A Prayer for Transformation in Brokenness
With the crush of exam’s weighing heavy on all, the cracks of stress can be seen. Signs of brokenness, perhaps, but potentially far more hopeful than that. One student has been a faithful attendee of the weekly Alternate Service. However, she’s not particularly keen on engaging in discussions that happen there. “We die, we get buried in the ground, and that’s it.” was her take on life after death. But with the pressures of life weighing down, another story unfolds; an emotional melt-down and an opportunity on the benches outside the school clinic. Her confidence is no longer there - just a young girl overwhelmed by the worries of life and the fickleness of friends she expected to support her. In that moment, the words hit different. “I’m scared. I’m scared that people will try to fix me when I don’t think I’m fixable.” Through the tears she seemed a little more willing to accept words that would otherwise feel like meaningless “Christianese” to her. “There’s no taking the hard of the situation away, but two of my favourite things about Jesus are, 1) He’s always there, and 2) He specializes in working with broken people. There is no such thing as ‘unfixable’ with Him.”
The tears subsided, the emotions dissipated, and life picked up and went on. Is this the moment of transformation? No, I don’t think so. But with the Holy Spirit and prayer I hold fast to hope that words and moments like this can root themselves somewhere in that overly-confident-yet-uncertain heart of hers, bringing about the glorious transformation that happens when Christ is given control of the “unfixable”. Oh for grace in her life, that this story would be so!
Father Forgive Them
Who knew that at 2500 metres above sea level while struggling to get my weary legs to keep going I would experience such a deep encounter with some of Jesus’ last spoken words from the cross.
It had been nearly 6 weeks since I’d been on my bike. The first ride back in the saddle was tough, not to mention I was the only female in a group of mostly-teenage energizer-bunny-boys. They quickly left me in their dust on the long climb back up the mountain.
As I rounded a bend, a grey coupe filled with some rowdy tourists popped their heads out the window and shouted, “Looser! Looser! Looser!…”
I felt utterly scandalized! How could they? They had no idea how much effort I was putting into pumping those pedals, that I was the only girl on the ride - a nearly-40-year-old nonetheless! Not to mention it was my first ride since February. How could they be so thoughtless, degrading and rude!? Really, some people!
Immediately Jesus’ words flowed into my mind as the only worthy response to their actions, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
I laughed at the entrance of those words into my present context. But as I rode on, they sunk deeper. Jesus was, more than any other human being on earth, profoundly misunderstood by the masses. At the time of his death, only a small handful understood his identity, only a few had accepted him as Messiah. In some infinitesimal way, my experience brought a measure of understanding to those words. As His life ebbed away and the weight of untold lifetimes of sin fell down upon the breast of the Creator of heaven & earth, Jesus cried out for forgiveness to be granted His betrayers. For grace and mercy to cover the thoughtless, ignorant, brutality of His killers. And unlike myself, there was no residual feeling of disgust at the offenders. His was a full, complete, no-strings-attached forgiveness. A cry of perfect love towards those who acted in ignorance. What a mandate! With each push of the pedals after that encounter, I prayed for a deeper understanding of that kind of forgiveness. If it takes me a thousand metres of uphill climbing, I hope I can learn to forgive with the same whole-heartedness as Jesus.
Annual Klump-Kid Update
It’s hard to believe this is the last “Klump-Kid Update” where we will have all 4 boys under our roof. How precious have been the years watching these fellas grow through boyhood into adolescence and now on to adulthood!
I (17 yrs) has decided to take a gap year at Heritage College & Seminary in Canada in a sound engineering program this autumn. He’s looking forward to his independence and getting his Canadian-feet under him.
J (16 yrs) has continued in his love for cycling and physics. He will complete his GCSEs this year and challenges us with his steady diet of reading the Word.
L (14 yrs) graduates from Middle School in June and has recently discovered a love for goal-keeping on his football team. He’s a great all-rounder when it comes to anything sports-related or academic-focused.
And M (12 yrs) continues to enjoy the outdoors and is progressing well in his violin lessons. He’s still Mr. Helpful— always eager to join in any activity from baking to sorting out the lonely socks.
A Book Blurb
Whether it’s catching up with the latest sci-fi fantasy the boys are into, digging into some classical literature, or theological exposition, there’s usually a small library stacked up on my bedside table. Over the past 6-months or so, two very helpful books in navigating today’s culture as it hits our family have been, “Breaking Up with Babel” by Nikki Dent and “Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality” by Hillary Morgan Ferrer. Both were excellent at holding forth a Biblical perspective and offering advice, instruction, and hope for a generation navigating the changing culture of sexuality. It was such an encouragement to know there are others out there—even writing books—that teach and inform and inspire the next generation of Jesus-followers to remain firmly grounded in the Word of God. I recommend them to anyone with questions on these topics.
Pray with Us!
For our oldest as he graduates
For recruitment needs for next year: teachers & dorm parents.
For the hearts of our grads who have yet to commit to Jesus.
Unity among a diverse staff body.
Joshua as he leads the Alternative Service