The tale of two sets of whiskers
| I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John15:5 ) |
Those who know me well, know that I like big challenges and will often bite off more than I can chew easily...
And so it was with Lent 2017... I sat down with my journal and identified various goals and objectives that I wanted to achieve. These included getting up early, doing extra exercise, reading a number of books (I made a list!) and making a difference for others.
Then 3 foster kittens arrived...
Back-story: We are part of Catz R Us which is an organisation that fosters homeless cats and kittens, sterilizes them and finds homes for them. Over the last 18 months we have fostered and homed 22 kittens and helped some adult cats as well.
These three kittens were very sickly and needed lots of TLC.
Then the tummy bug arrived...
Brenda got hit with it first and I caught too. (It would last for a week and require two sets of anti-biotics to sort out.)
Needless to say my lent intentions flew out of the window! There was no getting up early when you've been up through the night and no doing exercise with tummy cramps and caring for kittens and everything else that was going on chewed up the things I wanted to achieve.
I felt like a failure...
But God's grace was way ahead and in His providence I have found another way... The Sunday after Ash Wednesday was the CANSSA shaveathon and I opted to shave my head as I usually do as a sign of solidarity for those with cancer. On the Sunday morning I decided not to shave my beard - as my head was going to be stubbly, my face may as well be too!! And then on Monday I didn't shave my beard as it was my day off and on Tuesday I decided to have the shaved head for CANSSA and the un-shaven beard for Lent.
The un-shaven beard has been remarkably effective - It is itchy and scratchy and I still get a fright when I see myself in the mirror or absent-mindedly touch my face... When the hairs start growing out they are hard and stiff and grow in their own direction. Then they get a bit longer and start lying flat alongside their neighbours, but the itching gets worse as they resist the bending! (In desperation I have even tried shampoo and conditioner and found that it works!!!)
So here's the lessons I have learned:
- Sometimes we can try too hard. I don't have to impress God with lists of things I have done. Lent isn't about what we have done, but what Jesus did for us!!! "While we were still sinners (failures) Christ died for us!" (Rom5:8)
- Being is more important than doing. I can't make my beard grow, I can only let it happen. When I touch or see my beard or when it itches I remember why I am doing it and I take a moment to remember God and think about what Jesus did on the cross.
- The kittens (the other set of whiskers) are now 5 (two more have been added) They've needed our help in the sense of food, medical care and shelter, but what makes them thrive is love and companionship and we're seeing that starting to happen as they grow in confidence and trust. Lent is also a time in which we give love to others.
- What's happening to the whiskers on my face needs to happen to my heart: I need it to soften, and lie flat and find its place among the others. Lent is a time of softening and enjoying God's presence. Reading His Word and spending quality time with other Christians can be the shampoo and conditioner that helps the softening...
I had a plan to impress God, but two sets of whiskers (the ones on my face and the fluff-balls mewing in our spare room) have reminded me that Jesus is the vine and I am just a branch and I just need to hold on to Him.
