Another strike of the clock

Another strike of the clock

Another minute passes

Another hour passes

Another year begins

In this seemingly constant passing of time

We stop, we remember, we start another year

This passing into the new cannot happen without the passing of the old

As the fireworks explode and the year begins the old and the year combine

The reflection of the past combines with the expectation of the future

And so the dawn breaks and the year begins

A year full of expectation, new ground to be walked, new pictures to create

A year where we will grow, learn and live

In this time of beginning I am grateful for the comfortability of the past

The familiar that provides a foundation of this future

The lessons that will lead us through the new

And so we come to the feet of the Father of time

We surrender our hopes, our dreams, our expectations

We humbly ask for His path, His guidance and His wisdom

Another strike of the clock

Another minute passes

The year becomes a reality

Now we are walking in it

What will the road look like...........

The beach pebbles

August 23rd 2008

The sky was grey, the wind was icy cold and the drizzling rain had just offered a few minutes reprieve and we headed for the beach. After all it was a normal summer’s day in England. We headed down the stairs onto the beach below. Our Australian feet ached for the relief of the soft white beach sand but were met with the harsh sinking crunch of English beach pebbles. The waves that lapped into the shore were as grey as the sky above. This was the Dover beach front on a summer’s day. It was in all things at first a disappointment. In our mind the beach is warm, sunny, the water should be a crystal blue and the sand should wrap around our toes and enclose our feet in the softness of the granules of sand. The English beach does not hold much to impress Australians who are blessed with the pristine beaches of out country. The beach even on a sunny day, is made up of hard and crunchy pebbles.

And then I stopped, I looked and I saw the pebbles anew. Amid the shore of seemingly out of place pebbles, I noticed the individuality of each. There below my feet were an array of spectacular designs and colour. Each pebble was an intricate pattern, a beautiful display of nature. These pebbles that were originally a disappointment and seemingly out of place were on closer inspection a pattern of intricate beauty. I realised that this beach was not a disappointment, but an individual demonstration of how behind first impressions there is always a unique beauty, if I take the time to look? I realised that just like some circumstances and people in my life, it is the time taken to examine and look closer that will bring understanding and an appreciation of that which is front of me.

The sky was still grey and the winds still blew and wrapped me in chill, but now under my feet were an array of pebbles, each one holding a beauty within that I now saw.

The Lame Pigeon

August 11th 2008


I sat next to one of the oldest and most magnificent cathedrals in the world. I sipped my coffee and watched the business of London in peak hour slip by.

I gazed up at the ornate walls that have seen so much of the history of this city. These walls stood as a mark of greatness and majesty. It was beautiful and intimidating.

Rushing past here with purpose and urgency were the corporate movers of the world. I sipped again, feeling the ‘important’ pace of this city.

The pigeons surrounded my feet searching for the crumbs that were dropped to give them their daily feed. This time for them was about survival.

In the midst of this busy crazy place I was struck by the contrast and contradiction of this place.

Every day here we are confronted by the poorest of London amidst some of the most ‘exclusive’ areas of the world.

As I watched all that surrounded me, my eyes were captured by a lone skinny pigeon with a lame leg. In the midst of every moment in every place, there is fortune and there is struggle.

I felt God whisper, “these are the ones my eyes are on.”

It was such a poignant reminder that the way we notice those in need in the midst of such abundance is of so much more value.

How easy it is to have our eyes on the bigness and business of the life around us, that we miss the simple hearts of those in front of us and around us in need.

This pigeon as it struggled along drew me closer to the heart of God than the magnificent tower of a cathedral that I was shadowed by. The majestic walls stood to open my eyes to the great, strong walls surrounding me and the lame pigeon limped past to open my heart to those around me in need.