The Golden Oldies

I've never found it difficult to think of big ideas.  I can always fix things in my head.  It's putting plans into action that I often find impossible.

At the start of the year, I mentioned in 5 Hopes For 2012 that I'd really like to meet with and serve the elderly in some way.  This has plagued my thoughts since my Nan passed away 14 months ago.  A close friend of mine works in a nursing home - the same nursing home my Nan lived in during the final month of her life - and sometimes the stories she tells me break my heart.  Old people with no family or friends to visit them.  Old people who DO have family nearby, but who can never be bothered visiting.  She told me about one lady who was supposed to be picked up and taken out for lunch by her family on Christmas Day, but the family never showed up and she was left waiting for ages.  Finally she resigned herself to the fact that they weren't coming and went inside to have lunch with the staff and other residents.  When the staff phoned her family, they just said, "Oh yeah, sorry we can't come now," (this family never came to visit usually anyway).  At least my Nan had stacks of visitors.  Some of these old people have no-one except the nursing home staff who are determined that they see out their final days with dignity.

I'm wondering whether I could go and visit the residents in the nursing home in town.  Just to have a cuppa and a chat.  Maybe play Scrabble or cards or something.  I don't know.  To be honest, I'm worried that it's just another one of my ideas that will fade away without coming to fruition.  I'm too scared to go alone and there's no-one I know nearby who seems interested in the elderly.  I keep hearing about kids, kids and....kids.  Kids are our future.  Young people are the leaders of tomorrow.  We need to be putting our time and energy into them because they're the ones who are most likely to become Christians...blah, blah, blah.  I'm just not interested in doing kids' ministry.  Yes, it's very important and I'm glad that there are people who are doing it.  But I'm not that person.  My passion is for those at the other end of life.  But I appear to be alone in that.

Sometimes I even wonder why I care so much about old people.  It's not that I want a surrogate Nana.  I miss mine, but no-one will ever replace her.  Let's face it...old people can be downright cantankerous and difficult.  Statistics show they are the hardest demographic to reach with the gospel.  Either it's because they are too pigheaded to listen to anyone younger than they are, or they've been 'churched' sometime in their life and think they don't need religion (when they've never actually met Jesus properly).  They can be rude, patronising and stuck in their ways.  I'm constantly astounded by old people in churches who sit in the same seat every week (even though there are other empty, comfortable and convenient seats available) and growl at visitors who dare to sit in THEIR seat.  Why bother?  I met young Christians at uni who had that view.  We need to be concentrating on uni students because that sort of ministry is STRATEGIC.  I met one person who said the elderly were too difficult to convert.  Umm isn't it GOD'S work, not ours?

Despite the obstacles, I still feel very strongly about putting effort into people who are at the END of their lives.  I know all sorts of tragedies can take the lives of young people, but the likelihood is that older people will probably die first.  Therefore, shouldn't their need to hear about Jesus be urgent?  Do we believe in a God of statistics or a God or miracles?  A God who can turn the most ardent opponent into a passionate follower.

Time is short and my Nan's death really hit home that fact.  I tried to tell her the gospel while she lay in hospital.  Despite having a church background, for years she had been a cynic and a critic.  Yet, I could see her soften in those final months.  I don't want any old person to die without REALLY hearing about Jesus.

So, what do I do?  I'm still praying and waiting.  Waiting for opportunities.  Waiting for someone to come along and share this passion.  Waiting to see if there will be a call for volunteers at the local nursing home, or whether I should just step out boldly and see what happens.  But one thing has become very clear to me.  The body of Christ is a body.  We need all of the parts.  The wisdom of the old is just as vital as the spiritedness of the young.

Bible Verse of the Day

The glory of young men is their strength, grey hair the splendour of the old.
Proverbs 20:29

I Am Carried by Geoff Bullock

I love this song.  It reminds me of God's compassionate love for His people and my neverending need to rely on Him day by day.  When I am overwhelmed by my own sin, this song reminds me that Christ has paid the price and is creating me anew.

Day by day and hour by hour,
Your love for me from heaven flows.
Like streams of water in the desert,
Living waters flow.
You walk beside me, gently guiding,
Leading me through every storm.
Everlasting, never changing,
Grace and love divine.

Mercy's healing, grace relieving,
Every spot and every stain.
Forgiven freely, no more guilty,
Love has conquered shame.
The broken mended, night has ended,
Leading me through every storm.
For I am carried in the arms of
Grace and love divine.

I am carried in the arms of grace and love divine,
I am held by hands of healing, washed by water pure.
Lifiting up my heavy heart, held in grace-scarred hands.
I am carried in the arms of grace and love divine.

Never worthy, never earning,
All my works now left behind.
Ever onwards, ever upwards,
You've called me on to rise.
Above my darkness, all my failure,
Every fear and every pain.
Always carried, always covered by
Grace and love divine.

Another Day in Woop Woop

Sometimes when I'm talking to my city friends I realise that, unless they move to the country, there will always be parts of my life that they cannot relate to.  Things that they take for granted every day are things that are a struggle for us country folk.

Like what happened to me on Tuesday....

I work two part-time jobs as an administration officer (in other words: office chick).  One of these jobs, although the pay is not great, is at least a steady source of income.  I work Mondays and Wednesdays at this job in an office in town.  The other job is on a 'now and then' basis and I am paid casual rates.  I'm usually only needed when they have meetings (every few months).  They had scheduled one of these meetings for Tuesday afternoon.  Since the meeting didn't start until 1:30pm, I decided to go to ladies' tennis in the morning and then go home a bit early so I could get ready for the meeting.

The tennis club is in the middle of nowhere and about 15 minutes drive from my house.  On my way home, a light came on on the dashboard and an alarm went off indicating that I had water in the diesel and it needed to be drained.  We'd had the same problem two days before when Duncan had to pull over and drain the water out on our way home from church.  The culprit was one of those dodgy 24 hour unmanned service stations which had recently opened in town.  We later discovered that other people had water in their fuel after getting it from there.  I pulled over and got out my trusty little car manual, but despite there being a diagram on how to drain the water, I couldn't make sense of it.  I'm just not good with stuff like that.

So there I was, stuck on a gravel road out in woop woop. I didn't have my mobile with me (since it doesn't work out here anyway).  I couldn't get anyone on the 2-way radio.  I waited for a little bit and nobody came along that road.  I felt like the only decent option was to walk so I took out my backpack, left the tennis racquet and the morning tea, locked the 4WD and set off on foot, praying someone would come along.  I felt like Mi Taylor in National Velvet tramping along the road with my backpack....except I wasn't whistling since I was far from cheerful at this stage.

What I didn't realise was just how far I had to walk in order to find a house.  There were just paddocks along the road with no driveway in sight.  Even if you do find a driveway in the country, it can be a kilometre long with no guarantee there will actually be a house or anyone around at the end of it.  I walked and walked, busting to pee, but not daring to stop since there wasn't much scrub by the roadside, and if someone did come along, it would be very embarrassing. 

Ok, too much information!

Eventually...after at least 5km.... I reached a house.  I knew this family from tennis so I trudged up the driveway, hoping they were home or at least that the house was unlocked so I could use their phone.  The lady was very surprised to see me arrive while she was sitting at the table eating her lunch.  She got me a drink (since I was sooo thirsty by this stage) and let me call Duncan on her phone.  Despite the dodgy reception, I managed the get the message to him and he said (just before the reception cut out) that he'd send one of his workmates to pick me up.  By this stage, I knew I'd never get to work on time so I rang my boss to let him know.  He wasn't answering his phone after three attempts to ring him so I left a message and just hoped he'd got it. 

Finally, one of the farmhands came to pick me up and he took me to where I'd left the 4WD, saying "Far out, you walked a long way."  He is also a mechanic so he showed me how to drain the water and told me to bring the beast to the farm workshop.  I drove home, had a shower and some late lunch, and then went to the workshop.

So that was my day.  I missed out on half a day's pay which I'm not happy about.  We've also made a complaint (as have other people) about that dodgy new petrol station.  But, in hindsight, I can see that I have much to be grateful about:

• It happened during the day.  It would be so creepy if it had happened at night!  Hopefully Duncan would have sent out a search party eventually haha.  I'm going to make sure there's always a torch in the car.
• It happened on a 26C day.  Praise the Lord it didn't happen the day before when it was 38C.
• Since I had been playing tennis, I was wearing appropriate clothing for a long walk.  I was glad to have comfortable shoes, a hat and sunscreen.  That would have sucked if I'd broken down wearing a ballgown and high heels.
• My arthritis has been pretty good lately and I didn't injure myself at tennis.  Walking 5km with a bad back or a sprained ankle would be VERY difficult.
• I had some water with me.  Not much, but enough.

If you break down in the city, you call the RAC, catch a bus, or call a friend.

If you break down in the country, you get fit very quickly.

The End of an Era

My old church in Perth had its final service on Sunday.

It was my first church.  I was a brand new Christian when I first went there in October 2001.  Despite a period in 2005 where I was fed up with a few people there and wanted to leave, many great friendships were formed and memories made there.  Duncan and I first met there nearly nine years ago.  Understandably I am quite sad.

Duncan and I had been in Perth the Sunday before when the congregation unanimously voted to stop meeting together.  It was an open meeting so, even though I am no longer a member, I could have sat in on it.  But we chose not to.  I think I would have cried if I had.

I'm still looking back to a few years ago and struggling to think of what went wrong.  Despite what people may be thinking, it was not a bitter end.  Yes, there had been problems, but relationships had been restored and everything was very positive in the final months.  In the end it was a case of people wanting the same thing (people to hear the gospel), but disagreeing on how to do it.  Although I don't know all the ins and outs (and heard many different stories from different people), in the end, I think it is better that relationships are maintained and people go in the directions they feel God is leading them in, rather than there being disunity.  Praise God that everything ended very well.  There was no 'split'.  Some people will probably keep meeting together in small groups, but others will be looking for new church homes across Perth.

Although that church only had a 12 year span, if all the people who had become Christians or gone on to become more established in their faith gathered in one room, there would have been hundreds of people.  Hundreds of lives touched by Jesus through the ministry of that church.  That is something to really rejoice about.

The people who left their evangelical Anglican church in Perth's western suburbs 12 years ago to plant a non-denominational university church did not do it in vain.  It may not have been what they hoped it would be, but the gospel will not be stopped.  God does not rely on a particular denomination or congregation as He builds His kingdom.  He is building HIS church.  His universal church.  Our plans are not His plans.  Our ways are not His ways.

God was glorified in that place for 12 years.  He will continue to be glorified by His people and His gospel will continue to go out to all who will hear.

Bible Verse of the Day

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58

5 Things Margaret Thatcher Taught Me About Leadership

While Duncan and I were in Esperance, we went to the local cinema a couple of times.  The first movie we saw was The Iron Lady.  It certainly was a well-deserved Oscar for Meryl Streep.  She was virtually unrecognisable as former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

I was a little kid in the 80s so I didn't really know much about her, and can only go on what the movie portrays.  But there were several things this movie taught me about leadership...in any vocation:

1.  Sometimes the most unlikely people make the best leaders.

2.  Often leadership involves doing the best thing for the people as a whole, not individuals.

3.  Leaders (good or bad) will always experience some sort of opposition - either from their own people or outside.

4.  Leadership often involves taking a stand...and sticking to it.

5.  That stand may well be the leader's defining moment...both as a leader and a person.