Monika

ALL THINGS MADE NEW

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Shirley"s Pen

‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be nor more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’

Room 205 was a welcome sight.  Visits, conversations, penetrating my thoughts.  My mind racing as I made my way down the corridor.  ‘Lord, these waves are too high, I am sinking, I’m going to capsize’.  Overwhelmed with the fast flowing floods of suffering of those I had left behind, hope gone, the tempestuous winds blowing with great adversity, alone with the anguish of their personal trial, their hearts crushing beneath the pain. Frail bodies (wasting away), voices so weak they reach out just to touch your hand. Is it enough, is it over (for me) when I ‘share a moment’; ‘spend an evening’; ‘show I care’? It can never be over, my heart needs to be fixed, to be settled, even though I question, my faith, my trust will know His leading.  Oh the impact, the tranquillity of a loving word, but more importantly, a living word that will cause them to know in their hearts that the Lord is the source and the God of all comfort.  I thought of Job: ‘And after my skin is destroyed, this I know that in my flesh I shall see God,’ Job 19: 26. They not only need ‘Daily Bread’; they need ‘The Bread of Life’. Read more

Rebuilding

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Shirley"s Pen

‘Our land lies in ruins now, but we will rebuild it better than before.  We will replace the broken bricks with cut stone, the fallen sycamore trees with cedars’. Isa: 9:10.

‘Change and decay in all around I see…’  Heartfelt emotion of lives in ruins, desperate cries for help. But how much of myself can I give?  I can identify with the prophet Nehemiah who when he first saw the ruins of Jerusalem, wept.  I have struggled these past few days, yet I am assured that God’s love is stronger than my heartfelt pain. I must be drawn by love to build a ‘Bridge of Hope’ that will join us in the bond of humanity and love.  Before departing from Northern Ireland, I sensed a ‘wind of change’ and thought I was prepared,   I remind myself that my passion, my vision has not changed, yet question why this particular path of darkness, brokenness, seems the most difficult.  I think of Anna who has been trying to ‘rebuild’ with two of her children a ‘Home’ after they spent six years in an Orphanage. Two days ago, the ‘Home’ she shared with ten families, burned to the ground.  Her land lies in ruins!  ‘Just a little glimmer of light’ I prayed.   He is able to restore, rebuild and so I wait knowing ‘My hope is in the Lord’.  At the outset of this mission trip, I pray that the Word of God will penetrate the darkness surrounding many and that they will know in their heart there is ‘Hope in the Midst of Shadows’. Read more