Posted on

Why am I so favoured?

This is the question Elizabeth asked Mary, a young, single, mother-to-be. And this is the question I too should have been asking in all my troubles over the years. Instead, I recited the wrong ones…

  • Why won’t you hurry up, God, and answer my prayers?
  • How can I survive in this intolerable situation?
  • Don’t you care, God?

But God has been helping me redirect my focus – to look for what is good. And that is hard for me to do, for everything in my heart cries out against these injustices, it cries out against the cruel behaviour of others.

So, today, I celebrated my father’s death, for 33 years ago today, he suddenly died. Derek and I shared an ice cream sundae, and rejoiced in the bravery my father had to admit that he had done wrong. We thanked God for the occasions where he stood up against wrong. We agreed that because of his severity, I grew much deeper in faith.

So, I celebrate with Elizabeth for God’s favour in hard times.

Posted on

Do you see?

Sometimes we feel invisible. We want others to see us, to understand us. We drop hints, but they don’t seem to hear.

We try to become visible by shouting out. But there is another way and one I keep forgetting – that my visibleness doesn’t depend on others. It depends on whether I see myself.

God “created [my] inmost being,” (Psalm 139:13) and he says that I am “precious and honoured in his sight.” (Isaiah 43:4) Can I see what God sees in me? Can I say, “That is me”?

It is scary to walk in a visibleness that others might not see. But God says, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 43:5) He sees and we can see.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash