Hold On Tight

I've been one of those wallies in wellies today.

 

Yes, I looked silly, but I thought I would have looked even sillier if I had fallen on the ice. 

 

Yesterday I found myself clinging on to some helpfully placed railings as I skated along the pavement.  It reminded me of my traumatising ice-skating experiences as a child which were mostly spent gripping onto the edge of the rink and edging my way round.

 

Even in wellies, I have been slipping and sliding all over the place today: it has been very risky underfoot. It has been difficult to get a grip.

 

In the same way, it can sometimes feel a bit slippery underfoot in a spiritual sense, too.  It can feel as though you are sliding out of control and can't quite get a grip on anything.

 

The Bible describes God's love as being what will hold us steady when the ground is slippery:

 

         "The minute I said, 'I’m slipping, I’m falling,
         your love, God, took hold and held me fast."

 

        [Psalm 94:18 MSG]

 

 

This verse doesn't say that God made the ground smooth, or that He took away the 'slipperiness'.  Instead, He promises to hold our hands tightly as we walk over the slippery parts of life.

 

So that rather than clinging onto the edge of the ice-rink of life, we can let go and trust in God's love which will always keep a tight hold on us.

 

 

 

Winter

I was just flicking through the channels this evening when I spotted that the first Narnia film is on.  It started a while ago, so I've missed the beginning, but I've seen it before so I can keep up.

I've joined the story just at the point where Christmas has finally arrived in Narnia, because of the hope that the Pevensey children have brought to the land.  Father Christmas presents Lucy, Peter and Susan with gifts and then declares, "Winter is almost over."

As we watch, the snow and ice, which have characterised life in Narnia for over a hundred years, begin to melt and disappear.  Trees bud and blossom and the world becomes green again.

It's a beautiful image as we watch things that have been dormant or dead slowly coming to life.

It reminds me of this beautiful passage in the Song of Solomon:

       "Look around you: Winter is over;
       the winter rains are over, gone!
       Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
       The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
       Spring warblers are filling the forest
       with sweet arpeggios.
       Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
       and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms."

       [Song of Solomon 2:10-12 MSG]


I often feel that there are things in my life, or in my heart, that are frozen over

But in the same way that the ice in Narnia is melted by hope, the ice in my life and in my heart is melted by the hope of new life that comes from God's love and forgiveness.

Whatever the season.