Lotty and George

Ever seen those adorable old people walking down the road still holding hands and whispering to each other after 60 years? That's my granparents. Go back to the early 1950's, and the cold grey days and nights of Scotland. Meet George and Elizabeth McLaren who are waiting with their two young boys, Harold and Michael. They are about to get onto a boat, that, over many months, will take them to Australia - a land that they do not know but that they hope will be the answer to their prayers against poverty. A place that will provide some sort of stability and promise of a future that they crave after surviving two world wars.

But through it all, they are each others 'mates'. They're best friends as well as lovers.

For the next 50 years (and by His grace with more to come) they will lean on each other through the heights and the depths. Through births, deaths, marriages, divorces, children, grandchildren (and the promise of great-granchildren) - they are the one, for the other. For the next 50 years they will finish each others sentences. When Lotty holds George's hands and say "Oh they're cold" he will look at her and smile with love in his eyes as he replies, "yeah, but my heart is warm".

When I walked into the hospital yesterday and saw my poppy lying on that bed I had to turn around for a minute so that my tears wouldn't upset Nanna. After a big hug from my brother I could walk in and sit by his bed with the rest of the grankids. Sit, and watch.

Nanna (in all her 38kg's of glory) was fussing over Poppy, kissing him and just waiting for him to turn his lips up toward hers too - which, I am thrilled to say he did, many times. His movement and his words were few, very few. He couldn't move his left side, yet he could squeeze with his right hand. And even if he thought it was September of 1948, he knew who we were - and for that I was so humbly grateful to God.

When I was hugging Nanna she looked up at me with childlike eyes and pleaded "he'll be alright wont he?" Before I could get a word in she answered for me in a quiet but firm Scottish voice, "of course he will be - he has to be..." Han'som George squeezed out a couple of sentences while we were there but my favorite was when we were saying goodbye - and trust me I'm not just taking creative license, he actually said it... Nan and I were the last to say goodnight before leaving him to rest. I was on his right side and Nan on his left. The right and was warm and the left, through lack of movement, must have been cold because Nanna leaned in and said, "George you hand is so cold". And with slow, and slurred words he mumbled back, "heart's warm".

I prayed all last night (and thanks to for those of you reading who were also praying). When Dad called this morning I was not expecting him to tell me that he found Poppy sitting up in his bed, speaking, joking, and eating a cookie with his left hand. I was not expecting my often cynical father to ask me if this was the power of prayer - particularly since last night he was saying how unfair it all was.

But there you go - that's why it's God who is in control and not me. May His name be praised.

I can't sleep. I know I should be, but I can't.
What started out as a great night having a dinner party with friends turned out to be awful not long after 10 when I checked my mobile (which I had inconveniently put on silent earlier) to find 5 missed calls from my parents and one from my nanna. Not a good sign.
My beloved poppy has had a stroke. At this stage it looks at the best end of he scale - that is, a serious and bad stroke but early tests show good responses. He's not speaking but can recognise dad, squeeze his hand and has response to physical stimuli etc.
What gets to me the most, apart from the fact that right now I can't touch his hands or kiss his face, is that my nanna called my mobile (a number that I didn't even think she knew existed) and for a few hours was unable to contact me or my parents. What must she have been feeling? How do you cope with the grief of seeing the man you have loved and been married to for the better part of 60 years, helpless? And not be able to reach the rest of your family who you depend on?
I'm anxious to drive up to Gosford now, but mum and dad have told me not to, and I don't want to just be a crowd there and get in the way or potentially upset nanna. I hate feeling this helpless...

Can you please pray for them?

The follow up...

I know you can’t see me, but trust me – right now I am looking very, very, attractive. My nose is a delicious apple red colour that has skin about to peel off; the dark circles under my eyes, along with the bloodshot red in them, are combining to make the irises a startling shade of aqua and the razor like ribbons that are in my throat are giving my voice a tone which is about as sensuous as that of a husky dog that’s mad because she hasn’t eaten properly in a while.
Can you tell I’m not so happy about having the flu but that I’m trying to look on the lighter side? I felt very silly (not to mention clichéd) about the fact that yesterday afternoon as I was queuing up at Franklins all that my basket had in it was soothers (butter menthol and blackberry), cold and flu tablets, packets of chicken noodle soup and aloevera tissues (and for the record, after you go through a box full I don’t think the aloevera’ness of them makes that much of a difference!).
Last night after a nasty bought of coughing, puffy eyes and running nose, I caught myself saying “it’s not fair” - mostly just because I hate getting sick like this, and I hate the fact that because of my silly lungs it seems to happen more often than other people and I resented working really hard on a seminar on ‘prayer’ and then not being able to give it.

But then I realised the touch of irony that this should happen right after my last post about ‘contentment’. Is He giving me the opportunity to put my words into practice? I think so…

In reflection about this I was reminded about a seminar that I wrote for staff eQuip a couple of months ago. It was on contentment, specifically the Phil 4:11 passage that I mentioned last post. And the thing that stood out to me then, as it does now, is that the apostle Paul stresses that he has learnt the secrete of being content. This is a discipline, like all other aspects of godliness, which must be exercised and worked upon. It isn’t something that we should expect to come easily or naturally – after all, Paul wrote those words as an old man sitting in a cold prison cell after he had been beaten and almost killed numerous times for the faith.

So I am choosing to exercise the discipline of contentment in my life – even when I don’t really feel like it. Today shall not be a day or opportunity that is wasted. Here is my aim for the day and hopefully my encouragement for you – if your name is in the address book of my mobile then know that at least one other person has been praying for you (individually) today.


On another note here are a couple of photos from Stacey and Nick’s engagement party on Sunday arvo. It was a lovely celebration – nice and low key because of Stace’s instance that there were no speeches or balloons (although someone seemed to break the rules and sneak three balloons above the cake!). Congratulations guys!



And some new photos from Cathy and Lachlans wedding are in flickr too

Just read Philippians (esp 4:11)

Ok, so it's been a while. You know when you have those weeks when everything seems to pile up on you a little? Well, I'm there... But it's all good.
Actually, that's what I've been thinking a lot about lately. Everything being good - contentment.
Normally my life, as most peoples, goes up and down a lot and 'contentment' is something that I have often struggled with. But for the last few months everything has been really great in life. I have great friends (ok, so that's pretty much always a constant!) I'm enjoying work, sleeping better, eating better, excersising regularily, less stressed... blah blah blah - and it has been going on for months now. The beauty of it has been that my contenment hasn't been from anything overly dramatic happening, just taking joy in everyday events and having a better perspective on life. Through it all I have been so thankful to God, because I've recognised that it is all from His hands.
But a few weeks ago, in the Credo public meeting, Dave Hann was giving his first sermon in a series that we are doing on the book of Job (very worthwhile listening to if you have the time, try following the links via the Credo web page). He was talking about how he too is experiencing a great time of contentment - but that he had realised that he was a fool if his contentment was in his life's circumstances and not in God. It dawned on me that I've been doing that a little lately.
How silly is that? To be putting trust, and placing my contentment, in what is going on in my life - which history tells me is always up and down - rather than in the One who is constant?

Oh, and by the way - this post is for Marty, who chided me the other night for not having put something up in over a week. There'll be something else soon, I promise.

Remember those days as a kid or a teenager when all you wanted to do was be out and about at night or on the weekends - because you usually equated it with being popular and friends wanting you to do stuff with them? Now it seems like all I want to do is stay at home and chill out...It hasn't all been fun stuff so the fact that tonight is my first night at home (in a few weeks!) to just chill out on my own, is a blessing.
So, what have I been doing? Well, a lot of it was spent away at Ballina/Byron while the rest has been night meetings or out with friends. The details are kind of boring, but it's all been good.
A highlight of being away was having the chance to spend time with Graham Stanton (who has the cheesy grin as we were all about to tuck into a great dinner) and Andy Stevenson (seen below chilling out on the rivers edge at Ballina).
I was at Youthworks College with these two in 01 - 02 and it was there that Andy (along with Pete and Paul) became a part of my own little band of brothers... truly wonderful godly guys who took me on like a sister - meaning that they laughed with (and at) me, let me cry on their shoulders occasionally and (in Andy's case in particular) taught me how to punch.
I've really missed them so it was wonderful to spend a couple of days catching up and hanging out - as well as listening to some great talks from Graham on 1 Samuel.

There should be some more pictures coming up on flickr soon with a few more details for any who are interested.

Now if you will excuse me, it's back to my couch a glass of red, some dark chocolate and 'Over the Hedge' which I picked up for the bargain price of $16 from coles (the scene with the squirrel on V is just about one of the funniest I have ever seen - if you haven't watched it yet you're missing out!).

I'm back.
It was (as always) great.
Cathy and Lachlans wedding today was wonderful.
Photos and stories will be up once i catch up on sleep!