I've been called square all my life.
Be it in my dress sense, my taste in music, my academic leanings, I've tended towards conformity. I am nothing if not conservative. In my need for structure and sense, I am anal. I need things and people to fall into neat and predictable categories, so that I can understand them. If I ever have an offbeat idea, I am likely to revel in it for a few seconds, then push it to the back of my mind, and never go there again.
Today, I spent 3 hours with a 70 yo friend from church. She is a full-time artist whose work spans a huge range of subjects and emotions. Some I can relate to, like her landscapes. I've got one of them on my living room wall, right above our TV. Some of her work I cannot understand at all (or do not want to), like the ones she exhibited at Girls' Night In (in support of breast cancer sufferers) last year.
What is really interesting is how we have formed a friendship despite our 30-year age gap. It's something I would not have thought possible if I had remained in Sg. Other than my extended family members, I cannot remember any seniors taking an interest in or wanting to be actively involved in my family life.
We had a lovely Chicken Mornay for lunch, which she served in a white soup bowl (the kind with handles like you find in restaurants), and a kind of fork that I've never seen before. Eating soup with a fork is a first for me.
She showed me round her home and her art studio, and we went for a walk around the retirement village where she lives. We saw the rose garden, the playground (for the grandkids who come to visit), the clubhouse, pool, BBQ area... Such a peaceful and secure place and so beautifully maintained. I mentioned that we used to live on the other side of the fence when we first moved into the area. I told her I wouldn't mind living in a place like that when I get to the qualifying age (which is really only another 15 years)!
It was the conversations that really touched me. My family background. My personal colours (which I don't know because I've never done the colour thing; I have since learned that I am a Winter). Her observations of Beth from their time painting together at Sunday School. Her thoughts about our family. Her son, a Dux of school who majored in Law and Commerce but is now in charge of social work projects in Africa. The importance of not forcing our children to be what we expect of them, but freeing them to be what God has intended for them to be.
I believe God is gently drawing me into the lives of people I can make a difference to, and I know that in the process I am going to be stretched, shaped and molded beyond my imagination.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Monday, April 05, 2010
Enlarging My Territory
The Lord has been challenging me into new areas of ministry. I am reminded of the prayer of Jabez, even though I have not specifically asked for my territory to be enlarged:
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." So God granted him what he requested.
What's particularly exciting is that one of them is gifted in dance and movement. I have been wanting to include an element of music and movement in SS and her offer of help is perfectly timely. She's the wife of our worship leader, and has been a professional dancer for years. As she's in her early 20s and very "with it", the kids will love her style. And I won't have to worry about being made to lead something that I'm lousy at!
The other lady is passionate about healthy living and wants to impart her knowledge to the children. This ties in perfectly with my health business and writing and gives me a new angle from which to teach the children the importance of taking care of their bodies and being good stewards of what God has given (life and health).
The SS coordinator also spoke with me recently about being included on a roster of volunteers to support a member of our church family who has a debilitating disease that affects her mobility. The volunteers will take turns to ring this member, check on her, visit her and take her on trips to the shops if necessary.
It is sobering to be confronted with the ravages of time and to acknowledge that more and more members of our family are aging and will need help to live in a dignified way as the years go by.
At the car boot sale on Sat, I had a long conversation with our resident artist. The result was an invitation to lunch at her place this Wed to have a look at some material she has written. I know she has developed an affection for our family and longs to have a more substantive role to play e.g. de facto granny to my girls. It is something to think about in the longer term. For now, I know God has led me into friendship with this lady for a purpose.
Another lady, the one who wants to help our SS kids learn healthy living, has also recently expressed an interest in my family and a desire to get to know me better. She is recently widowed but you wouldn't know it when you meet her. She is constantly joyful, praising God, reading her Bible, and busying herself with good works: hosting the main course for our church's progressive dinner last year, doing the flower arrangements for church, attending talks and learning something new, coming up with ideas to stimulate us spiritually. We plan to get together after her daughter's wedding in late April.
I just want to give God thanks that there are people out there who are thinking of our family's emotional and physical needs and offering to meet some of those needs.
Like our pastor's wife, who just last Sat offered to babysit our girls so that Calvin and I can have a night out by ourselves. (Although when we discussed it, we couldn't figure out where we would want to go or what we would do without the girls. How sad is that??)
It takes great effort and commitment to put up your hand and say you'll do this and that extra thing for someone just because you noticed that they have a need. I have often noticed that it is usually the individuals who already lead seemingly busy lives, who from the outside appear to have too much to do, who are the first to step forward.
What a humbling lesson for me, who often get sucked into my own busyness and forget to lift up my head and expand my view.
But that's not all.
At Sunday service yesterday, I was delighted and astonished to see a familiar elderly Chinese lady and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter Catherine and Beth used to be in the same swimming class at Wyndham Leisure Centre, and her daughter was then expecting her third child. The 3 generations would go swimming every Wed. While Catherine and Beth had their lesson, Grandma, Daughter and 2nd granddaughter Gabrielle would enjoy paddling in the shallow end.
The granny's name is Yang Bin and she comes from Xinjiang near Mongolia and Russia. She doesn't speak any English. She introduced me to her hubby, who had just set foot in Melbourne for the first time in his life. I did my best at speaking to them in Mandarin, and was pleased that Catherine felt able to share some of what's been happening at home.
Afterwards, I felt very disturbed to learn that they had walked all the way from Werribee (a 30-minute walk) to attend our church service, particularly when we drove past the Plaza and saw the three of them sitting on a grass patch - in the heat of the noonday sun. CA and I debated whether we should turn around and offer them a ride, but the thing is, they were killing time before attending the Chinese 2.30 pm service, and besides, we had a prior appointment with our friends.
What Would Jesus Do?
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." So God granted him what he requested.
I Chronicles 4:10 NKJV
Our regular Sunday School coordinator has stepped down to focus on other ministries that she feels God is calling her into. This opened the way for a new coordinator to step in (my husband!) and an opportunity to brainstorm new ideas and new ways of running SS. I have volunteered to run SS in Term 2, and last Sunday, the coordinator announced this fact to the congregation, and asked for volunteer helpers to assist me. Two persons have stepped forward.What's particularly exciting is that one of them is gifted in dance and movement. I have been wanting to include an element of music and movement in SS and her offer of help is perfectly timely. She's the wife of our worship leader, and has been a professional dancer for years. As she's in her early 20s and very "with it", the kids will love her style. And I won't have to worry about being made to lead something that I'm lousy at!
The other lady is passionate about healthy living and wants to impart her knowledge to the children. This ties in perfectly with my health business and writing and gives me a new angle from which to teach the children the importance of taking care of their bodies and being good stewards of what God has given (life and health).
The SS coordinator also spoke with me recently about being included on a roster of volunteers to support a member of our church family who has a debilitating disease that affects her mobility. The volunteers will take turns to ring this member, check on her, visit her and take her on trips to the shops if necessary.
It is sobering to be confronted with the ravages of time and to acknowledge that more and more members of our family are aging and will need help to live in a dignified way as the years go by.
At the car boot sale on Sat, I had a long conversation with our resident artist. The result was an invitation to lunch at her place this Wed to have a look at some material she has written. I know she has developed an affection for our family and longs to have a more substantive role to play e.g. de facto granny to my girls. It is something to think about in the longer term. For now, I know God has led me into friendship with this lady for a purpose.
Another lady, the one who wants to help our SS kids learn healthy living, has also recently expressed an interest in my family and a desire to get to know me better. She is recently widowed but you wouldn't know it when you meet her. She is constantly joyful, praising God, reading her Bible, and busying herself with good works: hosting the main course for our church's progressive dinner last year, doing the flower arrangements for church, attending talks and learning something new, coming up with ideas to stimulate us spiritually. We plan to get together after her daughter's wedding in late April.
I just want to give God thanks that there are people out there who are thinking of our family's emotional and physical needs and offering to meet some of those needs.
Like our pastor's wife, who just last Sat offered to babysit our girls so that Calvin and I can have a night out by ourselves. (Although when we discussed it, we couldn't figure out where we would want to go or what we would do without the girls. How sad is that??)
It takes great effort and commitment to put up your hand and say you'll do this and that extra thing for someone just because you noticed that they have a need. I have often noticed that it is usually the individuals who already lead seemingly busy lives, who from the outside appear to have too much to do, who are the first to step forward.
What a humbling lesson for me, who often get sucked into my own busyness and forget to lift up my head and expand my view.
But that's not all.
At Sunday service yesterday, I was delighted and astonished to see a familiar elderly Chinese lady and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter Catherine and Beth used to be in the same swimming class at Wyndham Leisure Centre, and her daughter was then expecting her third child. The 3 generations would go swimming every Wed. While Catherine and Beth had their lesson, Grandma, Daughter and 2nd granddaughter Gabrielle would enjoy paddling in the shallow end.
The granny's name is Yang Bin and she comes from Xinjiang near Mongolia and Russia. She doesn't speak any English. She introduced me to her hubby, who had just set foot in Melbourne for the first time in his life. I did my best at speaking to them in Mandarin, and was pleased that Catherine felt able to share some of what's been happening at home.
Afterwards, I felt very disturbed to learn that they had walked all the way from Werribee (a 30-minute walk) to attend our church service, particularly when we drove past the Plaza and saw the three of them sitting on a grass patch - in the heat of the noonday sun. CA and I debated whether we should turn around and offer them a ride, but the thing is, they were killing time before attending the Chinese 2.30 pm service, and besides, we had a prior appointment with our friends.
What Would Jesus Do?
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