sometimes we just have to take a walk on a longer path, to discover that things like discomfort, anger, tears and foolishness may be just what is needed for us to enrich our lives.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers and half truths, so that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice and exploitation so that you will fight for justice, equality and peace.

May God bless you with tears for those who suffer, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference, so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.

-author unknown

Why Are We Afraid?

There was an article in the local newspaper yesterday. It started out by asking this question:

Does one have to be less intelligent to believe in God?

The answer, of course, would be no, clearly there is no connection between the two. But as I kept thinking about it; I realized that I must have heard this statement at least a hundred times before. It’s actually quite remarkable; and I’m left with this: Why do so many people seem to believe it; that those who have faith in God must be just a little less intelligent? What might be the answer to that question?

It occurs to me that we, as human beings living in a modern and enlightened world, we demand to have all the answers. We must be in control, continuously. And if we’re not, then we must by all means hide it.

But why are we so afraid to let go of this control? Why can we not admit we don’t know the answer to everything, that there are things we simply don’t understand? Picture this: If we did know the answer to all things, where would that lead us? Would we be able to handle that kind of information? Have we, the human race, proved to be worthy of that? Surely not.

Another question I’ve heard repeatedly is this: If you had a chance to meet God, and you had just one question, what would you ask?

I’m going to be perfectly honest; I don’t think I would have asked any question at all. If I had the privilege of “meeting” God, face to face, I don’t think asking a question even would have crossed my mind. The experience would have been much too powerful for asking questions.

Now, to balance, there is nothing wrong with being curious. On the contrary; searching for answers is a definite and necessary part of human nature, and should not be repressed. After all, that is what makes us move forward; exploring the world around us.

But it needs to be put into perspective; we may not need to find the answer to any question imaginable! Why do we assume that would even be good for us?

Every now and then I hear people referring to “scientific rational thinking”. They do this as if it was the only acceptable way of thinking, based on what can be seen and proven. But science has also been wrong a number of times throughout history. And the most horrendous actions have been taken also in the name of science, wrongly believing they had found the answer.

Clearly you don’t have to be less intelligent to believe in God. But you may have to be a bit receptive, just a tiny bit humble. You must have the ability to keep an open mind; and simply listen.

We don’t have all the answers, that’s a fact. And you know: it’s okay; we don’t need to. What we do need, however, is to have faith that there is more to this world than what is visible to the eye.

What is faith then? Here’s my definition: Faith is having confidence in what you can not see, or prove the existence of, and still you believe it to be true. Or as a friend once said to me: Faith is like a bird that starts to sing in the middle of the night, because it believes in the sunrise.

I believe in God. I have faith in Him. But I don’t see myself as any less intelligent because of this. However, I strive to always keep an open mind. To be receptive.

To be a listener.

Carrying us Home

I have a strange approach to flying. On one hand, I love it. I love the thrill of taking off, I love the sensational feeling of being up there among the blue skies; flying off to something new, I love the moment of landing, putting my feet (or rather; wheels) back on the ground. I’m all in all very fascinated by airplanes and airports. Still, flying scares me to death. Every single time I’m up there, I promise myself that if I only make it through this one journey, I will be so happy to be alive and never put my feet inside a plane again!

On this day on our way back from London, there was some turbulence and the plane was shaking quite a bit. I know of course, the aircraft is built to handle this and a little turbulence is no threat to life and safety. Still it didn’t feel good. And I was already holding my breath a bit, anxiously waiting to put my feet safely on the ground again. Then I looked out the left window, which was the opposite side from where I was seated, and I saw these clouds. I saw the light shine from behind them, and suddenly it became clear to me; I wasn’t alone up in the air. And I closed my eyes, and prayed. I prayed for God to lead me closer to him, to show me the right path to go. And then something strange happened. Suddenly, I could actually feel the power of the airplane. Just a couple of minutes earlier, I had been thinking about how small and helpless the plane were, all by itself high above the ground. But now, I could clearly sense the power, carrying the plane steadily forward. And my next thought was; God is carrying us home. I know it may sound stupid to some, but that’s what it felt like. For the rest of the journey, I let my shoulders down, and rested in Gods power. He carried us home, and when we approached the airport, he put us gently down on the ground again. After we had landed and I reunited with my husband, I found out he had taken this picture of the sun lighted clouds. Immediately I thought; this picture – although it was taken with our small family camera and the quality may not be that good – this is the new image header for my weblog.