When you are in the sea of grey

We packed the kids into the car and drove into the city's CBD.

Then we unloaded the kids. 

We walked with the kids. 

We stopped -with the kids, at the crossing. 

In the centre of the CBD.

And those grey skies?

They broke. They wept.

And we waited for the lights to change colour. 

With the kids. 

In the centre of the CBD. 

Wet. 

The umbrellas went up. They danced around at the crossing. 

But nobody noticed us.

With kids. 

No umbrellas. 

In the centre of the city.

Surrounded by people, but

 unnoticed.

But I saw you on the other side of the crossing. 

Those eyes. They spoke. 

And in that sea of grey,

Somebody took notice. 

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore.

New International Version (NIV)

Being on hold

I pressed the handset against my ear with my shoulder. I lugged the groceries in.
I remember praying that this would be as painless as possible.

But sometimes God has a plan to teach us.
Sometimes he wants us to be on hold.

I glanced at my mobile on katemotaung.com and the prompt word 'still' came up. What do I do with that? I have no idea.

With classical music ringing in my ears I remember:

Psalm 46:8-10 NIV

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[a] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Listen to the war cry of the Lord of Hosts! Remember his complete sovereignty over all he has made. God's purposes will come about.

Sometimes all we can do is trust that the person on the other side will answer.

Turn Your Eyes

It was in those days. 

When I didn't know where to turn. When my teenage heart was beating wildly. When thick black smoke  was wrapping itself around me. When I felt I had to make a choice. When I would wake up having felt like I had relived through everything. Again.      

But it was in those days when I saw something that lives on inside of me. 

Because you see that black smoke wrapping itself around me it was choking me. And I felt alone. And I felt myself collapsing. 

Then someone turned my way. He walked straight to me with a steady pace. He picked me up and held me. 

And as the smoke cleared and I turned my eyes on him...

I knew. 

I knew that  nothing else mattered.

(Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Helen H. Lemmel)