Shopping In The Sales

I went sales shopping today and was surprised at how quiet it was, compared to what I was expecting.

The post-Christmas sales tend to be incredibly busy with people rushing around, desperate to get more for their money.

I was amazed at some of the adverts on Christmas day for Boxing Day sales which started at 6am! It seems that, in this time of recession and financial insecurity, everyone is desperate to get the most for their money.

Everyone is hungry for more.

But I think even if I had unlimited resources, I would never be satisfied with what I could buy. I would always want more. There would always be something in me which didn't feel quite satisfied. Indeed, isn't the sole purpose of fashion to perpetuate our dissatisfaction with our lives?

It is easy to say we should be satisfied with what we have, it is so much harder to do.

There is a hunger deep inside all of us, and we try so hard to fill it and satiate it with different things.

But only one thing will satisfy.

Only one thing will give us all that we want.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

[Psalm 23:1 NLT]

I love the words of this song,

"Hungry, I come to you

For I know you satisfy.

I am empty, but I know

Your love does not run dry.

So I wait for you

I wait for you."

Instead of rushing to find our satisfaction in the sales, let's take our hunger to God. And wait for Him to satisfy us.

How Much Is Enough?

I overheard this quote today: "Since when has anyone ever had 'enough money'?"

 

How true is that?

 

When asked how much money was enough, J D Rockefeller - one of the richest men in the world - famously replied "Just a little bit more!"

 

We never seem to have enough money to satisfy us.  We always want more.

 

Not always a lot more.  Just enough to pay the bills and have a little bit left over.  Enough to buy branded food products.  Enough to not have to look for vouchers and discount codes to save a few pennies or pounds.  Enough to feel comfortable.

 

Just a little bit more.

 

But it's not just money.  We can easily find ourselves looking to other things to satisfy us.  Things which will bring us meaning and fulfilment. 

 

Money.  Fashion.  Accessories.  Technology.  Mortgage.  Careers.  Relationships.  Marriage.  Sex.  Children...

 

But none of these things will ever truly satisfy us - they always leaving us wanting more.

 

How much is enough?

 

God is the only One who can satisfy the desires of our hearts.

 

"The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

[Psalm 23:1 NLT, emphasis mine] 

 

"God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life."

[Psalm 62:1-2 MSG, emphasis mine]

God is the only one who is enough. 

 

 

Oil

I dye my hair a lot.

 

I get bored of having the same colour after too long and enjoy a change.  However, whilst I enjoy changing my hair colour regularly, I know that it's not good for the condition of my hair.  I often have dry, split ends and am often in need of a deep conditioning mask.

 

One of the best things for over-dyed hair is olive oil.  A good few spoonfuls warmed up and rubbed into the ends of my hair and left for a few hours, or even overnight.

 

When it's washed out, it leaves my hair feeling really soft and silky.  The split ends are flattened down and sealed - if only for a short while - and my hair feels smooth again.

 

In Psalm 23, David likens us to sheep and describes God as our shepherd.  One of the things that shepherds would do for their sheep was to rub oil into the wool on their heads.  Oil helped to ease out any thorns or brambles that were caught in the wool and caused pain.  It also helped to soothe any wounds, and it cleaned any dirt from the sheep's wool.

 

       "You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows."

 

       [Psalm 23:5 NIV]

 

Whilst God doesn't literally anoint our heads with oil, He anoints our hearts and our lives with His love.

 

He eases 'thorns' and 'brambles' out of our hearts - those things that are causing us pain.  He heals our wounds so that they don't fester and become infected.  And He cleans us up and gives us a fresh start.

 

But in order for us to do all of these things, we need to do two things.  Firstly, we have to come to Him.  And secondly, we have to stay still whilst He works on our hearts.  Sometimes it feels as though it would be much more comfortable to live with the thorns in our hearts and the wounds that have been inflicted, rather than going through the process of letting God ease them out and heal them.

 

But if we will stay still and let our Shepherd God work on our hearts, we will find ourselves healed from  our deep wounds.  We will find the painful thorns we have carried around with us eased out.  And we will find we are cleaned up and given a fresh, new start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bath Time

I listened to an article this evening about how taking a bath is becoming less popular: most people these days opt for a shower or a modern 'wet room'. 

 

The main reason being baths are too slow for today's fast-paced life.

 

But that is exactly the reason why I love taking a bath.  I love having time to myself when I know I won't be disturbed or interrupted by phone calls or texts or emails or notifications.  I can spend an hour or so reading a book or listening to music with a glass of wine.  And I leave the bathroom feeling completely relaxed and rested, having taken time out from the busyness of life.

 

And the reason it is so relaxing is because there is no rushing about it. 

 

There is no such thing as a 'quick bath'.  A bath should be indulgent and lengthy.  When the Romans used to take baths, they usually lasted for several hours.  They were long and relaxing and restoring.

 

The Bible talks about God providing this kind of restorative rest for us:

 

         "The Lord is my shepherd;
         I have all that I need.
         He lets me rest in green meadows;
         he leads me beside peaceful streams.
         He renews my strength."

 

         [Psalm 23:1-3 NLT, emphasis mine]

 

Sometimes we judge our successes and our worth on our busyness.  If we are always rushing somewhere or other and are constantly flapping about because we have so much to do, we sometimes feel more important.  We can get to thinking that the world might stop if we did. 

 

And we think this about God too.  We can think that He will value us more, or be more pleased or impressed with us if we're one of those people who is constantly doing something for God/the church/others.

 

But this verse says that God lets us rest.  It is His desire that we take time out so that we don't burn out.

 

Perhaps it is not that baths are too slow for our lives, but that our lives are too fast for baths.  Perhaps we need to slow down and give ourselves more time and space to relax.

 

As for me, I'm off to run a bath...