Author: Roberta

I’m a Freelance Copywriter working in beautiful Calgary, Alberta.

When you feel lost

We hiked a lot when I was a child. Mostly in Jasper. I am no stranger to wandering around in the bush and I know how easy it is to get disoriented.

Several years ago, we were in the Nakusp region. We were wandering around in a very dense section of bush. I was completely overwhelmed. The forest I was used to had some undergrowth, but nothing major. The high altitudes and extreme temperatures worked against dense flora and fauna in the Jasper region. But this was not the case in Nakusp. The trees were even taller too.

I had a general idea that we were headed in the right direction, but I wasn’t sure if we were angling off. As I looked up, I saw a bit more sky off to my right. I remembered there was a clearing that we passed through. With my eyes high I wandered towards this light spot. In time and a few scrapes and bashes we came to the clearing. I heaved a sigh of relief. My instincts had proven correct.

It is not a nice feeling to be lost. It’s even worse when we feel emotionally or spiritually lost. But take heart you don’t have to find the way out yourself. You need to look up and wait. The great shepherd is looking for you. He promised he’d come for you.

Matthew 18: 12 – 14 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

The danger of platitudes

We want to encourage others who are struggling. We want to give them hope, a kind word or gesture. There is a danger in this. Sometimes when we can’t think of anything to say we resort to platitudes like, ‘God never gives anyone more than they can handle.’

I understand why people say this, but it isn’t true. Sometimes people are faced with situations that are by definition way more than they can handle. This is the point. We need to turn these problems over to God. What we can’t do, he can. It isn’t our toughness that gets us through struggles, it is reliance on God. Sometimes his ways are a mystery to us, and the pain of the journey can be extreme. But we are safer in His care than we are managing it on our own.

2 Corinthians 1: 8-11 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Do not worry

I was not a worrier when I was young. I had endless confidence in God’s guidance. I felt anxious about the future sometimes, but not to a point where I would consider it consistent worry.

After suffering many blows from life and having to face difficulties, I now worry. I will worry about the most outlandish things. I expect bad things to happen.

My friends, some Christian and some not, who buy into the new age teachings tell me that by expecting bad things I invite these sufferings into my world. That if I had positive energy and positive focus bad things wouldn’t happen. That is not only rubbish, but it also puts the responsibility for the bad things on the person suffering them. It is victim blaming.

No, I don’t need to channel my positivity to dig my way out of a worry pit. I need to read what Jesus said. I need to focus on His words. I need to trust God.

Matthew 6: 28-34   “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I’m back

Sorry for my absence. I’m sitting here, listening to instrumental hymns and wondering what I can say for myself.

I have been tired. Life can wear us down sometimes. It doesn’t help to dwell on the negatives and I am determined to start writing again.

For the moment a flute sweetly playing the tune to the Old Rugged Cross in the background is my inspiration. That really is all we do need to focus on – the cross. The most undistinguished and yet transformational moment in all of history. No act that any human has ever committed has ever had the impact of this one act by Jesus.

Be it Napoleon, Genghis Kahn, Alexander the great – no one has ever transformed the lives of the future generations the way Jesus did. The grass and trees grow over the sights of great battles. The world goes on spinning and moving at the halls of monumental movements.

But Christ did something in that moment of defeat and suffering. He offered hope. He bridged the gap between God and man and created a hope beyond what we see before us here on earth.

Join me and dwell on ‘That Old Rugged Cross.’

Treasures in my heart

My son has reached the age of milestones. We attended his graduation ceremony a couple weeks ago. It seems almost inconceivable to see this little baby of ours turn into this wonderful young man.

When he was in kindergarten I used to walk him to school; past the high school. We’d see the teenagers flood out at lunch. The day that he would attend the high school seemed a million years away and yet here we are – he is leaving that phase of life behind him.

Along the years there were moments, wonderful subtle views into his future. The day I stumbled on a book mark that he made. He was only nine or ten. It read ‘Christian in training.’ Or later popping in to say goodnight and finding him in bed reading his Bible. Or hearing him chatter about philosophy and life with his Grandpa.

Oddly enough I didn’t get emotional at his graduation. But I did get emotional when I was telling him about the moment when I understood he had become a man, and a good man at that. I tried to put voice to the feeling, but I could hardly contain my emotions.

Here is the moment when I saw the boy I raised become a man.

Several years ago, in the fall, Wes was working at the table on house plans. He got up complaining of a headache. It went down hill from there. Within an hour the paramedics were at our house and taking him away to the hospital. The kids were all awake. I asked the girls, their faces showing signs of shock and confusion, if they wanted to sleep in our bed. They did. I tucked them in and said, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

I then went into Gavin’s little room and said, “You are in charge, son.”

He looked at me and nodded. No fear on his face, just resolve. An hour or so later I called him to make sure everything was OK. He told me not to worry that everything was fine.

He was fifteen. They had never been ‘alone’ at night. There had always been an adult with them. At this moment I saw the man my son would be. And I was filled with pride. This boy of ours has grown into a Godly and wonderful man. The sort of man who often reminds me that, “the Bible says not to worry Mom, so don’t worry.”

I don’t know what the future holds for this young man, but I pray that God will bless him and make his path smooth.

Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Important reminder

Most of what is evil in the world right now boils down to money. The pursuit of money, the love of money. Even in my own heart money plays a larger role than I like. I worry, fret and stumble over the need for money. My heart is saddened by the restrictions that lack of money puts on our family. I can let it consume my mind in an unhealthy way.

Maybe you are also left gasping and concerned after filling up your car at the gas station. This is natural and human.

I must turn my mind to God. Pray for his wisdom and guidance. I must lean on His plan not my own. I must trust.

He sees and knows my story in its fullness. I must rely on that and take his hand. My security needs to be in God, not in my bank account. He is my foundation.

1 Timothy 6: 6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with that.

I am a battleship

(a metaphor)

I am a battleship.

When I was young, I used to wonder what I would be. I wondered what job my creator was preparing me to do.

I thought maybe, I was to be a cruise ship. A vessel destined for fun and pleasure. Traveling to strange and wondrous places. Or maybe a merchant ship. A huge powerful machine working tirelessly; making the world work. Crossing the seas and oceans carrying goods and enabling the lives of others to move forward.

But no. He had something else in mind. I am a battleship.

Every wave I encounter is either on my way to the next battle or in retreat. Around the edge of every harbour is danger. I no longer wonder what lays ahead of me at the edge of the horizon. I know. A fight. It’s always a fight.

My creator trimmed me out well. I have resources and armaments. I have guns and even a white surrender flag. I may be terrifying to look at. But I am prepared.

At some point in each foray, I wonder if this is the war that does me in. Always expecting my hull to take on water and sink to the bottom never to return. It isn’t fear anymore. It’s resignation.

As I limp my way back to safe harbour, hoping for a small respite to repair my broken pieces and ensure my frame can sustain another fight, I see the looks I receive. I see the shock and dismay. I see the judgment. The other ships wondering why I don’t take better care of myself.

But they don’t see me during the battle. They don’t see my guns firing and my willingness to go into the middle of the fray. They see me after. They can judge. They can sneer. They can even despise me. I don’t have time for that. I can’t care.

I have another battle to fight. I guarantee that.

Because, … I am a battleship!

Please God

We struggle with defining success. The usual markers are; money, stuff, friends, popularity, prestige… the list goes on.

We judge ourselves by what we don’t have and what we can’t do. But God doesn’t use the same metrics to judge that humanity does. He sees the emancipator of a nation off hiding in a foreign land. He sees the ruler of nation tucked away in the fields with his sheep. He sees the greatest prophet waiting by the river being fed by ravens. He sees the messenger heralding the arrival of the messiah in the wilderness eating locust and honey. He sees the foundation of his church in a simple fisherman.

He sees us. He sees the heart. He knows the struggle we face and the wounds we incur as we journey.

Don’t let the world badger you with its values and criticism, rather worry about pleasing God.

Matthew 20: 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Follow close

Over the last few years I have occasionally had a frustrating and threatening dream. It is always different but the theme is the same. I find myself in a dark unknown place trying to find my way. Usually I have one or all the kids with me, and I am trying to stumble through the dark and find safety.

It isn’t a dream that leaves me wondering. I know exactly what I am worried about when I wake. The world is so frightening and so out of control that I feel the weight of leading our family through the darkness. My dream is an outcropping of worries that often don’t even reach my conscious mind.

As I review this dream and think over my concerns, I remember that I am not responsible to be the one finding my way. I just have to keep my eye on the shepherd. I just have to feel His presence. I don’t have to know where I am going or where He leads. I do not need to fear. I must rely on Him.

John 8: 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”