While Watching Them

When I was 16 I joined a team of young adults who ran a program for kids on holiday at the beach. The team were mostly in their 20s, giving up their own vacation to share their faith, their love and their lives with the kids.

I came away from that experience with a new set of heroes and a resolve to live my life like those leaders. It was an experience that shaped my character profoundly from that moment forward. I was inspired to go back again and again to volunteer myself for that program and many more since.

Last night we spent time with Ken's Campus Ministry classmates and I saw the same character transaction taking place in my kids. They began forming heroes that will forever be impressed on their hearts. Heroes that sacrifice their time, their money, their comforts...and so much more...to invest in young people. And my kids are beginning to form their own futures, while watching them. If I came to this country for that moment, it was worth it.

Winning isn't Everything

When I was younger I had a state ranking in junior tennis. Mum and I would travel around to the different tournaments as I accumulated a nice collection of golden trophies. It was fun. It was exciting. But it was lonely.

You see, when you’re at the top, everyone else wants to be in your place, not with you. I remember the jealous glares and the cutting remarks, the feisty parents and the coaches who taught us how to cheat.

When our family moved away from my tennis epicentre of Warrnambool it was time for a change. I didn’t join the local club and I didn’t practise day in, day out anymore. I still enjoyed playing but to be at the top, you need to put in the time and money. And the motivation for that was gone.

I don’t regret the time we put into tennis as I grew up. Not at all. It was filled with many great memories. And if any of my children wanted to take their interests to the top level then I would gladly help them pursue that. But I would also make sure they knew that winning isn’t everything and if their goal was in searching for some kind of satisfaction, there’s better places to find it.

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Heavenly Hide and Seek

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made… All things have been created through Him and for Him.” Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, TNIV

My 4-year-old daughter loves playing “Hide and Seek”. She’ll often wrap herself in a curtain or put a blanket over her head and say, “Mum, where am I?” She loves the fun of me searching for her in the oddest of places. “Are you in the fridge Em? Maybe under the carpet?” She also loves the thrill of me finding her and giving her a cuddle.

Did you know that the very reason you exist is for God’s pleasure? Colossians 1:16 says we were made for Him. When he set the Earth in motion and inhabited it with vegetation and creatures, the pinnacle of His creation was human-beings that He would have a fulfilling and intimate relationship with! When Adam and Eve chose to act against God and tried to hide from Him, His response was not to throw His hands up in frustration - it was to seek them out (Genesis 3:8, 9). Even as they were at their lowest, God unfolded His plan to them. One day their descendant would be responsible for conquering the very force that pushed them away from Him! Sin and shame would no longer have the upper hand.

Only a week ago we were celebrating Christmas, which marks the event of Jesus birth on Earth. He was the one spoken about in the very beginning. Throughout history humanity has continued the pattern of acting contrary to God and His character, turning away from Him and holding onto our ignorance and shame. Yet, God has already provided the solution through Jesus and He continues to pursue the very relationship He created us for! He has sought you out and will continue to. There’s no need to hide.