Keep Warm in Winter

To stay warm,
I'm using the gas
that rumours an economic crisis in my state.

The ramifications haven't yet affected me.

Aside from sharing transport as much as possible,
and the rise in shipping costs
that lifts the price of everything on the shop floors,
that is.

The tide that is slow to reach me will, I fear
Also be slow to recede.

A Day Off

How is it that a day off, rare and precious thing, object of desire-
can pass so fleetingly?

Bright Yellow Canary

Bright yellow canary observes
-stern of foot, sure of wing
beady eye, shrill call-
the churning chaos of it all
Yet while he sleeps he cannot see
the mammoth cat stalk the day-
wait for the flame to acquiesce
and possess him of his bright prey

But hark - the song
pure and strong
What need has a bird
of protection, for him
whose source of strength
flows from within?

Speech Maker

The speech seemed smooth. Success was the topic of the day, and in preparation I had thought, discussed, even dreamt success in the weeks leading up to now. I had come to some clear conclusions, but how to bring my audience to the same point?

As I began to speak, I lost focus, couldn’t keep my mind on the topic. I had no idea what I was saying. I just kept moving through my notes. Thank God I was organised enough to write them all out. It’s not the first time that’s happened to me when making a speech.

But it wasn’t the speaking itself that had me distracted. It was the boy.
The boy with the longish, louty hair slouching in the back row.
Those sitting around him didn’t share his disdain of hygiene- they were groomed, neat, prim.

But the scruffy one seemed to have influence over the others. He’d indicate something, and the others would act it out. Moving the row ahead slightly, so the girl sitting at the edge on her own fell off. Sitting so close to another student that the movement pinched their thighs, eyes widening in surprise and silent pain.

I was watching him, from my vantage point on stage. He was the instigator, the master mind. Where was I?
Oh yes- where does our idea of success come from? Does it entail more than achievement? Is it also the good opinion of others?

But this boy didn’t care. He was the instigator, the master mind- did I already say that?
He didn’t DO anything wrong. Never out of line. Very clever. Admirable, almost.

I looked to the class teacher, warning her with my mind- screaming out the warnings. He’s dangerous. Watch him.
She looked at me with a long, expressionless stare. Blank. Come to think of it, she’d looked that way since I began my speech. Rude.
I glared at her, taking note of her face. She wasn’t blinking. She looked deeply into the space between us. It was widening by the second. I wouldn’t be giving my precious time to these poor appreciators again.

We achieve a sense of success when others appreciate us- do you agree? There are some people whose appreciation, whose opinions are worth more to us than others. Can you think of those people in your life?

Was she even breathing? I snuck a peek at her- she’d turned her eyes to the floor. Movement was a good indication of life.

My eyes caught a slight shift in the louty boy’s posture. I saw him give off a silent order to the back of a student’s head, who was sitting in the middle of the group.
I paused to clear my throat, as my attention shifted wholly to that child-
I hadn’t noticed him chewing anything up to this point, but he began to blow out a bubble of gum. Would these children stop at nothing? It was a direct attack on my speech, I was sure.

The problem point when it comes to success is that it means different things to different people, and yet we try to use the same brush on everyone. What you consider to be success depends on what you consider to have value, or worth.

The bubble hadn’t popped yet- it kept getting bigger. And bigger- and changing colour, too. White to pink to red to blue- mirroring the guilty student’s face, I noticed with horror.

I shot a glare back to the teacher. She was, in my opinion, hopelessly unsuccessful at controlling her students. How could she allow…?
The teacher was looking at me this time, with a little smile, bobbing her head in agreement. Agreement with what? With me? Was she listening?
I began to distrust appearance.

The bubble had become disconcertingly huge, billowing above the seated students, covering them like a mother ship. It creaked as it stretched, tighter…
The boy at the back laughed behind his hand. His eyes caught mine, then skipped away, his smile lost in the instant.

K-boom!
The bubble burst in an ear-splitting snap. Mini bubbles poofed all over the room, and drifted slowly to the floor.
The noise rang in my ears- the students were applauding – unthinkable! Such behaviour- I would file a complaint, I would.
I… I had finished my speech.
Great. It was finally over.

The principal slowly mounted the steps, and the students stood as one, still applauding. Their eyes were clear and generally focussed on the stage, on me. The teacher smiled widely, still clapping. The principal approached and held out his hand.

That was a wonderful speech.

Success

Mum is giving a talk on success to the year 11s and 12s at Grace tomorrow.
Success- it’s been a topic of conversation in our house for the last few weeks.
What is it? How do we measure it?

Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of success is: the accomplishment of what is desired or aimed at; achievement; attainment of wealth, fame, prosperity, etc.

So, technically, if I aim to dig a hole in the backyard, and I do it, then I’ve succeeded- I’ve achieved my aim, met my target. I’ve successfully dug a hole- but does that make me successful?

There is an unstated estimation of worthiness needed to claim general success. So you’re a successful digger of holes. It’s not special. It’s not worthy enough for a grave digger to claim success when he accomplishes his goals.

So the question becomes: What is a worthy aim?

The world has plenty of answers to that question.

Money is worthy. Having lots of it. Good looks are worthy. And glamour. Popularity is worthy. Fame is worthy. Being the best at something is worthy- think sport. Being professional is worthy. Making it to the top of one’s chosen ladder is worthy.

There are a lot of things that could instantly shatter one’s worldy success. A disfiguring car accident. A stock market crash. A slip of the tongue. Tonsillitis, for singers.
We don’t have control over these factors.

God does.

What does God consider to be a worthy aim?
What does God say success is?
Without reaching for the one-line, “correct” answers, first consider three real-life people who are mentioned in the Bible.

John the Baptist.

He was the cousin of Jesus. John was nearly 30 when he moved to the desert. He made his own clothes from camel hair, and ate locusts and honey.
Not rich, not fashionable.
His job was to preach repentance, and to baptise people.

John knew his purpose in life: to prepare the people for Jesus. He worked towards this goal with everything that was in him.

Later, when Jesus was attracting the crowds that had already forgotten about John, he was thrown into prison. Shortly after, John was beheaded.

A short summary of John’s life makes pretty bleak reading. He doesn’t have any of the signs of success about him. Except – it could be said that he achieved his goals. He completed his mission. Was he successful?

Daniel.

Here’s a man we can all respect.

The Bible says that Daniel was a healthy and handsome young man- intelligent, well-educated, a born leader- and he was of noble blood, if not a member of the royal family itself!

Daniel rose quickly through the ranks of the Babylonian administration, which earned him some enemies. But apart from a few pitfalls, he soared upwards until he became Prime Minister- the second most important man in all of Babylon.

Daniel is a significant contestant for the position of most successful man in the Bible.
The world would approve.

Did God approve?

Inspite of his situation as a captive in Babylon in his early years, Daniel adhered to strict Jewish laws regarding eating. Risking offending the king (ie death), Daniel refused to eat anything but plain vegies and water.

Daniel’s rebel friends refused to bow down to the king’s golden statue of himself.
Daniel refused to stop praying to God, knowing full well that the punishment was death.

In the face of serious consequences, Daniel showed God that he was faithful, or obedient, in the little things.

So God let Daniel in on some huge secrets.

Prophecies, visions of the end of time, events that are still in our future!
Daniel saw it all, about 2 600 years ago. He faithfully recorded what God allowed him to, and today we have Daniel to thank for a powerful collection of prophecies that teach us about God’s plans for us, and for the earth.

Daniel may not have understood his life’s purpose as clearly as John the Baptist.
Daniel certainly had opportunity to relax and enjoy his position.
But he was obedient to God- and God used him in even greater ways.

Naomi.

Naomi and her husband had left Israel during a drought, and moved to Moab. Her two sons grew up there, and married Moabite women.
Now, I don’t understand Jewish law very well. But I have a feeling that Naomi’s and her family’s decisions weren’t the best.

Things were going well for the family, however, until Naomi’s husband died. Then her sons- both of them.
She was left alone in a foreign country, and everyone in her family was dead!

She decided to pack up and go home to Judah.

Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth was devoted to Naomi and refused to leave her. Her famous commitment to the older woman-

“Wherever you go, I’ll go. Your people will be my people; your God will be my God.”

From the Bible’s records we know that Ruth went back to Judah with Naomi, got married, and had a son. Through her son was born King David- and Jesus, the Christ.
What a legacy we have through Ruth…

All thanks to Naomi’s love for Ruth, and her kindness to her. Thanks to the way that Naomi accepted Ruth into her family, and taught her the Jewish ways. Thanks to the way that Naomi taught Ruth about God- and taught her to love him.

Neither Naomi nor Ruth could have imagined the significant role they played in history. Looking at her life and the despair she experienced, I doubt Naomi felt at all successful.

But Naomi loved God, and she loved others. She taught others to love God and to obey him. Sure, Naomi made some bad decisions in her life. But God used her family to bear the royal line of Israel- and the royal line of heaven. God chose to accomplish his plan of salvation through her.

The truth is- we often don’t understand the significance of our lives as we are living them. It’s not until later- even generations later! that we can see the purpose God used us for.
God still IS, and his plan of salvation is still being worked out. He still needs faithful people to preach his word, to administer nations, to have children, to obey him in whatever part of life he puts us in.

It might not be obvious to you.
But is it a worthy goal?

Will you be faithful?

The End of the Year

Days are drawing closer now, to the end.
The end of all things was bundled, mostly, into Christmas. There are always loose ends that trail behind.

The rush of events that followed were, then, surprising: competing with the end, but necessarily taking 2nd place- a hard race to run well.

Landing on a bus, in a window seat- noting that the scenery read “Perth” in unambivalent terms; feeling proverbially short of breath, and the with all being- unprepared.

Unprepared (and uninformed) for the next few days- promising to be tumultuous, emotional, sleep-deprived;
Take a breath now, while you’re on the bus with a minute: suck it in and hold it- it may have to last days.

Yet- hopefully not. Blaringly energetic and memory-making as that would be, I want- need- crave the time to capture it. To not only see, but to think, and then to feel. And keep, so a later me might remember, too.

Italianetz

Italianetz (The Italian), (2005). Director: Andrei Kravchuk. Film, Russia.

The opening scenes of Italianetz took me back 2 years, to the time I first arrived in Far East Russia.

Walking across the icy tarmac, trying not to huddle against the other surly travellers- taking in an astounding landscape of white and gradual shades of grey.

The film follows Vanya, a 6 year old boy who lives in an orphanage. The orphanage of the film could have been any that I have visited in Russia. The same painted concrete walls, bulky staircases, big iron gates.

Vanya is lucky to live in the orphanage of the film. Sure he can’t read, he’s usually cold, has no parents, and the elders he looks to for help are the 14-15 year old orphans, led by Kolyan.

Kolyan and the older orphans rule over the other children, control the money and anything that could fetch a price (including the girls), administer discipline at their own discretion and decide the futures of the children.

But to Vanya, Kolyan seems fair and tries to give him direction. The older children don’t abuse the younger ones in this orphanage- the director is only selling the children in illegal adoption rackets, not to the mafia or the sex industry. As far as he’s aware.
No one is trying to hurt Vanya- until he runs away, in search of his birth mother.



Vanya’s story is one of courage and hope. But what about the others?

There are over seven hundred thousand (700 000) of orphans living in orphanages throughout Russia today, sleeping on the same rickety bunk beds; eating the same gruelish kasha day in, day out; running through the same grey concrete buildings with heavy wooden doors- they also live in hope that someday, someone will come for them.

A mother, a father- someone they can belong to. But until that golden day arrives, they continue going about the business of surviving.

Push your toes into the Sand

A visit from an honoured guest from foreign shores gives rise to an excursion- out of the ordinary.

The shame is mine, to live so close to such place, yet visit it rarely.
One November day in 2007, four of us paid our respects.