Modern
Day Samaritan Woman
Lessons in Grace/Mercy/Acceptance as given by
Lamb Chops, Spit Braai and 101 assorted Poultry and Live Stock…
Sometimes I get weary...
No it’s more accurate to say, I basically feel
weary every single day…
I don’t start out my day that way. I usually wake
up refreshed, positive and ready for the day, but then as the day progresses
and my brain is filled with all the conflicting messages and tensions and
negativity that floods the mind and body from the headlines, the news, even my
own Face Book, I end up weary because seriously this world has become a scary
place to be in. It’s frightening sending my loved ones out every day, knowing
they are facing the unpredictable and that there are no safe places.
This world is literally falling apart and the
evil that men can do, knows no boundaries.
So in the late afternoons when I go home, it’s
with no small sigh of relief that I enter my gates…my sanctuary from the chaos …
escape into my home… shed my corporate cloak and change into my own Ariete –
Mommy skin and retreat for a time into my back yard to tend to the animals.
Here there are NO deadlines and NO pretensions…
It is here that I can focus on what really
matters.
I think about the people struggling to survive
the Earthquakes in Nepal not knowing whether their loved ones have survived or
not.
I think about the women in Africa that live in
mud huts, walk for four (4) hours a day just to Collecting Water a Daily Chore for their homes.
I think about the Young Girls lives Destroyed whose lives are
being destroyed by ISIS.
I think about the Farmers and their families attacked.that
are being butchered almost daily, often for nothing more than their mobile phones and
some cash.
I think about the many “Missing men and woman.”
whose photos are displayed on my Face Book daily and wonder where they are.
I think about the Children who are abused and
hidden from the world, having to face their nightmare existence alone.
I think about the thousands of Young People swept
up in the wave of drug abuse.
I think about the homeless, abandoned people who
are invisible in plain sight.
I think about the elderly, alone and lonely and
some even suffering from Unspeakable abuse by their own caregivers.
I think about the animals that suffer in cages,
just because mankind has no mercy left.
AND THESE THINGS OVERWHELM ME AND LEAVE ME
FEELING HELPLESS AND HOPELESS…BECAUSE I CAN'T FIX ANY OF IT...
and
Another day has passed and I haven’t in
anyway touched even one of those lives… not even in a thought or prayer because
I have been too busy with my life for the day. I secretly am ashamed to admit
to myself that I am relieved that I am not in a disaster situation, not knowing
where my loved ones are, that’s it’s not my loved one that is missing…that I
have running water all the way into my home.
I imagine having a conversation with the unknown
women in Africa who walk for miles, with heavy water cans, just to supply water
daily to their homes and I wonder what they would say to me about my life. I
wonder what the mother, whose baby girl, was sold by ISIS as a sex toy, would
say were she to know what trivialities I fret about from day to day, in comparison
to her.
During this time of reflection, prayer, admonishing
myself for having my priorities all wrong, I watch my animals and notice in
their actions an example of real godliness and my senses are filled and
overpowered by the “Amazing Grace” of God.
Lamb Chops,
my sheep does not have a single evil bone in her body and I don’t think she has
many thoughts, if any, but she approaches me boldly every afternoon, bleating
her welcome and fully expecting that I will have some treat in my hand for her
to eat. She reminds me daily that my Shepherd is ever near, ready to provide
and protect me…and yet I am not nearly as bold as she is, because I know He
sees my thoughts and heart and like Adam and Eve, I want to hide. Then a soft
breeze brushes across my skin and I become aware that the Grace of God is
resting on me, because He knew that I would fail, so He came and saved me,
despite me.
“Now God has us where he wants
us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and
kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All
we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!
We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that
we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does
both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him
in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we
had better be doing.” The Message
Spit Braai,
my goat, charges at me enthusiastically every time he sees me, always excited
to see that I am home and pressing into my legs closely, expecting to be rubbed
and loved. He has no apologies for being alive and struts his stuff among the
other animals, clearly very confident that he belongs in this community. He
reminds me that I too am a part of the Body of Christ and yet where is my
confidence? As a member of the Body of Christ, I am His Ambassador right here
and now in this very evil world. Yet, I spend my energy and time on things that
will not stand the test of time. Shamefully, I cast my eyes down and see a
trail of ants, working tirelessly and I am reminded that like these ants, my
God neither slumbers nor sleeps and He is working in me, daily transforming me
into the image of Christ. His Grace is sufficient for me.
Psalm 145:8“God is
all mercy and grace— not quick to anger, is
rich in love.” The Message
When I bring out the bowl of corn and feed, from
the shed I am quite literally surrounded by 101 assorted chickens, ducks, geese
and assorted livestock. The welcoming calls of poultry, blended with the sheep,
goats, donkey’s and horse all knowing they are about to be fed are like food
for my soul. As my senses absorb the sounds and smells my soul soars with
delight, because these chickens and ducks and geese, remind me that despite
being the most vulnerable of all they bravely get up every day, peck their way
around the garden, cluck warnings at their chicks, while roosters challenge one
another for territory. Yet at feeding time, all are collectively standing side
by side waiting for their feed. None of them grudges the other the space or the
food. I am reminded that in Gods Kingdom all are created equal and each of us
has a unique niche to fill. Once again His Grace swoops in on the menagerie of beautiful
soul enriching sounds to assure my soul that He is ever present.
Matthew 6:33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which
are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do
his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be
so preoccupied withgetting, so
you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way
he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how
he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.
Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will
be met” The Message
Clasie and Eee-Or, my donkey’s arrived at my small holding wild
and mistrusting. I don’t know what happened to them at their previous home and
it has taken me several weeks to patiently coax them nearer to accept carrots
from my hands. They remind me that my Saviour also patiently and lovingly had
to coax me nearer while I obstinately watched and ignored the outstretched
hand. Yet He has never gave up on me… No matter how I fail I can always turn
around and see His outstretched Hand offering me and my loved ones eternity.
“I call
Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and
Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you
and your children will live. And love God,
your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself,
a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your
ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The Message
Cuquinha, my
miniature horse jealously and zealously guards me. According to her I belong
solely to her and she doesn’t really like anyone in “our” space which is all
around me, yet she reminds me that I am surrounded at all sides by the Grace
and Mercy of God. He jealously and zealously guards my heart and I am His
alone. His Child…His Creation… Nothing and no one can separate me from His
Love, no not even me and all of my failings…
And so when I am done with my soul reflection,
and spirit revival I am restored, revived and able to step back into my house and love my
people hard and well and vulnerably and completely, knowing that despite the
evil and horror in the world, God is still in control. He still has the whole
world in His hands. His Grace and Mercy are sure and certain for all who turn
to Him and trust Him.
I can offer my people and the people I meet and
work with every day the same grace and mercy that have been freely given to me.
I may not have two cents to rub together but I am wealthy beyond words...
because my God Lives!!!
Do you like me sometimes feel so overwhelmed by
the things going on in this world that you shrink within yourself and try to
avoid facing and thinking about all the evil. Sometimes I think my heart can't
stand to hear or see another evil thing. We can relax because God is in
control...we can't fix anything... we can only offer our love and compassion
where we are on a daily basis. Sometimes, it is enough to start with that one
person in your life… We can’t save the world.
*Hugs* till next time.
Ariéte
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