Growing Up

Precious Saints !!!

Was woken up one morning with this song by Chris Rice (thanks Helga on CCFM) and the first few lines just kinda stuck in my mind for a few days and evoked a ton of memories both good and bad.

What dreams did you have as a child as to what you wanted to be when you grew up and became an adult? Well I wanted to be a fireman, policeman, doctor, vet, soccer star, rock star and so on. As I grew older my ideas changed as to what I wanted to be. So by the time I was a teenager I wanted to be a rock star. Hey I really loved music but did I have any talent? Sad to say just about zero.

So we become all 'grown up' and stumble into a job and the 'real' world starts knocking our dreams to pieces. Sorry man, you can't do that, you're too short, too skinny, too white, too stoopid and so on. I remember going for job interview after job interview where they asked the same dumb questions. "Did you captain the 1st rugby team, 1st soccer team, 1st dis, 1st dat, I see you don't have a post matric qualification"....drone on and on. Hey can't a guy come second here? As a scrawny 20 something I just about used to wet my pants(or something worse) when I went for job interviews.

The other really intelligent question was, "I see you don't have any experience....." Well knock me down with a perfumed pink feather. I had just come out of the army where I was trained to meet interesting people and kill them!!! My young friends and I were giving up our lives to protect your sorry fat backside. How am I gonna get any experience if you don't want to hire me. Well that's what I felt like saying but I really did not have the guts to say it.

Anyways you eventually get a job, get married, get divorced, get married, get divorced and then get married again and hopefully stay employed throughout. And all this time you are kinda thinking to yourself there has just gotta be more to life then this. By the time I'd reached 40 I'd carefully patched up my heart, sealed it reasonably tight and would only let in people if they would be able to give me something in return. I would give love but you better give me some love back.

And then at that stage I had almost reached breaking point. Allie my lovely wife after giving birth to our only son had two nervous breakdowns in the space of three/four years. I mean what had I done to deserve this? I was really losing myself and finding it so difficult to really put others first. Then Allie started seeking for something bigger, higher then herself and she literally upset my whole wheelbarrow of manure. She actually started going to church! This kinda freaked me out initially I mean I was kinda steeling myself to push my wheelbarrow for the rest of my life and work out some kinda plan to make the manure smell better.

Well one thing led to another and one Saturday evening I met my saviour Jesus Christ. WOW!!! He gave me a tiny glimpse of his glory and my life was changed forever. Now I wanna do things 'cause I know that He loved me first, I'm learning more and more His purpose and plan for my life. And guess what I am really super duper special, I'm so precious that God himself came down and died for me. He purchased me with His own blood! Can you actually fathom the depth, the width the height of that love? Not likely this side of heaven. Now all this does not give me a big fat head but makes me feel truly grateful and humble and just wanting to serve Him with all that I have. Oh yeah, am I perfect? No ways, I'm full of holes and frayed at the edges but I'm really trying to love God back and the more I get that right the more I am able to give of His love back to the world.

God just blows me away constantly with His love. A youth pastor from Khayelitsha phoned me yesterday on my cell to tell me that He loves me as a brother in Christ. A woman the other evening introduced me to her sister and said that I'd saved her live. And it goes on and on. I'm not saying all this to get a Noddy badge or to tell you how great I am but to tell you how great God is. Love Him back more and more and you will see how He uses you. Go on I dare you!

Here's that song

The Power Of The Moment (by Chris Rice)

What am I gonna be when I grow up?
How am I gonna make my mark in history?
And what are they gonna write about me when I’m gone?
These are the questions that shape the way I think about what matters
But I have no guarantee of my next heartbeat
And my world’s too big to make a name for myself
And what if no one wants to read about me when I’m gone?
Seems to me that right now’s the only moment that matters

You know the number of my days
So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head
And come write Your wisdom on my heart
And teach me the power of a moment
The power of a moment, the power of a moment

In Your kingdom where the least is greatest
The weak are given strength and fools confound the wise
And forever brushes up against a moment’s time
Leaving impressions and drawing me into what really matters

You know the number of my days
So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head
And come write Your wisdom on my heart
And teach me the power of a moment
The power of a moment, the power of a moment

I get so distracted by my bigger schemes
Show me the importance of the simple things
Like a word, a seed, a thorn, a nail
And a cup of cold water

You know the number of my days
So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head
And come write Your wisdom on my heart
And teach me the power of a moment
The power of a moment, the power of a moment

Copyright Clumsy Fly Music (ASCAP)



LoCTY !!!!!!!


We know what real love is because Christ gave up His life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16)