Come fly at a higher altitude mom!

I can't say that I particularly like flying on big airplanes, but I must admit that I have learned some rather important lessons up there, high above the clouds. Two of my most popular posts deal with airplane safety and attitude and how they relate to my life as a mom. If you haven't read them yet and you would like to, you can find the links here:

• A crucial detail about safety all moms MUST know... 

• Attitude is EVERYTHING 

Today, however, I would like to zoom in on the importance of our altitude. Altitude, as you might or might not know, refers to our height above the ground.

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com

I have failed so many times as a mother, I cannot even begin to tell you and you probably wouldn't want me to, but what's important is that my biggest fails usually happen when I did not have enough "quiet time". In case you have never had a quiet time and don't quite know what I am referring to, a quiet time is a "time out" for adults. Just like you would give your child when his or her behavior starts to deteriorate. Admittedly, my own behavior still  deteriorates quite often as I am not a very seasoned mother yet. I still tend to "lose the plot" in those really stressful moments. Of course, in those stressful moments, I don't have time for a "quiet time"! But as soon as I can, later in the day, I run to my reading chair and stay...for one minute, 10 minutes, whatever I can spare. I sit in my chair and ponder over my latest outburst of anger, pray for forgiveness and wait until peace settles in again. There, alone in my chair, chatting to God or just sitting still, I manage to put everything back into perspective and regain hope, that for the rest of the day, I won't slip again.

I thought about such quiet times on a recent flight in a Boeing 737, on which I was lucky enough to occupy a window seat. High above the ground at 36'000 feet I was looking outside and noticed, that we seemed to move so incredibly slowly over the ground that was barely visible below. I couldn't spot any cars and with the details of "daily life" hidden from my immediate sight, the world looked so much more serene and my problems very much smaller than they usually do. It felt as if I was suspended in time. Most interestingly, far above the dotted clouds, it seemed as if I could see my destination even though we hadn't reached it yet.

I sat, gazing out the window, and wondered what this would look like, if the rather powerful airplane would fly incredibly low, perhaps at 5000 feet above ground. Everything would fly by so fast! Can you imagine? Flying in a Boeing 737 just above the ground?? We would hardly be able to take in the details of the landscape rushing past, not far below. Our destination would seem very far away from that angle and we would surely not be able to see it yet. At low altitude, it would be a scary flight!!

But only too often that's how we fly as mothers! No time to climb up the mountain and rest...we fly low and our days are rushing past so incredibly fast! We can hardly catch our breath as we take care of the many details of our lives and most of the time, we can't really see our destination or purpose. So what is our destination or purpose as a mother? To produce a highly efficient and intelligent child? To be remembered for the clean house and the many things we managed to tick off on our seemingly endless "to do" lists? The amount of social gatherings we attended? Or should we be remembered for the time we spent with our children? Loving them. Listening to them. Admiring and encouraging them...

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com

On the way home, high up above the clouds, with zero visibility, I noticed that I have already flown too low too often! But a good “quiet time” takes me up high. It takes me to 36000 spiritual feet. It let’s me forget all my daily struggles and shows me my purpose and His providence. For God is faithful and He always provides. But I don’t always see it down below. Up there, at high altitude, my days slow down and I get to enjoy them so much more!

That's why I want to invite you to come on board! Let's have a quiet time and take off. The amazing thing with "quiet times" is that the more you have them, the less your behavior deteriorates. It's actually kind of a preventative measure. So join me at 36'000 feet today! Take a breather and have a good quiet time with God, even if it is just a 10 minute flight! Chances are, your problems will start to disappear and you will feel so much better afterwards!

 “Come to me, all you who are weary 

and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matt 11:28 (NIV)

Even those who are young grow weak; 
young people can fall exhausted.

But those who trust in the Lord for help
will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
they will run and not get weary,
they will walk and not grow weak." 
                                                              Isaiah 40:30-31 (GNT)

I wish you a peaceful day today! 

(Unless otherwise stated, all photos in this post are my own.)

Am I an apple? Yes I am!

I recently had to explain to my children the difference between their age and mine. Knowing that my outer "self" is looking different from theirs, I was facing the dilemma of making it visual to them, that inside, I feel exactly the same. I may have some wrinkles and skin blemishes I never had before, but inside, I don’t feel old at all. I trust you know exactly what I am talking about!

So I enlisted the help of an apple. Because an apple is, sort of, what I am.

After I’ve been born out of my mother’s womb and having grown a little, I probably looked something like this…

But I have aged a little since. Now, I look more like this…

With time, blemishes will start to show. The years pass by and we get exposed to life’s sorrows…

Each victory we claim leaves a mark. Like scars in a battle from years gone by and we start looking a little more like this…

I suppose I could put on some more make up and then I would look something like this...

Except that just simply wouldn’t be me.

But is it really the outside that matters? The bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7 “…The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV)

My outward appearance is getting older, nonetheless I do not feel it in my heart. So, perhaps the secret to our true age lies inside. Now, ordinarily, people cut apples open like this…

But I believe, in order to see what God sees, you need to cut your apple horizontally. That's when you will discover this little secret...

Picture is my own

You see, the old apple might have some more bumps and bruises and brown spots on the outside, but INSIDE, well inside, if you cut the apple like this, you will see that every apple has a beautiful STAR with good seeds. Just like you have a beautiful soul, hidden by God! That Scripture above tells me that God sees me on the INSIDE and I bet He sees the girl in me, no matter what I look like on the outside. He sees the new life, my future and what I will be. He sees the eternal me that is ready to be replanted in eternity.

So mom, if you are worried today about a few wrinkles, sit down and share an apple with your child. But remember to cut it horizontally!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

(Unless otherwise stated, all images in this post are courtesy of www.morguefile.com)

Can we re-invent the “teacher-teacher” game?

Everything is a “must” when I don’t feel loved. Everything feels like a chore when I didn’t have enough time with God and I don’t feel like His little Princess anymore. Do you have mornings where everything seems like drudgery? Do you labor and toil on your list of chores, but get very little done by the end of the day? Days like that leave me very unsatisfied and somewhat stressed out and it must have been on a day like that, that I’ve decided that adulthood seems a little overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like the liberties that come with being "grown up", but there is a price we seem to pay. So just bear with me for a moment.

A while ago, during a bible study, I discovered that Jesus loves children. It says so in the bible and from what I have read, it seemed to me that He loves them especially. Naturally, being a mom and not a child, I wondered: But does He love adults too? If you were a seasoned Christian you’d probably say - of course! But I am not a seasoned Christian quite yet, so I focused on His special heart for children and that He seems to want us to be like them.

“Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:3 (NLT)

That sounded a bit harsh and it made me think about why Jesus loves children. What do the children do that He likes so much? I decided to ask the children in my bible class and here are some of the answers we came up with during class:

"Children play, they have fun and they laugh a lot. They learn pretty much all day long. When children fight, they most often make up and the next day they don’t worry about that fight anymore. Actually, they don’t worry about many things at all. Most children also have no troubles at all to believe in and respect God, much like they respect their teacher. Children help each other when help is needed and most importantly they pray. But how do they pray? They don’t only pray on their knees, they talk to God throughout the day, in various imaginary games, such as “teacher-teacher” or when the boys wrestle their cushion at home."

I wondered. How many of these things do I still do? May I ask? How many of these things do you still do? Do you give yourself time to play and have fun? Do you still laugh? Are you still willing to learn all day long? Learn to be a better mother? Learn to be a good friend? Learn from our most incredible example, our “most bestest” teacher ever – Jesus? Do you talk to God all daylong or just when you need Him to help you out?

If the answer paints a little bit of a grim picture, please do not feel condemned or in the slightest bit accused. That is not what I want you to think or feel. What I want you to do though, is to remember. What was it like to be a child? What was your life like without all the unnecessary things? Things we should not really be worrying about. Things we cannot change anyway. Things that use up our energy and give nothing back.

This very moment I am picturing myself sitting next to you, trying to remember my carefree childhood days also, and sitting next to you I would whisper to you, “Jesus does have a special heart for children including YOU and me!” In that special moment I would love nothing more than for you and me to understand, that perhaps, in that Scripture, He was giving us permission to be a little less “adult” and a bit more “childlike” instead.

In many of my posts I have tried to encourage you to spend more time with God. Having a “quiet time” is what we usually call it. I don’t mean to treat the term frivolously, but it does sound rather boring at first, especially to a new Believer who doesn’t know what to do. If you are such a new Believer, remember what I just whispered…"Jesus loves the child in you especially!" If you are not in the mood for some serious bible research today, but you would like to hear from God in some other way, perhaps it is time to re-invent that game. That “teacher-teacher” game we played so often "way back when", but on a very personal level, alone with God.

But this time you don’t need to assemble your entire household of teddy bears, like my 9 year old daughter usually does, and teach them math. What you could do, however, in the very same way, is make yourself a cup of tea, sit down and simply say, ”Lord, I am here. I am listening. You be the teacher.”

It might feel odd the first time. But I have tried. Trust me, when I say, that after a few awkward beginnings, I have had the most wonderful playtimes with God!

 “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” Jeremiah 33:3 (MSG)

That promise, I can testify, is so true! He is waiting for you mom. He’s ready for you to play. Are you ready? Are you willing to give Him some time today? Are you at least curious enough to try it out? When you do, I wish you a wonderful “teacher-teacher” time!

Picture courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Back on the roller coaster - just for one ride...

It's been some time since my last blog entry. I find life as a mom always somewhat hectic, but the beginning of the year can be a bit worse. Our school year starts in January, so sport is different and timetables are changed. The kids move up a Grade and everyone needs to find a new routine. Some weeks can be more trying than others and I can now see that I need to make an addition to one of my previous posts. It's the post titled "What ride are you on?". 

You can click on the above link if you want to read it first. I wrote about the daily choices we make, comparing our days to various fairground rides. Blurry days that can be like a carousel, caterpillar or even roller coaster ride and frantically busy days that are like a ride on a bumper car. The "Ferris-wheel-days" still are my favorite kind of days!

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com

But I seem to be back on the Roller Coaster now and I have been pondering over how I got there. On a fairground we voluntarily step onto a Roller Coaster and much in the same way you might voluntarily agree to a season of extreme busyness. Perhaps you take on a big school project or you accommodate family or visitors in your home. It all seems manageable at first and you are certain you can handle it. But Roller Coasters seem, at least to me, like more fun, than they actually are. The tricky thing with a Roller Coaster is, that once you get on, you cannot seem get off! Not until the ride is over at least. No matter how sick you get from the speed or the motion, you cannot leave the coaster until it comes to a halt at the end of the ride. Some people love the action and the thrill of the constant climbs and falls, others are frightened silly by them. Whether you got on by yourself or with a friend who pushed you to get on, I am sure you agree - it's a very emotional ride until it finally stops!

And so it seems to be with us mothers. Sometimes we think we are getting onto a bumper car ride only to find that perhaps we have "broken off a little more than we can chew" and are finding ourselves on a Roller Coaster instead.

I have been having a time like that, but now my car is coming around its final bend and I can feel the wagons slowing down. Quite a relief, I must admit, since I got a little more than I bargained for on this ride. Some days it felt like I had such clarity and wisdom that I was throwing my arms up in the air in excitement, praising God. But the very next day, I found myself spiraling downwards again, into the next rapid corner and what seemed to be round and round. Life is certainly very hectic when you are on a "roller coaster ride" and as exhilarating as such a ride can be, I find them too exhausting. I confess, most of the time, I didn't enjoy it as much as I maybe could have or should have. I just held my breath and waited until it was over and I could get off, with wobbly legs and say: "Thank you Lord - that you brought the ride to a halt just in time". Like I said, we get on voluntarily, but we cannot get off until it stops. Mine has slowed down and it is coming to a halt and when it does, I will be wobbling over to my reading chair, to close my eyes for a little rest and picture myself...in the queue at the next Ferris wheel!

Mom, if you are having a rough ride too, I hope it helps if I say that I am there with you! Thinking of you, my friend. Praying that your ride will be over soon and you can join me on the next gondola on the Ferris wheel!

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com