Fully Restored

Today I have bought myself yet another shampoo and conditioner that claims to restore my nearly-dead hair.

 

My hair isn't in dreadful condition, but the ends are in a shocking state.  They are split and flyaway and fuzzy.  Today's wind/rain combo left me feeling and looking like Bertha Mason.

 

I'm not sure how much it will help my hair, but I am a sucker for a new product.

 

I am always on the lookout for the next thing that will restore and revitalise my hair, rather than acknowledging that the thing that would help my hair the most would be to stop dyeing it so much or straightening it so regularly.  If I looked after it better, I wouldn't need to spend so much time or money trying to restore it.

 

But rather than fix the real problem, I spend my time and money trying to alleviate the symptoms of the problem.

 

I think in a spiritual way I often chase after different things to 'restore' me too.  Rather than dealing with the 'root' issues (no pun intended), I will chase after things which will make me feel better in the short-term: things that will make me feel confident and secure and happy.

 

Instead, I need to return to God, who promises to fully restore me.

 

I love these Old Testament promises -

 

"The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost."

 

[Joel 2:25 NLT]

 

and         

 

          "This very day I’m declaring a double bonus—
          everything you lost returned twice-over!"

 

[Zechariah 9:12 MSG]

 

Rather than just dealing with the superficial symptoms of my problems - both hair and spirit-related - I need to go back to their roots and deal with the real causes.  And I need to ask God to come and fully restore me.

 

 

 

Signs And Silence

I've been rewatching the first series of 'Jam and Jerusalem' this evening whilst I've been doing some work.

 

It's a comedy set in a small Devonshire town and centres around the Women's Guild.

 

In one episode, the vicar is struggling to hear God's voice.  Whenever he tries to find some space to sit in silence and listen to God, someone interrupts him or he keeps hearing loud announcements on the tannoy from a local event.

 

He is desperate for a sign from God, but he never seems to get what he wants.

 

The episode is full of people looking for different signs from God (including a potato with the face of Jesus - worth a watch if you haven't seen it), and the characters struggle to interpret them.

 

Instead of signs, most of them are met with deafening silence.

 

In the same way, the people of Israel were waiting for a sign from God for hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, but they were met with silence.  They knew that God had promised to rescue them from their exile and life of slavery, but they didn't know when this would happen.

 

What made it harder was that they knew exactly what the sign was and what they were waiting for and they were eagerly expecting it.

 

God had promised them a Saviour through His prophet Isaiah:

 

      "For to us a child is born,
      to us a son is given,
      and the government will be on his shoulders.
      And he will be called
      Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
      Of the increase of his government and peace
      there will be no end.
      He will reign on David’s throne
      and over his kingdom,
      establishing and upholding it
      with justice and righteousness
      from that time on and forever.
      The zeal of the Lord Almighty
      will accomplish this."

 

      [Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV]

 

They knew that God had promised to send a child - His own Son - who would come to bring peace and restoration to the world.  And that is what they eagerly anticipated.

 

In the same way, as we eagerly look forward to Christmas, let's remind ourselves of the sign that God has already given us through His Son and of the peace and restoration that He offers us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hibernating

I've been thinking about hibernation today, not least because I'm tired and it's been a bit of a grey day.

 

It's getting round to that time of year when it's getting chillier in the mornings and the nights are drawing in.  Soon the leaves will start turning from green to golden and animals will begin preparing for their period of hibernation.

 

I've been thinking about a different type of hibernation today as well: it occurred to me recently how infrequently I shut my computer down properly.  Instead, I usually save what I'm working on and set it to 'hibernate'.

 

I'm not entirely sure why.

 

I think it makes it easier when I turn it back on - I can carry on with my work without wasting time trying to find the different documents again.  It is easier 'pausing' things halfway through, rather than having to close them down and reopen them again.

 

I don't often properly shut it down.

 

And I realised that I don't often properly 'shut down' in my own life either - I don't usually give myself a proper break from things.  Even when I'm 'resting', I will often have my mind on other things.  I often pause halfway through a project, or a book, or a painting, but I don't have a proper break from it.  I'm still thinking about them or planning or musing.  I don't turn off my thoughts. 

 

And I don't often turn off my phone or my computer or my radio or my TV either.  There is always some sort of pull on my attention.

 

But rest is an important part of the rhythm of life.  If we don't take time to rest and recuperate and restore our souls, we will burn out.  Work should always be followed by rest:

        

         "By the seventh day

         God had finished his work.

         On the seventh day

         he rested from all his work."

 

         [Genesis 2:2 MSG]

 

Jesus made this a priority: 

"As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer."

 

[Luke 5:16 MSG]

 

I want to make this a priority in my life too.  To take proper time out to rest and to restore my soul as part of the rhythm and pattern of life. 

 

Sometimes I need to 'shut down' rather than simply 'hibernating'.