Why I love God

The day started like any other day. Henry, Johnny, Gabby and Lily Pink all clambering to get ready for school. The bathroom was buzzing with bodies going in and out all trying to get a shower, (not at once I might add!) and Bob standing bemused as he had been pipped at the post yet again as he tried to access the facilities. Perhaps we needed a rota, oldest down to youngest, so that Bob could have a chance of getting ready first. 

As usual I was last and as I lifted my leg to climb into the bath that doubled as a shower my back buckled and searing pain spread from my lower back to my feet. The floor took the full force as I crumpled. 

Not now Lord, I have too much to do. 

My prayer fell on deaf ears. As I lay there I wondered what I was going to do. Everyone had left the house and I was on my own. There was nothing for it, I simply crawled to the bedroom, hauled myself onto the bed and lay there. The telephone was downstairs, and I had no way of communicating with the outside world from where I was lying. 

Father I am stuck, well and truly. What am I supposed to do now? 

Talk to me Vicky, we have all day together. 

Father, couldn't you just heal me so that I can get on with the daily chores?

I could but I want to spend  some time with you. 

So we chatted and I read the Bible and slept a bit. At midday I was beginning to feel peckish. I also wanted to get my hands on some painkillers which like everything else was downstairs. With determination I crawled to the top of the stairs and headed literally downwards, one stair at a time with my body trailing behind. Now, had I been two years old I am sure I would have loved this experience, especially having a nappy to pad the lower regions. Suffice it to say, I made it, although I did shed a tear or two. 

My first priority was to ring Bob, as there was no way I was going to be able to stand up without help, let alone make some lunch. I was also desperate for a drink. In order to make a call I had to reach the telephone so I had to roll over onto my back. Now picture if you will lying on the floor and looking up at a desk with a phone cord dangling over the side just out of reach. This might be hard if you all have cordless mobile phones, however we are still living in the dark ages in our house. So I gauged the distance and reached for the cord. My fingers missed by a mile. However I was not going to be defeated. Near to me was a lone shoe, left by one of my adorable children, which had no doubt been discarded and not put away with its brother (or sister). I lent over and grabbed it, swung it towards the phone and managed to hit the intended object as well as the keyboard, the telephone book and a bowl with cornflakes and milk still in it and saw all in slow motion hurtle downwards towards my head. As fast as superman, I maneuvered to one side, being hit only by the bowl of cereal and the phone book. Well two out of four wasn't bad! But having milky cornflakes all over my hair was something I could live without. 

At that precise moment I heard a key in the door, and to my relief Bob appeared in his suit and slippers. He took one look at me and laughed, and then seeing his footwear I too couldn't help but let out a weak titter as two Homer Simpson's stared at me. He looked at where I was gazing and weakly said, "oh them, yes, I forgot to change them before I left. Um the manager told me to come home to get my shoes as he didn't think the Chairman of the Board would appreciate my taste in footwear at our meeting today."

Thank you Lord for our chaotic house, if we were more organised Bob would not have come home to my rescue. 

That is why I love God so much, he answers our needs in ways we often don't realize. 

Before he went back to work Bob cleaned me up, gave me painkillers, sorted out my lunch and put useful things at the side of the bed for me. 

In time, rest and patience healed my back. And on the day when I walked out into the garden for the first time since the incident, God had a real treat for me. There blooming vibrantly in the sun were my favourite wild flowers, I can only think that the birds must have dropped the seeds. There swaying gently in the breeze, poppies, beautiful red poppies. Thank you God.

Why do I say 'Yes' every morning even when I don't know the question?

Every morning Victoria Sponge says 'Yes' to God before she arises even though she does not know the question. Why?

Victoria knows that her life is not her own and this 'Yes' is a submission to God's will for her that day. There is no one greater who can be in charge of her life, so by saying 'Yes' she is putting her daily tasks, job, joys and annoyances, in to the hands of God. She knows nothing is too small or large for her God to handle. 

That 'Yes' takes her life away from man's control into the divine realms of God's will. There, He can with Victoria's assent, bless her day and use it for His honour and glory. Even the ups and downs can be transformed into a daily prayer which will be celebrated by the angels and made worthy in God's presence. 

As our day progresses and our reactions to the situations occur we do not know the extent of God's hand on those events. But with our 'Yes' to the Father, we do know that He has the upper hand and has guided us away from those places where we would have stumbled and made a bigger hash of things. In a way we could say that 'damage control' has been implemented as we still have a say in our day as God gives us free will. However our 'Yes' freely given in the morning first thing, is the most important prayer of the day as it places us deeply into the will of God.   

Crumbs

You know that feeling as you are about to bite into a delicious cake. First of all you anticipate its taste, texture, and maybe its effect on your waist line. Then the moment of truth, as teeth, saliva, and tongue work away on the crumbling delicacy. Your mind is trying to decide if the first impression was correct or whether you have been coaxed into a false and disappointing experience. 

Life is like that, perceptions of a person, job, marriage, religion for example, all based on preconceived ideas. Our personal experiences can give us a false idea of life, leaving crumbs of disappointment that lead to poor choices. There is of course the media and all its hype about life. The pressures on mankind to be something that they can never be, constantly bombard our senses, so that when we take that bite we feel disappointed, disillusioned and distrustful of this false world. On the other hand our experiences can be so rose tinted that nothing quite comes up to that same expectation and we continue to look for that 'grass is greener on the other side' scenario. 

However crumbs can also be the result of an enjoyable experience, a gobbling up of the cake because it is so scrumptious. The licking of your finger to get the very last crumb on the plate into your mouth as you don't want to leave any hint or trace of the delicious mouth watering delight. 

Crumbs are what God gives us. Sometimes we turn them into bitter fragments as we distrust them and question their purpose in our life. Other times we see them for what they really are, teasers of a larger delight. If God gave us all of the cake at one go we would not be able to eat it all, we would become 'stuffed' and maybe even feel sick because we have eaten too much. God knows exactly how much we can digest and what is best for each of us. His crumbs will lead us to a greater Love, to His Purpose for our life. His cake will never disappoint us, it might challenge us and test our love for Him, but He will have chosen the portion perfectly.

God delights in us and we must trust His recipe for our life. 

Chaos

Why is life so chaotic? Why can't it be peaceful, flowing like a gentle breeze, gurgling like a stream or just flowing smoothly across the sky like the clouds in a movement of serene beauty?

Because it is life! Life is never gentle, smooth or flowing. At least not in my household. It crashes through the day, bringing incidents through the front door from a haphazard world. Not only that it blasts through the walls of the house in an ever flowing competition to see what can disturb my peace of mind. 

Children, bring their own flavour of chaos. Each different, each demanding their own brand of need and all wanting love, attention and money now! And adding to the mix a husband who is complicated and loyal, trying to understand a world that is noisy, full of challenges and stressful. His childhood occupied himself, so there was no one else to fight with or smooth his edges. 

Life is full of ingredients, some rough, some smooth, but always a combination to keep you on your toes and guessing how to make the best of the situation. 

Without God in it, it would be a mishmash of coincidences to foil the mind and bring little understanding of a chaotic existence. Only God can bring peace into the storms and calm the raging seas. His hand is there waiting to take hold of ours; but so often we stay stubborn and adhere to our answers to the questions of life, clinging onto hurts, anger, jealousy, pain and stoic philosophies adamant that we do not need God. And when we do not get answers, or the answer we want we declare there is no God or that he has done us some injustice and we can't be doing with that. 

God is my friend in the chaos, He is in control, at least He is when I allow Him to be in the situation. I talk to Him, tell him everything. My prayers are sometimes quiet, but often yelled out, when I think He is not listening. I think He probably laughs a lot at my predicaments, which are often man made. But He never puts me down or hides from my ridiculous escapades. If I look carefully He is united with me in all the messiness. But He cares. I am special, and my mix is unique. He made me, folded in all the ingredients carefully so that I could face the chaos of this world walking with Him at my side. His Spirit is the secret ingredient, quietly waiting for us to discover Him, so that this rather ordinary cake takes pride of place at His banquet.  

A moment of your time?

You are now entering into the world of Victoria Sponge:

The doorbell rings. My spaghetti bol is simmering on the hot plate, and the pasta about to boil. 

'Someone get the door please' I yell to no-one in particular. Silence, not even a 'no mum, I am busy.' Four children, and I am the one left to open the door! I have a wooden spoon in my hand, not for defense, but because I am in the middle of cooking and want a quick get away ploy. 

Two smiling faces look at me and then the wooden spoon. 

'I can see that you are busy, but we will only take a moment of your time', one of the white haired lady's states.

I jump in immediately, 'If you are selling, conning, collecting, giving something away, or just bored of life and want to chat, I am afraid we do not buy, give, take, or socialize when food is being cooked.'

'Well, that is the thing' the other lady gently intones, we just want to tell you about our spiritual nourishment that we offer every Sunday at our meeting place. 

Unwittingly I open the door to their comment. 'What church are you from?'

'Oh, we don't like to go under a particular name, we just want to invite you to our service.' 

'Do you have a leaflet?' I say in a bored manner, desperate to get back to the bubbling dinner that I can hear is in need of a stir. 

'We don't like to give out leaflets unless a person shows interest in our ministry, as it can give the wrong impression.' The lady smiled again standing firmly rooted to the spot. I didn't want to seem rude but my mind wanted to get back to the kitchen and I hate just closing the door on people. 

'I really need to go and check up on my cooking. I think it might be burning.'

'Oh that's alright dear, you go we will just stay here until you get back.' 

That wasn't the answer I wanted to hear. Don't they realize I am busy with mouths to feed. 

'The thing is', I start to yell, as I move away from the front door, this isn't exactly convenient at the moment.'

'Don't worry about us, we have all day.'

But I don't I wanted to say.

Dear Lord, I know I should be charitable, but could you possibly make these people go away? 

'Would you like a hand?' one of the callers asked as she started to step into the hallway.

'What, no, I am alright, Henry, I need a hand.' I call loudly. 

'I'm busy' he replies.

Lord, are you busy, could you just intercede here, please?'

'Whatever you are making it smells very nice', came a voice from the front door. 'So do you think you might like to come to our meeting?' the lady continued. 

'The thing is I am already a Christian, so I am not really looking for another place to worship.' 

'Oh that's okay dear, we take any denominations.'

I can sense that this 'moment of my time' is going to be a slog to get through.

'Lord, I am waiting, I need that help now!'

From upstairs I can hear movement, then a bump, bump, bump as Lily Pink jumps down the stairs. 

'What's the door doing open mum?' she asks and promptly shuts it without registering the people on the other side of it.

The doorbell rings again, and Lily Pink opens it. The two ladies look at my youngest daughter and smile, she smiles back and shuts the door again.

'Lily Pink that was a bit rude closing the door on those two people.' I declare.

'They were strangers mum and your told me not to talk to strangers!' 

'That is very true, well done you for doing as you were told.' I give her a big hug and she asks me if dinner is ready.

Thank you Lord, for answering my prayer. It may not have been the answer I was looking for, but you used what was at hand to bring a conclusion to the awkward situation I was in. 

That feeling of being trapped can happen at anytime in our lives and it is especially awkward when it is on our doorstep. Fortunately for Victoria Sponge her young daughter came to the rescue, and that is the point; God often doesn't send thunderbolts or angels to fix things when we feel under pressure or need a 'get out of jail' card. God is in the everyday solutions. Now what happened may have seemed rude to shut the door on strangers who felt they were offering you something important, but those interruptions are sometimes planned like that so that you feel forced into saying or doing something that you don't want to. God protected Victoria through the logic of her daughter. Sometimes prolonging a situation can cause you to step out into dangerous territory, where your peace of mind is taken away. Better a short sharp disconnection than an entrapment. 

So why use a fictitious character?

Victoria Sponge is actually a very real character and I suspect that many of you have some of her gems as part of your life too. 

By making and writing about a fictitious character more challenges can be explored. Her family can be extended and issues raised in a way that may not be otherwise possible. 

If I only referred to my own life experiences I would miss the opportunity to connect with other potential challenges. We all have stories, material for humorous gaffs, disasters that mold our being and these can come over a long period of time and that would make the telling of the story boring and tedious. How  many of us experience our years in a week? Well I hope that many of you don't, but perhaps for some this is possible, but it may break the camel's back. 

Victoria Sponge tells her story over the seven days of Holy Week. Her day is split up into four sections, Morning Prayer, Afternoon Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer. Her journey flows from each day uniting in Christ's own Holy Week. 

Sometimes we might feel that our whole life has been stuck in Holy Week. Well Christ doesn't want us to be left there. He wants us to rise after our falls and to dig deep with His Powerful help and take his courage to pull our cross to the next stage. When we fall we need to ask God why? What is not aligned in our life  with God's Will, that is tripping us up? What heaviness is pushing us down and making us stumble. God is our alignment; through His Will we are healed and helped to look at the Son again and through His sacrifice we are blessed and saved and our life changed.

So who are the characters in the book

Of course there has to be a main character in any book and the clue is in the title 'How to Make Victoria Sponge'. So we start with mum who is called Vicky and is married to Bob. 

Vicky has a down to earth relationship with God and chats to him like a friend about anything and everything. But during her conversations she isn't expecting a journey quite like the one God proposes to her in the book. 

Then we have the rest of the family. Support characters in the form of Robert or Bob as he likes to be known, who tries his best to be a good husband and father. However there is a secret in his past that he would rather leave behind which is stirred up one morning when a familiar face stares at him on the news.

Henry the eldest son, is sports mad and protective of his younger brother Johnny.

The twins Gabby and Johnny. Gabby loves make-up, is bright and moody. Johnny is also bright but has autistic traits and is bullied at school.

And lastly Lily Pink the youngest, who is bubbly, bouncy and full of fun. 

All the characters make up an interesting mix and deliver a week's worth of insight into the world of Victoria Sponge.

There are also smaller parts played by Mr and Mrs Green, Victoria's parents, Mandy, a childhood best friend and her husband Robert Kind, the Preschool Ladies, and a distraught lady called Cathy. 

Of course there has to be a mention of God, my all time favourite and wonderful Creator who has quite a lot to say in the book.