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Scroll down to November 22 for something new. Merry Christmas!

My Life Chronicles, December 4, 2009

Beginning of the day: 0523 - 0740

Fridays are early mornings because I commute out of town for clinical practice and have to be there before 0700. And, with blizzard warnings forecasting storms to hit during the night, today started earlier than usual.

At 0600 ish I was in the parking lot... but my car battery was completely dead. Like the kind of dead that happens when you leave-an-interior-light-on-3-days-ago dead.

Not once in my 6 am commutes have I seen someone in the parking lot, but today there was a stranger passing through. And said stranger just happened to have an Eliminator battery charger from Canadian Tire with him. He hooked me up and in a half hour I was good to go. I drove to clinical amazed at God's care for me.

Middle of the day: 1605

When I returned from clinical today, it was impossible to park my vehicle in our building's parking lot. You see, it has a very steep slope that I sometimes gear down to first for in the middle of summer to prevent stalling. It is also a right angle turn from a downwards hill to an upwards hill, which icy roads don't cater to very well. So I bypassed it and went and parked on an off street.

End of the day: 2245 - 0100

I headed out into the storm, (still raging, in it's 17th hour), and saw tire tracks. SOMEONE had made it up the driveway. My pride told me "You can too!" My pride either ignored or forgot the fact that I drive an economy car sans winter tires. (Sigh... Oh 4 runner how I miss thee! Let me count the ways...) So after barely getting out of my socked-in parking spot, I manoeuvred my way around the block. Getting traction was almost impossible. My pride overruled that observation too.

I did not make it up the driveway. Instead, I came about 18 inches from hitting a parked Acura as my steel box careened sideways down the street. Thankfully the wooden planters and "no parking" sign saved me. (The no parking sign didn't make it. R.I.P.)

The next hour involved getting my building manager up, a random stranger offering help, waiting until the Acura moved, praying for wisdom, and then breaking-the-whole-way-but-still-sliding down the hill and safely slipping into an illegal parking lot at the bottom of the hill. Who would ticket anyone on a day like today, right? Just to be safe, I also put "the club" on my vehicle - incase some ambitious thief wanted to shovel out my Vibe and go for a 5 km/hr joyride.

From that parking lot I walked home by myself, marveling at the beauty of this warm and beautiful snowy night, and the One who made it all.

The End

Lest we forget.

I was in a restaurant with my sister celebrating her birthday. A busy place, it was filled with the noise of tinkling cutlery, clinking cups, and conversation. But in moment, a hush fell over the place. Conversations ended, and people stopped fidgeting. This unrehearsed act of respect took place when the radio cut out to the sound of a bugle sounding out "The Last Post" on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. A myriad of unrelated strangers collectively paused and payed respect to the sacrifice of life that had bought our freedom and ended World War I 81 years ago.

Now, the signing of the Armistice did not prevent World War II, nor did it prevent Canadian soldiers from being involved in several other missions since. I cannot even imagine the disappointment and frustration of the WWI veterans when Canada went to war on a global scale a second time, just 21 years later. One generation was all it took for the treaty to be breached - the children of the veterans would now be going to war. For both of those generations, that must have been horrifying. The more I thought about this, the more I wished that the Armistice would have been once and for all.

And the more I got thinking about that "once for all", the more I was reminded of... Christmas. I thought of the war that has raged through the ages, between good and evil; between love and hate; between freedom and bondage. And my heart was touched again by how this God of heaven became flesh and dwelt among us, led us by example in His life, and paid the price for sin with His death.

Seems too good to be true, doesn't it?

Now neither the crucifixion of Jesus, nor His resurrection in 3 days, put an end to bloodshed on earth. Battles still rage in the same war that started in the beginning. But the promise of that event ensured the future; the war was already won.

So on November 11th, I remembered the soldiers who lost and risked their lives for my freedom; the apples of God's eye that Evil sought to destroy; the civilians who were brave enough to risk all that they had to bring freedom to the persecuted, and who rose against the invaders of their lands. I remember them... and I am thankful.

I remember also that this very hour, there are places on this earth that Evil still reigns, that soldiers still die, that people are still persecuted, and civilians still act with immeasurable bravery.

And most of all, as Christmas is now upon us, I remember that the tears and the trials and the pain of this life are all temporary. For a long time ago, a baby was born of a virgin and was laid in a manger. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. By His stripes we are healed. Lest we forget.

Not so different

This is an old story... it happened two years ago. But lately, I've been remembering it, so thought I would share it with you! What follows is a journal entry from living in Cyprus.

She is a tiny Sri-Lankan woman who lives somewhere in this neighbourhood. She shops at the same 24 hour kiosk I do - we arrived and left at the same time. When she stopped to pick some jasmine flowers it touched me - it is exactly something I would do. She rolled the blossoms in her hand to release the scent and she drank it in. I love doing that. So I made a comment with my hands about how beautiful the smell was. She smiled and agreed.

So we walked together for a block or so, no common language to unite us further. But as we parted ways I put my hand to my chest and said "Sandra". She repeated my name with some delight and pressed her own hand to her chest. "Chanda", she said.

This encounter reminded me we are all more the same than different. Because of Jasmine flowers one beautiful night, I was given the opportunity to really see her. For those minutes, it was like we really knew each other. We were both struck by the beauty of a flower and the amazement of having the same name. We are not so different, of course, when we were made in the same image.

Another archive published at last!

Scroll down to August 7, 2009. And that's also a 7-8-9, depending on how you order things!

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Scroll down to July 8, 2009... that's 7.8.9 :)

How He loves us so.

He is jealous for me

Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory

and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so

Oh, how He loves us

How He loves us so. (x2)

Yeah, He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves. (x2)

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

He loves us,

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us so

Been loving this song lately... makes me think about what that really means - God loving us. How does that play out in real life? How should it affect my understanding of God? How would He lead me with His love? How does He want to satiate me with His love? How does He want me to delight in His love? I am perplexed and I am amazed when I wonder about it all.

This song was written by John Mark McMillan the morning after his best friend was killed in a car accident. It tells the story of that friend coming into the presence of God on the other side of eternity. Neither his afflictions nor regrets hold him back from fully receiving the love God has for him.

I wonder sometimes about how much that heaven can be lived on earth. There will definitely be MORE of that realization in heaven, face to face with the One who loves us so. But on earth, He has given us enough that we should not lack any good thing. I don't understand the magnitude of all that it means... even now I've typed and erased several lines in attempting to sum up His abundance for us on earth; but it's too much for me to understand. So for now, in the midst of wanting to understand more, I'm simply going to enjoy the truth therin. May it touch your heart to its deepest parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AIF_ieVre0&feature=related