Hi Friends,
It’s mid winter here in New Zealand and let’s just agree, the weather is super crap!
This is exactly what I see, looking outside today. Not just today but it seems like forever!
I found a couple of interesting thoughts online this week when I googled - winter quotes.
Be grateful for all kinds of weather. Look forward to the approach of strong or unusual weather - see them as an exciting adventure, as a time when nature reminds you that she exists, that when it comes to the earth, it is her domain.
This is a great reminder to me. It is so easy to let what is happening outside to affect your insides. Do you have that problem too?
You might be in the middle of summer right now and it’s hot, sticky and unbearable. Is that you? Share in the comment section below. This quote can apply to you too - look for the exciting adventure. Can you see it?
All phenomena - including bad weather - contributes to our experience of life. Don’t discriminate. Enjoy the adventure.
Ok, so as I was looking through the rainy window, I asked God to show me something. Anything. What was the spiritual lesson? What did he want me to enjoy?
There she was. A Tui perching at the very top of the tallest tree. Trying to extract all the goodness from the flowers or berries up there.
I hear bird song. How on earth can birds still fly and sing while it’s windy and rainy? How come they aren’t sick, weary and anxious? If I was a bird, I would be tucked up in a nook or cranny, somewhere safe and cosy and away from the weather.
The more God reminds me about the birds, the more I realise that they know what it is to live, move and exist in God’s love.
He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.
Luke 12:22-24 The Message
Here are the same verses in the NLT:
22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.
23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.
24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!
25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
What a wonderful, carefree life. No worries.
Always knowing that God the Father provides food and shelter, whatever the weather.
Here’s the mic drop - we, you and I, are worth far more to God than the Tui I saw at the top of the tree. Far More. far more.
So why aren’t we living carefree in the care of God?
The invitation is there. How much do we want it?
We probably have to lay down some stuff that is loading us down. Expectations. Assumptions. Relationships. Jobs. Houses. Stuff. Always needing to be right. Unforgiveness. Regrets.
We might need to think less and feel more. We know God loves us (the Bible tells us so). But do we know it?
Definition of to know:
to be aware of through observation or inquiry
to feel and experience
Yes, feel more. Feeling is a big part of being in relationship. God wants us to relate with more than just our mind. There is joy, laughter, sadness, grief, lamenting, dancing, singing, and even anger. He wants to feel all these emotions with us.
Above all else, God wants us to know that we are loved. To know. To feel. To experience. Paul wrote this very desire in a prayer:
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT
Let’s enter and exit everyday with this prayer on our lips…
…Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit I ask for the power to understand your love.
I want to know today, how wide, how long, how high and how deeply you love me.
I ask to experience your love today so that I will be made complete, so that I will live fully today, so that I will be carefree like the Tui in the tree, even in wild weather, because of your love.
While you are showing me your love, please help me to turn to others and see how much you love them also.
In your name, amen.
How do you cope in wild weather? How have you experienced God’s love?
I have learnt to love all the different seasons and what they encompass.
I was sitting having lunch with my husband during a storm last week .. And what did we see..a beautiful rainbow 🌈 ❤️
A beautiful reminder to me that He is with me/us in the storms 🙏
It is amazing we allow our perspective to be based on what we can see and feel rather than on what we know. In my part of the world, we have been under a heat advisory for the past couple of weeks (37 or 38 celsius) . We did have a brief 5 minute shower yesterday so your rain picture is a refreshing look. I am trying to be like Paul and be content whatever the circumstances (Phil 4:11). I thank God every day for the ability to see the birds out my window and be reminded of how much He cares for me.