Deep Wells

Change - something we can't control.  Especially in this new, unrecognisable season that seems to have rudely interrupted our lives. It's impossible for any of us to avoid the changes social distancing has created.   Overnight, life as we knew it altered drastically & Australia (& the world) has had to deal with a complete flip from 'normal life' to a new, isolated, ever-changing normal.... I noticed subtle changes on one of my walks this week.  (anyone else been walking a bit more??)   Little moments that normally wouldn't impact me as much have been standing out as if time itself is standing still ... heightened senses; richer emotions; a greater sense of 'we are all together in this' perhaps... As soon as I left the house I noticed the park across the road has been taped off, as if it was a crime scene.  Children can no longer play on playgrounds.. this one anyway.  I walked further along & saw a huge new chalkb...

Last night I tossed & turned.  I put it down to the bombardment of news; daily changes & upheaval in our way of life; social media updates; differing opinions on how to contain an outbreak this world has never seen before... I have been keeping my peace, but I don't think it's healthy to be faced with such an onslaught of information at such a constant rate - with fresh news of heartbreak guaranteed each time you click 'power on' or refresh.   A few years ago I did a communion message on 'white noise'.   This is a combination of a heap of sounds & frequencies combined together.  It often just becomes a whirr of noise & it's hard to differentiate between all the sounds.    If your neighbours are throwing a party & you want to drown it out you'll turn on some music of your own, or another time you might put on some peaceful rainforest music to help put yourself to sleep.   That's the kind of white noise I like! :) Thi...

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.   Let all that you do be done with love.”  1 Cor 16:13-14 If there was ever a time to shine God’s love to the world, it is right now. People are genuinely frightened about the future.  For many, the ground they are standing on is like shifting, perilous sand.  And without an assured hope for the future it is difficult to process the onslaught of media announcements combined with general uncertainty for the future. Today I gave trays of much needed food to a family who have recently both lost their incomes.  The drought, the fires then the floods in our region had already destroyed their business - and now they have just lost their work car.  They have no clue how they are going to afford a basic standard of living for the next six months.  Centrelink was their point of call this morning but they couldn’t even get in - so the...

"The wells have dried up".  True.  They became parched & thirsty as the beautiful valley we moved to last year was hurting, drought stricken & desperate for rain. We were at first mesmerised by the immense river, the backdrop of mountains & the vast ocean - all so close in distance & part of the valley we were beginning to discover & love. However, you dig a little & find there is a lot more to discover.  There is much beauty, yet unspoken pain.   There is heartache, and a sense of foreboding. When will it rain again? When will the drought break? For the wells have run dry.  And then, the fire comes.  Menacing, powerful ... catastrophic. It wipes out homes & breathes smoke on everyone - no one escapes the affects of its reach & it shakes the valley to the core. From the coast to the mountains - burnt, pummelled ... still desperate for water. People pray.  People who haven't prayed for years... ...