FINDING BALANCE

How does one find that sweet spot of balance in one's life? What is "balance"?

Social media is saturated with motivational quotes, posters, self-help guru's, arm chair experts etc all peddling advice and commenting on how to live "the dream" and "live your passions". The frenzy of "likes" and sharing of posts offers fleeting comfort that Yes!! This is it!! Lets go for it!! The collective wallow that is social media masks the true symptoms of individual struggles to live lives of purpose, passion and energy WITHIN lives of drudgery, routine and responsibility. We spend hours drooling with envy at the boastful holiday posts from exotic destinations....the adventurous lifestyles of the few who are"living the dream"...professional athletes...the rich and famous, and a creeping cancer of dissatisfaction takes root! We grumble, complain and yearn for what we don't have and all the while we choose to ignore what we do have! We become restless, negative and perpetuate the cycle of energy-wasting coveting.

To be continued.....

BALANCE

Well, after a long absence, I have decided to bring more balance to my life by restoring the creative activities which I have neglected for so long ie writing more (including this blog)...painting...sketching...photography...music. The combination of laziness, couch potato syndrome after a hard days work, struggling to assist my adult son to find direction in life, no exercise etc etc are starting to take its toll. At the age of 56 I am starting to wonder "whats it all about"? So many places to see, so much to still do with my life with my beautiful wife......???

We get sucked into the routine of creating security and stability - we buy a house, start a family, get a job to maintain a lifestyle, become slaves to so much that is unnecessary and start losing passion and hunger for the dreams that shone so bright but now just a distant memory of what could have been. Our passions and purpose become confused and diluted as we focus our energy into so much that is good and responsible in itself but have somehow over the years enslaved creativity and purpose......

To be continued.....

TRIBUTE TO A CHAMPION

The following tribute by Alec Lenferna appeared in the "Weekend Witness" on Saturday 5th January 2013:

The news that Burry Stander had died on the side of the road after an accident with a taxi is incredibly sad and has struck a chord with the cycling public in this country and around the world. Our prayers and thoughts go to his family because, before anything else, Burry was a husband, brother, child and friend, and not just a bike rider, and i don't think we should forget that.

Death is a thief. Not only does it rob us of life, but it also robs those left behind of the opportunities to be with the person who has died, to share their experiences and life, and to tell the deceased what we feel about them.

In 2009, I staged my first mountain bike event, in Pietermaritzburg. The challenge was a big one - it was the opening leg of the 2009 UCI MTB World Cup series. It was the first time that an event of this stature was staged in Africa, and the learning curve was steep.

Riders from all over the world arrived to prepare for the event and many of the better-known international cyclists strutted around as heroes of the piece. I got to meet pretty much everyone and the first thing that struck me about Burry was that this young guy was very quiet, almost shy in his dealings with us, but respectful and, for the most part, thankful for the chance to be competing at that level.

That was also the year that I first encountered the amazing support that Burry had among the fans. When the Elite Men's race started (at that time he was still U23, but good enough to take on the best riders on the planet), the Cascades MTB Park erupted with noise and this continued for the whole two hours of the race, right around the course, as Burry passed the fans. Burry came third that day and his place as the best cross-country rider in the country, as well as one of the best in the world, was cemented. Similar scenes unfolded at the MTB World Cup events in 2011 and 2012, where he finished ninth and second respectively. What always struck me about Burry was that whenever we asked him to do press for us or to test the track, he was always positive and very helpful, even when he became a superstar of the sport, both in SA and all over the world. He was one of the few top sports people who I have met who did not seem to change, which is a testament to him, his family and friends. Just before we did the prizegiving in 2009, he came to me and said: "Thank you so much for putting this event on. I never thought I'd have a chance to experience a top event and a day like today here in our own country". That simple sentiment has always stayed with me. He didn't need to tell me that (very few riders do), but from what I saw, that instance seemed to sum him up. Putting big events together is not always easy, and I wish that I'd told him then, or in the years since, what that small gesture of his meant to me. But it's too late now as death has robbed us of that opportunity, but apart from his ability and fierce competitiveness and skill on the bike, that one sentence and sentiment sums up my memory of him. May he rest in peace.

ANOTHER YEAR...ANOTHER DISASTER IN NATIONAL EDUCATION!

As 2012’s matriculants face the end of the year, Mamphela Ramphele’s new book,  "Conversations with my Sons and Daughters", makes for sobering reading. Here’s an extract:

The monumental failure to successfully transform our education system undermines any effort to promote a more equitable society.

Our failure is a betrayal of the generation of young people who, on June 16 1976, stood up to a brutal apartheid regime and refused to continue to be subjected to “gutter education”.

One cannot but agree with the statement in the National Planning Commission’s (NPC’s) Diagnostic Review, published in mid-2011, that: “One of apartheid’s greatest crimes was the provision of substandard education to black people.”

The NPC goes on to admit that: “Efforts (by post-apartheid governments) to raise the quality of education for poor children have largely failed.”

The critical question is what is the cause of this failure?

The NPC states the obvious: school performance is crucially linked to the role of teachers, principals and parents.

In our situation, the performance of teachers is hampered by many factors, not least of which are absenteeism and poor content knowledge of the subjects they are teaching.

According to the Southern and East African Consortium of Monitoring Educational Quality, teachers struggle with such basic issues as calculating percentages. For example, more than half the teachers tested thought that if the height of a fence is raised from 60cm to 75cm, that represented a 15% increase.

A Human Sciences Research Council study quoted by the NPC’s report found that 20% of teachers are absent on Mondays and Fridays, and absentee rates increase to a third at month-end.

Teachers in schools serving poor African pupils teach an average of 3.5 hours per day compared to 6.5 hours in former white schools, which now serve largely middle and upper-class pupils.

Time lost by poor black pupils over the 12-year period of schooling amounts to three years.

Instead of tackling this chronic under performance in the majority of our schools, our education officials opted for lower standards of performance.

The bar between success and failure is set so low that young people do not have to exert themselves to succeed.

How else can one explain setting 30% in three subjects and 40% in another three as the qualification for a high school diploma?

Experience worldwide points to the capacity of children to rise to the expectations set for them in an environment that encourages and rewards effort and innovation. Even in our own country, 600 of the total of more than 26 000 public schools consistently outperform their peers to produce close to 100% pass rates, and higher maths and science outcomes.

The key difference between these 600 high-performing schools and the rest is in the quality of leadership and teaching, with leadership ensuring discipline in the classroom, and in the conduct of both teachers and learners.

So why is it difficult for government to make sure that teachers are in class on time and using appropriate teaching aids, despite President Jacob Zuma’s promises to ensure this?

Unionisation of more than 80% of teachers over the last three decades is a major factor in the under performance of the school system.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) is the largest union, with more than 240 000 of the approximately 400 000 teachers in the country. It is a Cosatu affiliate and thus part of the governing Tripartite Alliance.

Their attitude to absenteeism is in radical contrast to that of the second-largest teacher union, the National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (Naptosa). Sadtu’s view is: “We encourage our members to be at school on time but there is time given out (by schools) for us for union work. We do advise them (teachers) to remain on board.”

Naptosa, on the other hand, is quite clear: “Members engaging in union work during school teaching hours is behaviour we totally discourage. The time when the teacher is in front of the class is sacred.”

The conclusion is inescapable that unionism is the major focus for Sadtu, regardless of what impact it might have on learning and teaching. As one of its leaders said: “The day our militancy stops, so will our existence.”

It can only be inferred that the block vote that Sadtu represents is the impediment to the ANC government exercising its role of holding these public servants accountable.

The losers are the 13 million children who leave the school system every 12-year school cycle without the requisite preparation for life in the 21st century.

And in another quote from her book......

Mamphele Ramphele....why are you not running for president?

LIFE...AN ADVENTURE?

Is this true? Is it realistic? Helen Keller was blind and deaf, and yet she rose above her disabilities to become one of the most remarkable women in history. The words "daring adventure"....surely challenge us to live our lives unselfishly and generously, to use our gifts and talents and to not squander the most precious gift: TIME.

My "Bucket List" includes many selfish dreams and activities such as experiencing the great annual migration in the Serengeti in East Africa...travelling across Africa in my 4x4 experiencing wilderness and diverse cultures...capturing award-winning images on film...selling my art work etc etc. My bucket list is mostly about adventures, many daring and exotic and there is nothing wrong with that, but sadly and ashamedly, it does not include anything beyond satisfying my needs and my thirst for adventure. My growing list does not include such things as devoting time to uplifting  a poor community, sacrificing a holiday to volunteer in famine/disaster relief areas, inviting orphans to my home for a day to experience the love of a family, sharing my resources unselfishly and without counting the cost...

For life to be "a daring adventure", I must seize the here and now and make each moment count for eternity. I must see the daily routine of each day as opportunities to make a difference in my words, actions and attitudes. Life lived selfishly, only gratifying my desires, dreams and ambitions is truly "nothing"!

A GREAT IDEA!

MUD HUT GALLERY

Wise Wealth 

Excerpts from "Wisdom Hunters" by Boyd Bailey

“A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” Psalm 49:20

• The wealthy wisely seek to understand God’s game plan for their gold. They prayerfully come up with a plan, and then commit their actions to the Almighty. Then He brings success to their financial plan (Proverbs 16:3). 
• Plans without prayer are perturbing and miss God’s best. Actions committed to Christ carry out God’s game plan. To gain understanding is to frame your financial discussions with an eternal backdrop of motivation. Wealth is a stewardship not to be taken lightly. It is a belief that the Lord’s blessing is much larger than life, and is leveraged for the Lord today. 
• Understand that finances are finite. You have a window of generosity that will close one day. Don’t wait until your riches grow wings and fly away (Proverbs 23:5) to some other faithful soul who understands the insignificance of “stuff” to your Savior. Riches are like hailstones; they fall from Heaven in different sizes, garnering our attention while rattling on the tin roof of our trust. But after a while, once it draws attention to itself, it melts away into the silent ground, gone. The same is true with our “stuff”. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. It is wise to give aggressively what you have today instead of hoping to give what you may not have tomorrow. 
• Missionaries need malaria medicine now. Orphans need homes today. Growling stomachs need more than gruel immediately. Churches are waiting to receive the necessary start-up capital in order to be built. Humanitarian work and the Gospel will spread exponentially, as the wealthy collaborate with Christ, and obey. Run the risk of liberating your wealth for the Lord. It is His to give. 
• God has made us to be kind, not beastly, in our view of wealth. Animals are driven by self-preservation and instinct. But we are children of our heavenly Father. He is gracious and generous in bestowing His good gifts (Matthew 7:9-11). He uses wealth for His ways; so you are wise to do the same. Sanctify your “stuff” for your Savior. Look to the Lord for where and how to save, invest, spend, and give. 
• Beasts perish with little purpose. You graduate to be with God. At your commencement with Christ, you want to be found financially faithful. The wise use of wealth supports eternal initiatives. Wise wealth does not intimidate, nor is it intimidated. It prayerfully releases riches for God’s Kingdom. It is all about investing in and executing the Almighty’s agenda. Wise wealth wraps itself around God’s redemptive plan through faith. It understands and applies God’s generous game plan.

ON PARENTING...

MARRIAGE

Love...commitment...plans...adventures...building...preparation...together...forever...through good times and challenging times...until death do us part

PARENTS

New life...sacrificial love...nurturing...learning...joy...laughter...tears...pain...heartache...growth...adulthood...independence...interdependence...wisdom sought...wisdom shared...letting go...trust in God...realisation of lifetime, unselfish commitment to "family"...laying down your life...caring...loving...praying...supporting...pain...heartache...always present...sometimes absent...always knowing...often confused...choosing words...choosing silence...watching... waiting....worrying...wanting the best...backing off...painful observance from the shadows...helpless...praying...trust in the Father who gave his Son...

LOVING UNCONDITIONALLY!  

 

"FAMILY"....FORGOTTEN BASTION OF SOCIETY

SOCIETY IN TURMOIL!

Disturbing tv images of young teenagers running rampant in peaceful suburbs of London trashing, looting and burning in an orgy of mindless destruction are shocking! The victims are aghast at the raw anger and blatant disregard for law and order...police observe from the sidelines making brief ineffectual forays into the masses while dodging bricks and bottles from pimply faced youths laughing and swearing in their faces! Politicians rant and rave while wringing their hands and threatening tough measures while decent law-abiding citizens wander in shock amongst the broken, burning debris of once model suburbs....for years a most British facade of respect and dignity cloaking the festering, simmering time-bomb of anarchy! 

Years of appeasement and compromise....the gradual erosion of God-ordained values and morality enshrined in the institutions of family and marriage....the glorification of freedom and individual rights without personal responsibility....lack of accountability etc etc etc....WHAT NATIONS, GOVERNMENTS AND INDIVIDUALS SOW WILL SOMEDAY HAVE A DAY OF RECKONING AND REAPING!

Slouched in the surreal comfort of cosy homes across the globe, gazing through slick, packaged windows of foreign lands as human tragedy and mayhem flicker into our safe worlds, we wring our hands and cry out with indignation and anger wondering....questioning....depressed and deeply disturbed at the raw primeval images and the sad state of the human condition.

Isn't it tragic that the self-styled "experts" of social engineering who have served to mislead and deceive the policy makers of nations for years....watering down traditional values and norms while elevating "human rights" above individual rights and responsibilities....isn't it a sad indictment of the human psyche that the future of nations, societies, neighbourhoods, families and individuals have been sold down the putrefying river of compromise and murky, grey counterfeit "values"?

This is not the celebrated "brave new world"....THE answer remains Jesus, hope of the Nations!



   

FRACKING DISASTER...A CALL TO ARMS!

This is the content of a short speech given on Friday night in Cape Town by Lewis Gordon Pugh OIG (a.k.a. the Human Polar Bear) about the proposed fracking for gas in the Karoo, by Shell. He received a sustained standing ovation !

Ladies and gentlemen, thank for the opportunity to address you. My name is Lewis Pugh.

This evening, I want to take you back to the early 1990's in this country.  You may remember them well.

Nelson Mandela had been released. There was euphoria in the air. However, there was also widespread violence and deep fear. This country teetered on the brink of a civil war. But somehow, somehow, we averted it. It was a miracle!

And it happened because we had incredible leaders. Leaders who sought calm..  Leaders who had vision. So in spite of all the violence, they sat down and negotiated a New Constitution.

I will never forget holding the Constitution in my hands for the first time.

I was a young law student at the University of Cape Town. This was the cement that brought peace to our land. This was the document, which held our country together. The rights contained herein, made us one.

I remember thinking to myself - never again will the Rights of South Africans be trampled upon.

Now every one of us - every man and every women - black, white, coloured, Indian, believer and non believer - has the right to vote. We all have the Right to Life. And our children have the right to a basic education. These rights are enshrined in our Constitution.

These rights were the dreams of Oliver Tambo. These rights were the dreams of Nelson Mandela. These rights were the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi, of Desmond Tutu and of Molly Blackburn. These rights were our dreams.

People fought ­ and died ­ so that we could enjoy these rights today.

Also enshrined in our Constitution, is the Right to a Healthy Environment and the Right to Water. Our Constitution states that we have the Right to have our environment protected for the benefit of our generation and for the benefit of future generations. Fellow South Africans, let us not dishonour these rights. Let us not dishonour those men and women who fought and died for these rights. Let us not allow corporate greed to disrespect our Constitution and desecrate our environment.

Never, ever did I think that there would be a debate in this arid country about which was more important ­ gas or water. We can survive without gas....  We cannot live without water.

If we damage our limited water supply ­ and fracking will do just that we will have conflict again here in South Africa. Look around the world. Wherever you damage the environment you have conflict.

Fellow South Africans, we have had enough conflict in this land ­ now is the time for peace.

A few months ago I gave a speech with former President of Costa Rica.  Afterwards I asked him "Mr President, how do you balance the demands of development against the need to protect the environment?"

He looked at me and said : "It is not a balancing act. It is a simple business decision. If we cut down our forests in Costa Rica to satisfy a timber company, what will be left for our future?"

But he pointed out : "It is also a moral decision. It would be morally wrong to chop down our forests and leave nothing for my children and my grandchildren."

Ladies and gentlemen, that is what is at stake here today: Our children's future. And that of our children s children.

There may be gas beneath our ground in the Karoo. But are we prepared to destroy our environment for 5 to 10 years worth of fossil fuel and further damage our climate?

Yes, people will be employed ­ but for a short while. And when the drilling is over, and Shell have packed their bags and disappeared, then what? Who will be there to clean up? And what jobs will our children be able to eke out?

Now Shell will tell you that their intentions are honourable. That fracking in the Karoo will not damage our environment. That they will not contaminate our precious water. That they will bring jobs to South Africa.

That gas is clean and green. And that they will help secure our energy supplies.

When I hear this ­ I have one burning question. Why should we trust them?  Africa is to Shell what the Gulf of Mexico is to BP.

Shell, you have a shocking record here in Africa. Just look at your operations in Nigeria. You have spilt more than 9 million barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta. That's twice the amount of oil that BP spilt into the Gulf of Mexico.

You were found guilty of bribing Nigerian officials ­ and to make the case go away in America - you paid an admission of guilt fine of US$48 million.

And to top it all, you stand accused of being complicit in the execution of Nigeria's leading environmental campaigner ­ Ken Saro-Wira and 8 other activists.

If you were innocent, why did you pay US$15.5 million to the widows and children to settle the case out of Court?

Shell, the path you want us to take us down is not sustainable. I have visited the Arctic for 7 summers in a row. I have seen the tundra thawing.

I have seen the retreating glaciers. And I have seen the melting sea ice.  And I have seen the impact of global warming from the Himalayas all the way down to the low-lying Maldive Islands. Wherever I go ­ I see it.

Now is the time for change. We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis. The era of fossil fuels is over. We must invest in renewable energy. And we must not delay!

Shell, we look to the north of our continent and we see how people got tired of political tyranny. We have watched as despots, who have ruled ruthlessly year after year, have been toppled in a matter of weeks.

We too are tired. Tired of corporate tyranny. Tired of your short term, unsustainable practices.

We watched as Dr Ian Player, a game ranger from Natal, and his friends, took on Rio Tinto (one of the biggest mining companies in the world) and won.

And we watched as young activists from across Europe, brought you down to your knees, when you tried to dump an enormous oil rig into the North Sea.

Shell, we do not want our Karoo to become another Niger Delta.

Do not underestimate us. Goliath can be brought down. We are proud of what we have achieved in this young democracy ­ and we are not about to let your company come in and destroy it.

So let this be a Call to Arms to everyone across South Africa, who is sitting in the shadow of Goliath: Stand up and demand these fundamental human rights promised to you by our Constitution. Use your voices - tweet, blog, petition, rally the weight of your neighbours and of people in power.

Let us speak out from every hilltop. Let us not go quietly into this bleak future.

Let me end off by saying this - You have lit a fire in our bellies, which no man or woman can extinguish. And if we need to, we will take this fight all the way from your petrol pumps to the very highest Court in this land. We will take this fight from the farms and towns of the Karoo to the streets of London and Amsterdam. And we will take this fight to every one of your shareholders. And I have no doubt, that in the end, good will triumph over evil.

AS FOR ME.....I'M BOYCOTTING SHELL!

HANDS & FEET

I guess the horrific devastation and images of destruction and human misery have prompted many bloggers to express deep feelings of empathy towards our fellow human beings in Japan. We are mesmerised as the surreal images beamed across the world explode into our our cosy, safe cocoons...jolting us out of our daily apathy as we count our blessings...feelings of helplessness as we realise that we are powerless to help.
Like many, it is a time of introspection and self-assessment...how significant is my safe middle-class life really? What opportunities for involvement in needy communities closer to home do I conveniently ignore? Am I truly making a difference? Who is my neighbour...do I really care?

IF WE ARE THE BODY

The following song by "Casting Crowns" has always struck a deep chord within me...challenging and convicting! It is directed at Christians and questions the effectiveness of the "Church" (the "Body" of Christ) in making a difference in a desperate world:

It's crowded in worship today

As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgement glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

(James 2:1-9; 1 John 5:19-21)

A friend of mine, Chris Wienand, recently wrote an excellent post in his blog challenging us to use our hands and feet to get involved (Chris, I hope you don't mind me sharing this?): 

Japan - our response?

...I have been so impacted by the images as they have come out of Japan. None of us who have not gone through something like this, can know the sheer devastation that it has on the soul. To have experienced an earthquake of that magnitude is traumatic. It is difficult to describe for those not in an earthquake zone. The absolute sense of fear as the earth groans her own travail and you feel out of control, an initial sense of disbelief and then wondering if "this is it"...Then to see the ultimate but not virtual reality, as the wave powers its way to dominance destroying all in its wake. Watching it is like watching a deeply chilling horror movie - yet this time it is real... I just cannot get my mind around it. Sure, these are signs of the 'last of the last days'. Sure, they are ecological reminders of the earth writhing and groaning, waiting and watching for her creators return - the end of the age. Sure they are tragic reminders of the smallness of our humanity. But they are moments for the church to respond with deep humility not judgement. A nation is grieving and they need to know of our love. A nation is traumatized and they need to know of our prayers. A nation is limping and they need to know of our generosity. A nation is brought to her knees and she needs to know of our partnership in life - she is not alone. Christians our response can include:

Prayer for those in authority, for comfort, for the gospel to permeate these broken lives-with love, Financial gifts, to empower those who are working there to feed, clothe the hurting, Servants who will give of their time and labor to work shoulder to shoulder with the locals, Businesses to adopt a kingdom heartedness to help rebuild the economy of the areas affected, Pastors to go and minister to the hurting Cities that will adopt a Japanese city in partnership and hope.

Our gospel has hands to serve and feet to go. It has a heart to love and a mind to rebuild. It cannot simply be business as usual in our gatherings this morning - can it?

(http://chriswienand.blogspot.com)

We shy away from getting our hands dirty, we count the cost of involvement mumbling our excuses, some legitimate but many, quite frankly, weak. I, like many, initially respond to social challenges and needs with sincere heart-felt determination to get involved and make a difference...and yet all too often the daily cares and pressures of life dull the vision and I continue on the treadmill, same old same old!

The book I'm reading on the awful events in Rwanda in 1994 has a moving description of a young Belgian Red Cross worker sharing practical compassion and human kindness in the shocking conditions of a displaced persons camp:

We smelled the camp before we saw it, a toxic mixture of feces, urine, vomit and death. A forest of blue plastic tarps covered an entire hillside where 60 000 displaced persons from the demilitarised zone and the RPF sector were tightly packed into a few square kilometres. When we stopped and got out of our vehicles, we were swarmed by a thick cloud of flies, which stuck to our eyes and mouths and crawled into our ears and noses. It was hard not to gag with the smell, but breathing through the mouth was difficult with the flies. A young Belgian Red Cross worker spotted us and interrupted her rounds to guide us through the camp. The refugess huddled around small open fires, a silent ghost-like throng that followed us listlessly with their eyes as we picked our way gingerly through the filth of the camp. I was deeply impressed by the young Belgian woman's calm compassion as she gently administered what aid she could to these desperate souls? It was obvious that she could see through the dirt and despair to their humanity.
("Shake hand with the Devil": Lt Gen Romeo Dallaire)

Do I see the "humanity" in my neighbour? Am I truly God's hands, feet and words in my community? What cost is there in non involvement....what reward in involvement?

DAY BY DAY

Life right now is a daily test of faith, perseverance, routine, keeping hope alive. It's been almost 6 months of unemployment and the daily grind of job hunting...applications...marketing business ideas...interviews...waiting! It's a time of small steps, some forwards and at times a step or two backwards. It is difficult to find the "fun" in life and it is all too easy to succumb to depression and dark thoughts! The strength and comfort of my wife, friends, my God and His Word which breathes new life into a weary spirit has been priceless. Keeping one's focus and remaining positive and optimistic in thought, words and actions is a challenge and test which I confess I have failed all too often. After each visit to the dust bowel of despair, the hands of faith and hope reach out and I stand strong again, ready to enter the battle again and press on towards the goal and the hope which we have within us. The elusive "open door" IS there, waiting for me to enter...of that I am certain. The closed doors thus far serve only to bring me ever closer to God's moment of opportunity, in His timing. I pray that I do not miss it and that I am able to discern and recognise His open door when it beckons before me!

The following devotion by Oswald Chambers from his timeless classic, "My Utmost for His Highest" is so pertinent and I share this with you in the hope that it will also speak powerfully to someone going through similar challenges:

"...in much patience, in tribulation, in needs, in distresses" (2 Corinthians 6:4)

When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.
Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ in John 13:1-7   

THE DEAFENING SILENCE

“Rwanda, 1994…a story of betrayal, failure, naïveté, indifference, hatred, genocide, war, inhumanity and evil…one of the fastest, most efficient, most evident genocides in recent history. In just one hundred days over 800 000 innocent Rwandan men, women and children were brutally murdered while the developed world, impassive and apparently unperturbed, sat back and watched the unfolding apocalypse or simply changed channels. Almost fifty years to the day when the extermination camps in Europe were uncovered and when, in one voice, humanity said, “Never again” – we once again sat back and permitted this unspeakable horror to occur. We could not find the political will nor the resources to stop it. Since then, much has been written, discussed, debated, argued and filmed on the subject of Rwanda, yet it is my feeling that this recent catastrophe is being forgotten and its lessons submerged in ignorance and apathy. The genocide in Rwanda was a failure of humanity that could easily happen again.

After one of my many presentations following my return from Rwanda, a Canadian Forces padre asked me how, after all I had seen and experienced, I could still believe in God. I answered that I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know the devil exists, and therefore I know there is a God.” (Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, July 2003 in his book “Shake Hands with the Devil”)

South Africa, 1994…the euphoria of democratic elections and the swearing in of Nelson Mandela as president of the “rainbow nation”. Thinking back now to this momentous and historic event, it is inconceivable to me that at the same time that our nation rejoiced and celebrated in unity, unspeakable horrors and atrocities were being played out north of our borders as another nation tore its guts out in an orgy of violence and evil. How could the world simply stand by and watch this awful tragedy unfold? How could world leaders fail to intervene and fail humanity once again?

Rhodesia, 1978…A Viscount passenger jet belonging to Air Rhodesia is shot down by guerilla forces near Kariba Dam. Forty-eight innocent people die and of the 18 survivors, 10 including women and children are brutally machine gunned as they wait for their rescuers to arrive. Days later, a sermon preached by the Dean, The Very Revd. J.R. da Costa, and entitled “The Deafening Silence” is every bit as relevant today as it was then. The message reverberates  across time pleading in anguish for answers and action from world leaders:

“Nobody who holds sacred the dignity of human life can be anything but sickened at the events attending the crash of the Viscount 'Hunyani'. Survivors have the greatest call on the sympathy and assistance of every other human being. The horror of the crash was bad enough but that this should have been compounded by murder of the most savage and treacherous sort leaves us stunned with disbelief and brings revulsion in the minds of anyone deserving the name 'Human'. This bestiality, worse than anything in recent history stinks in the nostrils of heaven.

But are we deafened with the voice of protest from nations which call themselves 'civilised'? We are not! Like men, in the story of the Good Samaritan, they 'pass by on the other side'. One listens for loud condemnation by Dr. David Owen, himself a medical doctor, trained to extend mercy and help to all in need. One listens and the silence is deafening.

One listens for loud condemnation by the President of the United States, himself a man from the Bible Baptist belt and again the silence is deafening.

One listens for loud condemnation by the Pope, by the Chief Rabbi, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, by all who love the name of God. Again the silence is deafening.

I do not believe in white supremacy. I do not believe in black supremacy either. I do not believe that anyone is better than another, until he has proved himself to be so. I believe that those who govern or who seek to govern must prove themselves worthy of the trust that will be placed in them. One looks for real leadership: one finds little in the Western world; how much less in Africa!

Who is to be blamed for this ghastly episode? Like Pontius Pilate, the world may ask 'What is truth'? What is to be believed? That depends on what your prejudices will allow you to believe, for then no evidence will convince you otherwise.

So who is to be blamed? First, those who fired the guns. Who were they? Youths and men who, as likely as not, were until recently in Church Schools. This is the first terrible fact. Men who went over to the other side and in a few months were so indoctrinated that all they had previously learned was obliterated. How could this happen if they had been given a truly Christian education?

Secondly, it is common knowledge that in large parts of the world violence is paraded on T.V. and Cinema Screens as entertainment. Films about war, murder, violence, rape, devil possession, and the like are 'good box office'. Peak viewing time is set aside for murderers from Belfast, Palestine, Europe, Africa and the rest, to speak before an audience of tens of millions. Thugs are given full treatment, as if deserving of respect. Not so their victims' relations.

Who else is to be blamed? I am sure that the United Nations and their Church equivalent, the W.C.C. both bear blame in this. Each parades a pseudo morality which, like all half truths, is more dangerous than the lie direct. From the safety and comfort of New York and Geneva, high moral attitudes can safely be struck. For us in the sweat, the blood, the suffering, it is somewhat different.

Who else? The Churches? Oh yes, I fear so! For too long, too many people have been allowed to call themselves 'believers' when they have been nothing of the kind. Those who believe must act. If you believe the car is going to crash, you attempt to get out. If you believe the house is on fire. you try to get help and move things quickly. If you believe a child has drunk poison, you rush him to the doctor. Belief must bring about action. If you believe in God you must do something about it! Yet churches, even in our own dangerous times are more than half empty all the time. We are surrounded by respectable heathens who equate belief in God with the Western way of life.

In many war areas, Africans are told to 'burn their Bibles'. If this call was made to us, what sort of Bibles would be handed in? Would they be dog eared from constant use; well thumbed and marked? Or would they be pristine in their virgin loveliness in the same box in which they were first received?

There are tons of millions of all races who call themselves believers who never enter any house of prayer and praise. Many are folk who scream loudest against Communism, yet do not themselves help to defeat these Satanic forces, by means of prayer, and praise, and religious witness. For make no mistake, if our witness were as it ought to be, men would flock to join our ranks. As it is, we are by passed by the world as if irrelevant.

Is anyone else to be blamed for this ghastly episode near Kariba? I think so. Politicians throughout the world have made opportunistic speeches from time to time. These add to the heap of blameworthiness for a speech can cause wounds which may take years to heal. The ghastliness of this ill fated Flight from Kariba will be burned upon our memories for years to come. For others, far from our borders it is an intellectual matter, not one which affects them deeply. Here is the tragedy! The especial danger of Marxism is its teaching that human life is cheap, expendable, of less importance than the well being of the State.

But there are men who call themselves Christians who have the same contempt for other human beings, and who treat them as being 'expendable'. Had we who claim to love God shown more real love and understanding in the past, more patience, more trust of others, the Churches would not be vilified as they are today.

I have nothing but sympathy with those who are here today, and whose grief we share. I have nothing but revulsion for the less than human act of murder which has so horrified us all. I have nothing but amazement at the silence of so many of the political leaders of the world. I have nothing but sadness that our Churches have failed so badly to practise what we preach. May God forgive us all and may He bring all those who died so suddenly and unprepared, into the light of his glorious Presence. AMEN.”

Darfur, Sudan, present day…Since 2003, the genocidal conflict in Darfur has devastated millions of civilians and resulted in the death of at least 200,000 people. As of 2010, Sudan continues to direct its troops and proxy militias to systematically destroy the livelihoods of Darfuris by bombing and burning villages, looting economic resources, and murdering, raping, and torturing non-combatant civilians.

A proliferation of rebel groups in Darfur is also complicit in the recruitment of child soldiers and acts of violence against civilians.

The Darfur conflict has displaced over 2.7 million people within Sudan, with an additional 250,000 crossing the border into Chad. The actions of the Sudanese government, particularly the expulsion of 13 international aid groups in March 2009, continue to affect those who have sought safety in towns and displaced persons camps.

The hypocrisy of Western powers is sickening. While billions of dollars are wasted in waging highly questionable wars to safeguard the supply of oil and other resources, the cries of the oppressed in poorer nations are largely ignored. The selective morality and lack of conscience by all economic and political decision makers on the world stage today and in recent times is nothing less than despicable! The political posturing and hollow expressions of sympathy…the repeated and weak ineffective threats of action…the toothless display of force by peacekeepers on the ground, tightly reined in by politicians out of touch with reality….the cries of the butchered innocents over the years plead for answers and action, but the silence is deafening!