It’s
the day before Christmas 2012. Everywhere you look there are lights flash red,
white, green and blue; accompanied by a cacophony of carols, old ad new. There
is a general gaiety in the air. There is the usual last minute rush to do some
shopping, plan a quick trip, and make the most of the few days off from work,
so traffic is of course crazy! In the
middle of it all, there are those of us (yours truly included) who are still trying
to figure how come it’s Christmas in August…… Yup! It seems like last week it
was August, then the weekend came and Christmas stared us in the face. There has
been an unprecedented busyness around the office and an incredible pile-up of work-related
to-do’s. For the first time in many years, even my children didn’t make any
comment about setting up the Christmas tree. I figure they could tell that
mummy dearest was too tired to think about the tree, lol. Thankfully, we finally
got round to it a couple of days ago.
the day before Christmas 2012. Everywhere you look there are lights flash red,
white, green and blue; accompanied by a cacophony of carols, old ad new. There
is a general gaiety in the air. There is the usual last minute rush to do some
shopping, plan a quick trip, and make the most of the few days off from work,
so traffic is of course crazy! In the
middle of it all, there are those of us (yours truly included) who are still trying
to figure how come it’s Christmas in August…… Yup! It seems like last week it
was August, then the weekend came and Christmas stared us in the face. There has
been an unprecedented busyness around the office and an incredible pile-up of work-related
to-do’s. For the first time in many years, even my children didn’t make any
comment about setting up the Christmas tree. I figure they could tell that
mummy dearest was too tired to think about the tree, lol. Thankfully, we finally
got round to it a couple of days ago.
As
always, there is an air of expectancy; varied as the reasons for this might be.
All said and late as it was, Saturday was supposed to be my day to try and key fully
into the holiday mode. I had it all mapped out. An hour with my personal
trainer at the gym; a quick dash to join the last minute shoppers; a quick
visit to a couple of friends; and then home to excitedly await the arrival of
my first son from the airport.
always, there is an air of expectancy; varied as the reasons for this might be.
All said and late as it was, Saturday was supposed to be my day to try and key fully
into the holiday mode. I had it all mapped out. An hour with my personal
trainer at the gym; a quick dash to join the last minute shoppers; a quick
visit to a couple of friends; and then home to excitedly await the arrival of
my first son from the airport.
I
only got as far as the gym though. My personal trainer’s face told me something
was very wrong. A children’s party at the club poolside the day before…. a
3year old girl had drowned! Suddenly, I couldn’t
breathe properly. My heart constricted and the tears began to flow. How? What?
Why? The answers were truly irrelevant. She was and is dead! In my devastation
my heart immediately reached out to the mother. I have no idea who she is, but
I visualized a young woman who had lovingly prepared her daughter for a
children’s Christmas party, barely five minutes drive from her home and in a
place where she had spent countless hours prior to this. How was this woman
supposed to imagine as she kissed her and drove off, that that would be the
last time she would see her little girl alive? I visualized her home… blinking
lights on the tree and in the garden; gifts lovingly wrapped; arrangements made
for cakes and food and drinks, etc. So many plans laid out for the holidays and
the New Year. How could this family ever have imagined the pain they would go
through, in this season of festivities?
only got as far as the gym though. My personal trainer’s face told me something
was very wrong. A children’s party at the club poolside the day before…. a
3year old girl had drowned! Suddenly, I couldn’t
breathe properly. My heart constricted and the tears began to flow. How? What?
Why? The answers were truly irrelevant. She was and is dead! In my devastation
my heart immediately reached out to the mother. I have no idea who she is, but
I visualized a young woman who had lovingly prepared her daughter for a
children’s Christmas party, barely five minutes drive from her home and in a
place where she had spent countless hours prior to this. How was this woman
supposed to imagine as she kissed her and drove off, that that would be the
last time she would see her little girl alive? I visualized her home… blinking
lights on the tree and in the garden; gifts lovingly wrapped; arrangements made
for cakes and food and drinks, etc. So many plans laid out for the holidays and
the New Year. How could this family ever have imagined the pain they would go
through, in this season of festivities?
Allday, I kept thinking about the devastation of this family. I realized of course
that there are a million more families out there who had, in times past; and
who would, even this season, have to deal with some form of loss or the other. For
all their pain, the carols will continue to play; Christmas lights will glow brighter
still; fireworks will be even more brilliant this year than ever before. Indeed,
life will go on! As surely as God is
real, life will go on. Life will go on despite their pain; despite their devastation’s.
Life is life! It is a combination and culmination of our various experiences,
good and bad; painful and pleasurable. We
will, each and every one of us, have our fair share of life. Life is your one
coin, sis; and like it or not, you and I will have to deal with either, and/or
both sides of our own coin at some point in our lives or the other.
Yes,
life is just the one coin! You and I have the unique choice of determining
whether we will spend our lives, or be spent by life. What’s the difference? From
my perspective, the difference is in how much of our lives we are willing to try
and live in our own strength, wisdom and power; as compared to how much of our
lives we are willing to yield completely to God, so as to live in the wisdom,
strength and power of the Lord. God has given us the choice… if only we could
really see, sis. If only we could really, really see!
life is just the one coin! You and I have the unique choice of determining
whether we will spend our lives, or be spent by life. What’s the difference? From
my perspective, the difference is in how much of our lives we are willing to try
and live in our own strength, wisdom and power; as compared to how much of our
lives we are willing to yield completely to God, so as to live in the wisdom,
strength and power of the Lord. God has given us the choice… if only we could
really see, sis. If only we could really, really see!
The
secular world promotes the principle that ‘Attitude determines your altitude’. I
so agree! I agree even more so when the spiritual dimension of this simple
phrase is considered. It is our attitude to God that determines our altitude in
life. Regardless of what side of our coin is lying face up at any point in our
lives, our altitude… our ability to effectively cope with our successes and our
failures, is determined by our attitude toward God! Success can be greatly mismanaged,
minus a recognition and full acknowledgement that God is our source; that we
are all we are because of all He has allowed us to be; that our lives and times
are in His hands; that He is the one who causes us to prosper. Failures/troubles
and tragedies alike can totally cripple us, minus a recognition that our
strength comes from the Lord; that He is our helper, our comforter; that He is
able to give us beauty for ashes; that He works all things out for our good;
that He is always with us; that He is our burden-bearer; that He shares our
pain.
secular world promotes the principle that ‘Attitude determines your altitude’. I
so agree! I agree even more so when the spiritual dimension of this simple
phrase is considered. It is our attitude to God that determines our altitude in
life. Regardless of what side of our coin is lying face up at any point in our
lives, our altitude… our ability to effectively cope with our successes and our
failures, is determined by our attitude toward God! Success can be greatly mismanaged,
minus a recognition and full acknowledgement that God is our source; that we
are all we are because of all He has allowed us to be; that our lives and times
are in His hands; that He is the one who causes us to prosper. Failures/troubles
and tragedies alike can totally cripple us, minus a recognition that our
strength comes from the Lord; that He is our helper, our comforter; that He is
able to give us beauty for ashes; that He works all things out for our good;
that He is always with us; that He is our burden-bearer; that He shares our
pain.
This
family and all others who are hurting at this time can only but look up and
trust that God is God! They do not need to understand their loss; for indeed
they cannot! His Word is clear that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His
ways our ways. We cannot comprehend God, and neither should we try. He is too
big for us to figure. As our lives play out, we need to keep our eyes fixed on
Him. Regardless of whether we are in our season of carols and twinkling lights,
or if we are in a season of gross darkness, He is the source of our one coin…
our lives, our all. His desire is that we live to the fullness of the potentials
that He has put in each and every one of us. He has prepared us to be
victorious even through our storms. He promised to never leave us or forsake
us. He is available always to help us go through. He holds us in the palm of
His hands. He rejoices when we are happy. He collects our tears in a bottle
when life tries to beat us down.
family and all others who are hurting at this time can only but look up and
trust that God is God! They do not need to understand their loss; for indeed
they cannot! His Word is clear that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His
ways our ways. We cannot comprehend God, and neither should we try. He is too
big for us to figure. As our lives play out, we need to keep our eyes fixed on
Him. Regardless of whether we are in our season of carols and twinkling lights,
or if we are in a season of gross darkness, He is the source of our one coin…
our lives, our all. His desire is that we live to the fullness of the potentials
that He has put in each and every one of us. He has prepared us to be
victorious even through our storms. He promised to never leave us or forsake
us. He is available always to help us go through. He holds us in the palm of
His hands. He rejoices when we are happy. He collects our tears in a bottle
when life tries to beat us down.
I
don’t know where you are in life now sis. I have no idea which side of your
coin is lying face up in this season. What I do know is that you have just this
one coin sis. It was given to you to spend fully. Apply it rightly, and you
will receive full value. Yes sis, full value will come if you keep your eyes on
the King, regardless of your circumstances or situation. Only in this space
will you and I always come out victorious. The Lord will help you sis. He will help me!
don’t know where you are in life now sis. I have no idea which side of your
coin is lying face up in this season. What I do know is that you have just this
one coin sis. It was given to you to spend fully. Apply it rightly, and you
will receive full value. Yes sis, full value will come if you keep your eyes on
the King, regardless of your circumstances or situation. Only in this space
will you and I always come out victorious. The Lord will help you sis. He will help me!
Be
blessed! For you surely are!
blessed! For you surely are!
A most profound piece. My heart goes out to the mother who has lost a most precious daughter. I pray that she finds strength and comfort in the arms of the One who loves her more than she can imagine. The One who will give her beauty for ashes in a most divine exchange.
A most profound piece. My heart goes out to the mother of the little girl and I pray that she finds strength in the arms of the One who loves her more than she can imagine. The One who will give her beauty for ashes in a most divine exchange.