It was then that we decided to rent a motorbike, to move onto
higher terrain and away from the uncertain waters. We rented a bike and headed off, but Karl stopped
along the way to see if we could dry off a poor drenched kitten affected by the
first set of waves. Then Karl panned the
video camera around and we saw a dark wave of water headed towards us. And we could see it was not going to stop at
the shore.
“Get on the bike!”
But we could not see the ignition which was tucked out of
sight as the hotel had started it for us!
“RUN! RUN!!!”
So Karl and I ran a short distance up a curved bridge and
watched as the water surged over the road, and under the bridge upriver, like a
river in flood, but in the wrong direction.
We realised we would have been stuck in the water if we had not stopped
by the side of the road. And then the
sight of the muddy homes filled with water, the wrecked cars and damaged
property. But no loss of life that we
knew of on Langkawi Island. Little did
we know that a couple hundred kilometres north of us in Thailand, people by the
thousands were losing their lives. The
local paper showed the rising toll of deaths, but we remained strangely numb to
the reality of the facts. It was only
when we came back home and watched footage my Dad had recorded for us that the
tears began to flow.
When Christmas time comes with such tragedy, it reminds me
of the reeling shock of recent world events, so close to the celebration of our
Saviour’s birth. This can throw us into
confusion and dismay. We don’t know how
to process the horror of such uncontrollable events.
But the light that shines so brightly through the coming of
Jesus to earth, who was willing to suffer unimaginable pain for us and carry
the sufferings of the world, outweighs the greatest turmoil and puts us into a
place of perspective once again. The
question is, how do we shine the light of hope into a world disorientated by
such uncertainty? How do we shine this
light into so many great and diverse needs?
Friends of ours, Don and Margie Cook, began an organisation
called Hands on Houses (www.handsonhouses.com) to build homes for the very poor,
widows and disabled people in coastal villages of South India.
They have been there for 8 ½ years and
have built 131 houses with a small team of 4 and then 12 local men. Margie and Don are planning on starting Hands
on Houses in Malawi too, hopefully in 2016, and are currently waiting on
donations to make this a possibility.
The inspiration of this couple shows me how it is possible
to take the light of Christ and make it a reality to so many in need of light. How Jesus causes resurrection and rebirth to
take place through ordinary people like you and me, so that other ordinary
people can experience these miracles too.
People whose lives turn around by acts of mercy, acts of kindness. Widows and disabled people who have never
heard of the love of Jesus, now see it demonstrated through hands of love and
action that bring them a new hope for life and a complete turnabout of destiny.
But how do we see the afflicted in our own
neighbourhoods? When we can’t be with
people who have been affected by these disasters around the world in a physical
way, we can look to see the people God places in our day to day life and shine
our light of hope and possibility, right here and now - in our churches, our
workplaces, our families, our communities.
And we can listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit about where to
reach out with the loving action of God’s compassionate grace.
Our church is neighbours with a township called Vrygrond, a
community of many mostly African nations all gathered into one place. Some other inspiring friends of ours, Anton
and Elana Cuyler, left England where they had been living for some time, and
came back to their homeland trusting that God would show them what to do when
they got here. They felt to come to
Muizenberg, and were led to the Bay Community church. Incrementally over the past number of years,
God has opened door after door and led them step by step to reach into the
Vrygrond community with hope, love and empowering action. http://thesozofoundation.org.za/our-story/.
The miracle of the Sozo Foundation is
bringing hope to people with often fewer options in life, opening doors of
education, home improvement, vegetable gardening, and training young people in
skills that can create job opportunities for them.
These beautiful people inspire me with hope once again. I see how it is possible to take one small
step into your field of influence and beyond into the corners of the world, and
lean the light of Christ into places of great need. To start seeing lights lit up all over the
place as we join spirit with the many people all over the world who also have a
heart to see the miracle of transforming love overcome the darkness. We agree with the heart of St Francis, that yes,
the darkness cannot extinguish the
light of even one small candle. And when
we light the flame of love, we will find around us the lights of many flames
and the flames when they burn together will show that love wins out over chaos
and tragedy every time.
Take some time to meditate on the Hope of the world - how
nothing takes God by surprise and how the light will always outshine the
darkness in our own hearts and lives and into the furthest reaches of the
world. How God reorients our hearts to His
compass of peace and gives us a God-view of events.
As we intercede for the people of this world, we will not
underestimate the power of our prayers, these humble prayers. When we are
rooted and established in Christ, we are moved to do what God calls us to do
and be who he calls us to be at such a time as this. We take hope in the coming of Christ. Again and again, He comes into the heart of
the world’s greatest need. And we know
that rebirth and resurrection are miracles He will continue to alight in the hearts
and lives of people, as He reminds us of the miracles of His birth, death, and
resurrection. Nothing can separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so we know and rely on the love of God.
As you listen to this spontaneous song, Open up let the light in by Bethel Music, allow the light of our Saviour to radiate through every situation in your life and every part of your heart. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5
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