Rhos-on-sea beach gathering lugworms photographed by myself Sept 2024
How often were you told as a child not to get “too big for your boots”? And you knew what that meant. It meant you were being proud, boastful, stepping up a gear, and that was not approved of by the adult who was telling you to be “more humble”, when actually here humble meant to not say you were good at anything.
Someone I know is doing a very brave and loving thing [long story so won’t give details but just know she is being so amazing, so trusting in God and so humble] for her son. I was praying and saw her as this amazing Warrior Woman and told her so. Her response was that she needed to get her ego out of the way so she could believe that.
That got me thinking of how often we see ego as being “egoist” or too big for our boots, boastful, prideful, etc whereas I heard from her that her ego was herself thinking she wasn’t up to the job, that she wasn’t a warrior woman, even though The God who Created the Whole Universe had just told her so.
Too many of us have had too many times when we’ve been put down rather than lifted up and have passed that onwards to our children and others we know too.
I loved working with Americans when I was in YWAM because they were not afraid to say what they were good at or had done well at and would tell others when they thought they had done well. Very unlike us Brits can be. Brits can be very quick to put down ourselves and others, to root for the underdog unless they start to win.
So I say … let us kick into touch those sayings of not getting too big for our boots. As my friend says “get our egos out the way”. And pull on those great big kick-arse boots that are waiting for us to go out and change the world with.
And changing the world might not be solving world peace or climate change but it might just be a kind, encouraging word, or as my friend is doing just supporting her son in a big things, or as another friend did and just obeyed what she felt she’d heard in prayer, or any of those many things that come naturally to us.
I find days where one remembers things fascinating. The mixture of things that different people remember on different days. Like the post I did back in February where cleaning out for Lent, loving your pet and social justice were all “celebrated” together.
A strange juxtapose happens again every 12th July, or has since about 2014 when it was decided to use this day to celebrate/commemorate Malala Yousafzai, the amazing young woman who at 17 was shot by the Taliban for advocating and encouraging female education in Pakistan. From around 1795 within the Irish Protestant communities 12th July was the day to celebrate William of Orange’s defeat of the last ever Catholic king of Britain, James II. A victory that is best remembered for passing that law that “no future monarch could be a Catholic or be married to a Catholic” as opposed to the establishment of a parliamentary democracy, representing a shift from an absolute monarchy to parliamentary monarchy.
I had written quite a ranty post about oppression, freedom, holding on to fears and hatreds but after reading both Lily Lewin’s post on Friday 30th June about praying for one’s country and Steve Wickham’s post about tolerance and hospitality in reconciliation I had a change of heart.
I still think that even those commemoration dates might look random God, somewhere in their infinite wisdom, wants to teach us something. Also, I believe, things don’t just happen by coincidence. So I was meant to read those two Godspace articles and I was meant to be wanting to write about 12th July and I know about both the events of the 12th July Orange marches and Malala Yousafzai. So what is God trying to say?
I think it is about praying with an open heart and not a closed heart. We need to have tolerance and hospitality within our hearts w hen we pray as much as when we open our homes to others. I wonder when Jesus said about letting in the beggars etc for a meal that he may have meant having our hearts open to those people rather than having already judged and boxed them into what we think we know already.
What if with the Taliban instead of praying that they cease to exist we prayed not just enlightenment but a full realisation of God and all that means in their land, in their culture. We must remember that is wasn’t that long ago that women in Western countries were deprived of education, of voting rights, of rights with their own money and property, were seen as second-class citizens. Also it was not that long ago when slavery was thought of as just part of God’s plan. And even though most Christians don’t advocate slavery hope often do we turn a blind eye?
So instead of condemning let us ask God in prayer, what is the real desire for these peoples who are remembered whether through Orange marches, through thinking of Malala, and of all the other “celebrations” that occur during July.
I often get a little pang in my heart when I am with Americans who are celebrating 4th of July and wonder what things would have been like for the UK, the US and rest of the world if a form of interdependence had been sort then rather than independence.
I often think that instead of being triumphalistic at this time, whether with the Orange Marches, the remembering of Malala and feeling superior to groups like the Taliban, of the various Independence Days that occur in July, we humble ourselves and pray.
As God clearly says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if we, God’s people, who are called to pray for the nations, for ourselves and for others, really humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, turn from our self-righteous, know-it-all, fearful, greedy, self-seeking ways, then God will hear us, will forgive us and then will heal the land, whether this is just our town, our country or our whole world.Remember our land is this whole earth we stand on.
When it comes to anything from Northern Ireland’s marching season, the Taliban and their issues with female education, and all the other issues that cover our earth, are we willing first and foremost to humble ourselves and say “God what do you really want me to pray?” Then are we prepared to be silent, to listen, to allow God’s tolerance, generosity and hospitality sweep over us and so it can then pour forth to the nations?
Of course I was very pleased and have been moving into sharing my achievements rather than keeping quiet about them and hoping others just happen to come across them, which is what I used to do. Then I would get upset that friends and family didn’t know what I’d done. But of course I hadn’t told them. So I shared far and wide, and my mum and others shared onwards too. A comment from one of my Mum’s friends was “What a clever lady, just to look at an object like that and then give it a voice” My response was to say that I “found it a natural thing to give the pot personality. I do it with all sorts of random objects.” But it got me thinking about how my Mum’s friend and others don’t do that sort of thing. And yes I do do it was all sorts of things.
It got me wondering about how many things we can just do we take for granted rather than celebrate. For instance my seeing inanimate objects with personalities, being able to cook up an amazing meal from random ingredients, people being comfortable sharing their stories with me. And I am sure there are things about me that others see which again I just think that’s “normal”.
My husband retains facts and is a whizz at University Challenge, complicated maths equations, learning new things on the IT/engineering front that I can’t tell you about because I don’t understand them. He takes it as obvious and will say something really sciencey and then say to me “isn’t it?” and I just have to look back dumbly. But also he can’t remember where he left his keys or his phone!!!
But I need to not be upset that I don’t know all these techy, clevery sciencey things the same as he should not be upset that he can’t do somethings too. We all need to celebrate who we are and what we can do.
I did a post ages about about being humble, which I can’t find, and explored how when we are told in the Bible, or elsewhere, to “be humble” it isn’t about being self-effacing but it is about honouring our achievements. It is ok to boast and say “I’m good at putting character to intimated objects” or “I’m good at learning technical things”. The same as it is good to say “I don’t get technical things and often think it is working in the dark arts” or “I really don’t see how you can give a pot a personality”.
So my suggestion today is to look at what comes naturally to you, realise this is a talent that you have, then tell yourself how amazing you are to be able to that. Then if bold enough tell others that you can do X and realise however small it is a talent. Remember the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30. Everyone had a different number of talents and the only reason the person with one got in trouble was because they didn’t use that one talent.
So get out there boast about that talent, share that talent and who knows we could start a talent revolution, changing the world one confident step at a time.
To boldly go or to enter boldly! Whatever it is I know my cat can do it best of all. As you can see she does yoga with me each morning. She doesn’t care where I’m putting various body parts but sits where she is comfortable. Then I have to roll her up in the mat when I am done. We know when she has entered a room. She doesn’t only open the door wide enough to get it like the dog does. She doesn’t hope it shuts behind her like we do. She pushes it so wide and then struts in. Generally she enters with loud meows. In fact if she has something to say, no matter what the time of day or night, or what we are doing, she tells us with loud meows. She then lies on the bed, the couch, the laptop, the floor, and purrs loudly. At I write this she is sleeping by myself wheezing happily.
I think when Jesus said to come before God boldly he meant that we were to come to him like my cat. We announce ourselves by throwing open the door and coming in like we deserve to. We don’t care what else is going on because our belief, like my cat’s, is that we are so important that of course he’ll pick us up, stroke us, feed us, whatever us. We shouldn’t care what God is doing if we have something we just need to report and so will shout loudly because who else would he be listening too. And then when we are done we should know that nothing is more important to God than us curling up contentedly with him, purring like the cat.
I was gong to say God doesn’t want us pussy-footing about but for my cat to pussy-foot it is loud, wide doors, in-yer-face, not anything quiet at all.
My cat knows she is the most important being in the house and deserves to be treated as such. Maybe I need to learn to start being like that more with God. Perhaps that is true humility?
Since the start of lockdown myself and other prophetic writers have been banging on about resting, reseting, reconnecting, renewing, etc. Lots of “re”‘s in there!! But are we really listening? Or maybe it is just me!
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been led on the couch getting over a fall from a horse (how it came about is mentioned in the previous post) and I am bored. I still ache, still can’t do all the normal things I do round the house, am tired and am having trouble keeping concentration. Why? Well because my bones or muscles, whichever it is, are trying to reset and renew, but I want to get back to doing, but healing takes time.
Here in North Wales in are about to start a two week “firebreak” to try and deal with this coronavirus. Who know if it will work or not but I wonder if it is like me having a long bath with Epsom salts and hoping that means I can put the hoover round later. I will tell you from experience that it doesn’t work. I still need the time. And I need to be imagining my “new normal“. But I, like my country and my church, and like so many others, do not want to put in that time. I’m bored of sitting around doing nothing but reading and thinking and sleeping!
Did God let me fall off my horse so I could have time to rest? Did God send the coronavirus so we could all have time to rethink? Someone I know had a horrid accident and got compensation for it, then 20 years later a member of his family nearly lost their home and he was able to use his compensation to stop that happening. Did God cause him to have the accident so he had that money? I don’t think so but I know God uses everything.
So I need to let God use my time led on the couch here and having to ask people for help so that I can rest, refresh, reset, and renew. And maybe too we to, as a Church, as a nation, need to follow the same example and allow God to help us to reset, refresh and renew and so become all we are meant to be. Perhaps this is a time to humble myself and pray and let God do the healing?
[A great resource I’ve found to help with this is The Prayer Shield]
This season for me, as you can tell from reading my blogs, has been being reminded of prophetic words. When I first got into this prophetic praying one of the major verse was:
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
I believe this is another of the “Reset” places we should be exploring as the pandemic still creeps across the world.
I believe the word “sin” basically means that we have screwed up, been selfish, missed God’s mark. So we need to go back and humble ourselves before God and say we have screwed up. This is being highlighted in Black Lives Matter, the continued abuses and inequalities between women and men, wanting to see the economy recover often to the detriment of people, climate change, animal welfare, etc.
Reading this news I have noticed that whenever some country or world leader boasts about how they are doing with this virus suddenly they get a spike in Covid-19 cases. Pride steps in, they want to tell everyone how well they did and then bam! they get walloped. It is like the virus is saying to “get off your high horse” and be humble.
Being a practical person I have always have to say what can I/we do?
Well I think the only true way is to stop saying we know what we’re doing and stop, wait, rest and let peace flow into our troubled minds and stop rushing about trying to sort out what the “new normal” is going to be.
But, as I’ve said before, I see people being busy, wanting answers, rushing into the next thing. And this happens as much with Christians as much as anyone. There has been a rush in our church to deep clean to get things “open again” and in England Sunday services are happening so it won’t be long before they start in Wales. But I don’t know of many people who have been praying to find out what God wants to happen next.
But to stop moving forward and to wait on God – or if you don’t believe in God then the universe, a higher power, that inner gut feeling – takes time, and might cause change. Do we really want change?
I took my own advise seriously and during my morning dog walks on the beach I started to ask God what I was do with my “one wild and precious life”. I came away feeling that I was to take my rooms off Airbnb and not advertise for anyone to stay and to trust that if we were meant to have people staying they would find us. Over coffee that Saturday morning I chatted with my husband and he totally agreed. It is odd because the only reason we moved up to North Wales and bought this big house was to do Airbnb! We move up here a place of trusting God, but that was to do something. Now this whole waiting to see what the plan is next is much harder and more humbling because we cannot do anything.
I believe with all things, if we don’t give them to Jesus and leave them in his hands, then we will never be humble. It is not easy and is an on going process, one that God started with me nearly 30 years ago. I’m glad God has more patience with me than I often have with myself.
We’ve had Wessex Water in our street for the last 2-3 weeks. All down one side of the road are holes with men drilling away, or standing by idle and watching. The reason – because people are replacing header tanks with combi boilers the water pipes cannot give enough pressure. Because of the pavement being dug up in front of about 10 houses there is no where to park cars.
One night we came back and found a space. A neighbour who we had never met before parked in front of and asked what time we’d be off in the morning. It was fine she was going before us. And then we got into moaning about the fact that we were struggling to park our cars and the chaos that was being caused. I got in the house and realise how selfish we are being. We look at the plight of refugees, especially now there has been the picture of the dead boy in the surf, and we give money. And yet we forget to realise just how lucky we are. In our street we have running water, we have roofs over our heads, we have cars, we have workmen who come along and spend 2-3 weeks working out why someone cannot have a shower when their neighbour is and work out how to fix this. Ok they will probably add a bit on the water rates, but I’m sure it won’t be much, and the majority of us will be able to pay it without having to go without.
I often wonder if we have too much and that makes us forget to be grateful for it. I read recently that one of the best ways to be humble is to be grateful. And maybe if we were grateful then we could be more generous?
Aspirational Adventures 