Rain Rhythms!

Joel 2:23-24 (adapted) 'I am glad and I rejoice in the Lord my God, for He has given me the early rains for my cleansing, vindication and restoration; He has poured down for me abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, faithfully. My threshing floors are full of grains, my cisterns are overflowing with new wine and oil...

Hi dears. I trust you had a lovely week. So what happened? Victories? Joys? Successes? Or even disappointments? Not to worry. The steadfast love of the Lord for us is new every morning! It’s a beautiful new day! Another chance to do better, make a change, try again!

And that brings me to my ramblings today…. :)

For some time now, I had been struggling with being disciplined at my half hearted efforts to lose a few pounds and of course take more responsibility for my health and trust me; I had enough excuses to discourage even a tsunami! Lol! After a while, and much push from my darling friendsis ‘TeeOw’, I decided to start with little steps.

First, I reduced fizzy drinks, gradually replacing with water and green tea (not easy I must tell ya! I love coca cola!.. :(  I also started making little changes in my food choices, like adding more fruits and veggies and reducing my intake of pastries (still struggling to resist my dear ‘TeeOw’s red velvet cake though…ooh that cake is decadent!…;)

The need for exercise in addition cannot be overemphasized, but there never seems to be time! There’s even this dance class I've wanted to join but I can’t seem to get around to that either, whew! I then decided to start taking walks whenever I can; starting with little steps right?

So this glorious Saturday, I wake up with renewed verve and vigor and with determination, I set off. It was a beautiful clear and cool morning. I can do this, I said to myself. As I went on, I saw fellow ‘walkers’...and I became more encouraged. With more confidence, I decided to walk a bit further than I normally would.10, 20, 30 minutes, I walked further away from the house. I was enjoying this, I thought to myself. I could walk kilometers! And then out of the blues, I notice clouds gathering! It was going to rain! And heavily too! What would I do? There was no way I could get back home before the rain started, not even if I ran. Do I take a taxi? No. That would spoil all the effort I had made that morning.

After much thought, (jeez I think too much!....*rolling eyes*) I decided to keep walking back home, hoping the rain would wait for me to get home….hehehe! Of course it didn't and in no time it was pouring in torrents! People around me made a dash for shelter and I considered doing so, but then something checked me and I heard my little girl voice... ‘ It’s not going to hurt if you walk in the rain right? How about letting go for once’! And something just snapped in me and I kept on in the rain!

You see, I hardly ever do anything on the spur of the moment, well not since I was quite younger. I now just had to analyze and over analyze everything!  Spoils the fun sometimes I tell you. So you can imagine how I had debated in my mind. Walk in the rain? Are you crazy? What would people say? You will catch a chill! You are too old for this, bla! bla! bla!

Well, I quelled the voices in me. And I’m glad I did. The rain came down even more heavily and soon I was the only one left walking. Gradually I felt all self consciousness fade away. I felt like a little girl again and my mind went down memory lane, when we had absolutely no worries. It was exhilarating. It was cleansing. It felt surreal. It was as though the rain washed away all my inhibitions, all my fears! I felt like I could conquer the world! Music blasting from my ear phones, I felt my body sway to the rhythm. I had been set free! I felt renewed, refreshed. A new lease of life. I had not felt like this in years!

Then it dawned on me. I had piled on too many things on my mind. I had sacrificed so much of me for my husband, children, career as well as so many other things. I had forgotten how it was to just be and experience! I had neglected me! The most important part of the equation.

Of course it’s not bad to give attention to the important thing s like family, friends and career. But when last have you done anything just for yourself? That vacation? That spa pamper session? That pair of shoes? That dance class? Or just being alone by yourself  for a few minutes without bothering about anything or anyone else! It doesn't mean you’re selfish. If life stopped for you right now, all other things would continue! Then what?!

That doesn't mean you should go overboard either. There definitely should be moderation.  A car that starts off with a full tank has to stop at some point to refuel and recoup, same as if it doesn't stop to refuel, it would definitely run out at some point and be forced to stop whether it likes it or not!

You don’t wanna be forced to stop yea? So how about pausing a bit to refuel and recoup?

Keep Soaring as High as U dare, for You are a gem, intricately woven by God.... :)

“HE Will Never Leave Nor Forsake Us”

Psalm 68:19 (NET) The Lord deserves praise! Day after day he carries our burden, the God who delivers us.

For several weeks I have been unable to write anything. Each time I pick myself up to do so, I just hit a mind block and can’t go further.

Why you may ask?

Well, I’d tell you. I've been through a terribly traumatic past few weeks.  

Not trying to be dramatic, but something terribly terrible happened to me! Pardon me, I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is yet, but I’d tell you that incident was the worst I had ever experienced in my life apart from the loss of a loved one and the death sentence I got from a doctor years ago (will tell you those sometime later)

So this glorious wonderful day, I wake up as usual, going about my business, not knowing that the devil had plans, absolutely out of my control, but for God! Who refused to forsake me!

What could it be you may ask? A robbery? A death? A murder? Infidelity? Job loss? Illness? What?! Is there ever anything new under the sun? Well, there’s absolutely nothing new under the sun, but for someone like me, it was a catastrophe!

To better understand why I’m going on about this, let me tell you a little more about myself. I’m a young lady whom God has been so gracious and merciful to. Through my growing up years, I have experienced so much that has shaped me into what I am today. I’m very principled, and I live by some set of quite stringent rules (wonder who drew up those rules?!) and I find it very difficult to forgive myself when I don’t meet up! Integrity and truth is my pride! So when something bad or out of character happens, though possibly not a fault of mine, I take full ownership (which is not always a good thing) and take position as Jury, Prosecutor and Judge to convict myself, singlehandedly!

I guess you now understand, why taking things in stride was just so difficult, even though there was absolutely nothing I could have done at that moment to stop the mishap.

Well, maybe I could have controlled my emotions, maybe I could have trusted God more, after all He’d always been there watching over me and all that concerns me. Maybe I should have stayed home, maybe I should have gone earlier? Maybe I overreacted? Maybe? Maybe? Maybe?  I would never know. But one thing I know for sure is that, it could have been worse, but God turned everything around for good.

It’s been several weeks now. I’ve been through hell and high water. I've been to the deepest doldrums ever imagined, and I’ve been tried and convicted and sentenced (in my mind!), but one thing remains sure, God has been by my side all along, helping me through this patch and renewing me again for His Glory.

Have you been through any challenges lately? Do you blame yourself? Is there something you felt you could have done better? Or something you could have done different? Do you think it’s the end of the world (believe me it’s not!) or do you think you can no longer go on? (I bet you are stronger than that!)

You see, if I told you the story of my life (which I’m going to anyway), you would know that God is indeed faithful, and there’s absolutely nothing He can’t do, when we commit ALL to Him! Absolutely!

The bible also says in 1^st Corinthians 10:13 that “No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it”

I am better now, I’m moving on, everything almost like a distant memory, not because I’m super human but because I've learnt to trust implicitly in God and cast all my burdens unto Him.

Does it all look gloomy at your end? Sounds clichéd, but when there is life there is definitely hope! There’s a reason why the clock starts all over again every day. God’s Love daily keeps us and His Glorious Love for us is refreshed every new day (Lamentations 3: 22-23) and God strengthens all who hope in Him (Psalm 31:34).

Believe me, Life’s journey is so much more awesome, God with us.

Keep Soaring as High as U dare, for You are a gem, intricately woven by God.... :)