Written by Kristi Bothur and shared by Ngaire Newman


Twas late in ’19 when the virus began
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.
People we sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one at school.
As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.
People hid in their home from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.
April approached and churches were closed.
“There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.
“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”
Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and tests.
“Easter can’t happen the year,” it proclaimed.
‘Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.
The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people estranged.
‘Pooh, pooh, to the saints,” the world was grumbling
“They’re finding out now that no Easter is coming.
They just waking up! WE know what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two.
And than all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.


“That noise,” said the world, “will be something to hear.”
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.
And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.
But the sound wasn’t depressed.
Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn’t be so!
But it grew with abundance!
The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!
Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!
It hadn’t stopped Easter from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the world with it life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling.
“Just how can it be?”
“It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,
It came without egg hunts, cantatas or money.”
Then the world thought of something it hadn’t before.
“Maybe Easter,” it thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
And what happened then?
Well…The story’s not done.
What will YOU do?
Will you share with that one
Or two or more people need hope in this night?
Will you share the source of your life in this fight?
The churches are empty – but so is the tomb,
And Jesus is victor over death, doom and gloom.
So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around everywhere.
May the world see hope when it looks at God’s people.
May the world see the church is not a building or steeple.
May the world find Faith in Jesus death and resurrection,
May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.
May 2020 be know as the year of survival,
But not only that –
Lets start a revival.
The churches are empty but so is the tomb.

Have you ever watched television in day time? For a clear view of the screen, curtains must be closed, to keep out
the sun’s rays and cause distracting reflections to disappear. Sometimes in life, we also need to go through dark places,
in order to view the whole picture more clearly, and in perspective.
Sometimes we don’t fully appreciate God when life is good, and everything is going smoothly. It is often in the ‘dark’ times
when we want his reassurance. When we’re in the dark tunnel, we learn to focus on His whole picture, and know that
He is growing us in maturity and strength.
I recall life on our farm when a whole row of trees was torn from the soil in a wild wind-storm. An arborist we consulted identified the problem. The water level in that area was too near the surface, so those fallen trees didn’t have to sink their roots down deep. They were not securely rooted and couldn’t withstand the storm.
I think that God sometimes denies His children the ease of shallow roots in order that we must grow our roots deeper into His eternal reality.
Every challenge we face in life helps us strengthen our roots and assists us to stand firm and tall when storms swirl around us. Covid, the ‘invisible enemy’ has presented us with challenges and anxiety, and God is inviting us to sink our roots deeper into Him, so we will stay strong.
Violin makers are fussy about the wood they use for their precious instruments. They seek wood from the side of trees that have been most exposed and battered by strong winds. That timber develops under stresss, and has a strength that the ‘soft’ side of the tree does not have the need to create. The timber which has struggled to grow produces a deeper resonance than other wood.
If you are discouraged by this Covid storm, spend time feeding your roots with the encouragement and strength found in understanding God’s Word. His Bible is our ultimate guide book and instruction manual for life.
I was reading my favourite Psalm, 23. I love the image of a ‘walk beside still waters.’ I’m more reluctant to embrace the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ which God may require us to use. But even there, He is our hope and guide. As the Psalm assures us “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” He promises us that we will walk THROUGH this dark pandemic. It is part of the journey, not our destination.
May you know God’s loving care today.
Rosemary Francis.

Are you missing your togetherness- comfort?

It's OK to admit we're feeling lonely.

As this covid compulsory lock-down continues, some of us are craving human contact.

Even our caring family members keep at arm's length when they drop of shopping.  We crave human warmth and love.  Especially those who are not technology-savvy, who don't have devices that can miraculously conjure up familiar faces and voices beamed into our homes even from a world away.  We are social creatures, and this suddenly imposed 'social distancing' goes against everything we've grown up with.  Even our wider Christian family shared hugs, handshakes and hongis on meeting every Sunday.  My husband and I would frequently be welcomers at church, and made sure we were there before anyone else.  "Hurry up, Rose.  We're on widow-hugging today Dear," he would say.

It was not until I was widowed a decade ago, during the tragic Canterbury quakes, that I understood the importance of that role.  I became one of those widows that lacked human caring, and a Christian hug brought comfort and healing.  God willing, we will revert to that caring community that share their kindness with others, known and unknown. For some who have to live alone, their weekly visit to God's house is the highlight of their week.  Those who welcome, reach out, greet and care for the lonely are all sharing their God-given light and warmth of human connection in such a vital way.  So too are those who prepare cups of comfort, and clean up after the social interaction following services.  This is the afterglow of the sermon message, the time of discussing challenges share their concerns, speak about the soul-lifting music and God-honouring prayers.

I'll share with you a true story about a poet whose work I admire;  Rupert Brooke.  Alone on the wharf, about to travel by boat from England to America, Brooke was feeling very lonely.  Watching fellow passengers hugging and clinging to their loved ones, he longed for someone to miss him too.
He spoke to a ragmuffin boy on the wharf.  "What's your name, boy?" he asked.
 "I'm William, sir," he replied.
 "would you like to earn some shillings?" enquired Brooke.
"Sure thing, what do you want me to do?" asked William eagerly.
"Just wave to me as I leave," the lonely Brooke replied.
Six silver shillings sealed the deal, and Brooke boarded the ship.  Rupert Brooke later wrote about the occasion :
"Some people smiled, and some cried.  Some waved white handkerchiefs and some waved straw hats.  And I?  I had William who waved at me with his red bandana ,for six shillings, and kept me from feeling completely alone" 

We all feel loneliness at times, even in a crowd.  Rupert Brooke was strong enough to admit his loneliness, and do something to help improve the situation.  This is a necessary first step towards coping with loneliness.  Simply admitting it and feeling free to share this aching void is the recognition that helps us to address it.

Life's experiences have shaped us, and we may never know all the traumas and struggles that others have faced in their lives.  We can all ease their path, by reaching out to friends and families, especially those who are anxious.  Sharing with compassion doesn't divide our love quotient; rather, in God's glorious mathematics, our love multiplies.  Those whose 'cup of love runneth over' can share their richness with others who have no one else to share their emptiness.

Mother Terea described loneliness as "the biggest disease of our time.  And the loneliest do not all reside in nursing homes, nor do they all live by themselves."
​
Are you feeling isolated and unfulfilled in this anxious time of pandemic?  Try to reach out to someone else who you suspect is also lonely. Pick up a phone, or scribble a note to them.   The bible tells us that it is "More blessed to give than to receive."  So turn that ‘pity-party’ into a’ care and share party’, and feel the blessings flow.

And also remember, that we Christians are never alone.  Each unique person is a precious part of God's worldwide family, and He is with us in our ' Bubbles', even if they seem to be solo bubbles.
In God's good time, our bubbles will burst, and then we'll see the glorious colour and joy of the Heavenly rainbows as we pick up our human magnets, and reach out to be God's arms and legs in our community .

Kia Kaha, Kiwis!

Blessings,

Rosemary Francis

Have you ever felt overwhelmed at the enormity of a challenge? Did you wonder how a goal could be accomplished? I certainly have.
​
Currently we’re all facing a silent threat as a new virulent virus spreads illness and death among us. It’s easy to shrink back into our familiar shells and shrug our shoulders. After all, we’re not trained to deal with the highly complicated medical and scientific testing needed to stamp this destructive force out. We’re too old, infirm, young, uneducated, busy (or any other reason we’ve used) for not doing more than handle home and family challenges within our bubbles.

There are many heroes on the front lines, fighting infection, stocking shelves, processing food and medications, transporting vital goods. We are blessed by selfless individuals who are co-ordinating relief services, volunteering to fetch and carry for the frail. We have entire nations turned upside down by new restrictions imposed; things that may cramp our lifestyles and expected freedoms. This is a taste of self sacrifice for the common good. The very least we can do is conform uncomplaining to the limited access to goods and services, and the isolation required to crush Covid.

We’ve seen great leadership and honest disclosure from our government and leaders. We have received wise advice and evaluations from those experts in the field, working behind the scenes and on the front line. I rejoice to see co-operation instead of niggling snipes between political parties. Our nation always works better when we face a common ‘enemy;’ be that warfare, horrific wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions or viral pandemics. My prayer is that we will harness this same attitude of humility and act for the great good of our country and our world long after Covid dies.

A sweet gentleman aged 99 didn’t shrink from his offering assistance to his country. Captain Tom Moore , a World War 2 veteran who served in India, and the Burma Campaigns, decided to raise some money for the hugely over-worked staff of the National Health Service. With his walking stick slung over the front of his walking frame, he began slowly hobbling daily lengths of his garden. Hoping to raise five hundred pounds, he vowed to walk a hundred lengths, while his daughter organised donations.

Brits have been gathering at their gates for weeks now, every evening at 8pm; clanging pot lid cymbals, banging pots with spoons, clapping, singing and drawing attention to the sterling service sector fighting Covid 19, and showing their appreciation . Captain Tom, wearing his war medals, continues to walk every day. His goal of raising a thousand pounds is long past. On April 14, Tom achieved his initial target of one hundred laps, watched by a guard of honour from his First Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. They lined his yard (at a safe distance from each other) to salute the old veteran and honour him. At today’s count of donations for Captain Tom’s challenge, over 19 million pounds has been donated by a country grateful for the selfless service personnel keeping our world moving through this crisis.

So, can one person make a difference? My answer is a resounding “Yes!” Generous people want to make a difference. Tom gave them a vehicle in which to funnel funds. He is the catalyst for providing well-being packs for NHS staff, facilitating rest and recuperation rooms, devices to enable
hospital patients to keep in contact with family members, and community groups who support patients once they are discharged from hospital. Although that is a lot of money, a lot more will be required to truly make a difference to those whose extraordinary courage and hard work is easing our predicament in this pandemic.

What can each of us do to help? Pray, seek God, encourage our families and be good neighbours. We can be obedient to the authorities in their efforts to stamp out this scourge. We can make phone calls, write letters, offer hope and help to those worse off than ourselves. We can give thanks, even in this strange new world of restrictions, because God will never leave us or forsake us. He wants us to be His light-carriers in dark places, so let’s wipe the dust from our lamps, and shine brightly for Him.

“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven”

​Rose Francis

It is time to write another column, so I sit here chewing on my favourite 6B pencil. While meditating, I pick up a sharpener and begin to shave away the wood, making a nice sharp point on my trusty tool before writing. I realise that we’re all rather like pencils – not much good until trimmed ready for action..
​
Sharpening of people hurts. Often it means going through difficult experiences; suffering, loneliness, misunderstanding or rejection. But these things help us become the sort of tool God uses to make marks in the lives of others. The challenge is – how effective are we as “God’s pencils?” How much of the prettily painted outer casing of selfish intolerance and critical attitude has He been able to whittle away to expose the inner qualities of His love to those around us? That’s what God put us here for – to leave a mark in the lives of family and friends whose lives we touch in our daily activities. Like pencils, we are most effective when we allow ourselves to be held in God’s hand, and submit to His guidance.
And thank God He made each of us like a pencil with an inbuilt eraser! When we make mistakes, we can correct then. While we can’t change the past, or erase history, we can wipe out our guilt and cover anger with His forgiveness. When we are blunt or scratchy, if we submit to our Master’s hand, God will get out His sharpener and give our lives new point and fresh focus.

Just as pencils are still essential for conveying beauty and creativity (in music, art or writing), so we can be God’s instruments to express His love and purpose in the lives of those around us. Like a pencil, other people see the tough stuff on our exterior; but it’s what we are on the inside that matters. Are we made up of love or bitterness, kindness or selfishness, intolerance or understanding, courage or fear? These inner qualities identify the marks we make in the pattern of our life.

What project has God chosen you for? When He plucks you from the box, will you submit to His painful sharpening? Are you willing to have self ground down so that He may use you to write of His love? Let’s be the means of making bold marks for God during this time of enforced Covid isolation – and every day. Next time you use a pencil, stop and think about it. For this humble little implement teaches us some great lessons about making a mark for God.

He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3 v 30)

Rosemary & Geoff Francis.

 

Thank God for each new season
as Autumn we embrace
Now Summer’s heat has dwindled
we harvest gifts of Grace.
Our labour in the garden-
digging, weeding the soil
watering, growing plants, now
rewards us for our toil.


With plump, ripe fruits to harvest
and vegetables to store.
As ripened seeds and grains now
are threshed and stashed indoors.
Just stubbled stalks remain when
hay- bales of grass and weed
are safely stored in barns for
farm creatures’ winter feed.


The orchard trees low bending
with bounteous fruit are crowned.
Rich crops of nuts and good food
that’s ripening all around.
Grapes, apples, pears, feijoas
Tomatoes, grains and seeds
avocados, beans and lemons,
God’s gifts supply our needs .


In brilliant technicolour
leaves crinkle on the trees.
God’s drama is unfolding-
leaves drift down with each breeze.
Showers of blessing falling
while soil absorbs this rain.
Lord as we sow, we will reap
As seasons change again.


By Rosemary Francis


“As long as the Earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night” (Genesis 8 v 22)




Sung to the hymn “The Church is one foundation”to the tune Aurelia 7676 d composed by SS Wesley, 1864 or  "From Greenland's mighty Oceans"

The last blast of joyous colours bring nature to the closing days of autumn. How vivid and brilliant God’s glorious colour palette is! This is the ‘grand finale’ of long, warm days as our land sinks into longer nights and cooler temperatures.
As a young child, I disliked the fact that our lovely trees dropped their leafy clothes and shivered, naked through the icy months of winter. ‘My Grandma used to answer my persistent questions about these seasonal changes with the old saying “April showers bring May flowers.” I pondered that for years.
We’ve had steady rain over several nights recently, which have stimulated plants to grow and thrive (particularly the weeds in my garden!) This cycle of Creation continues whether we face Covid or any other crisis. Seasonal weather changes provide the right conditions for plants to prosper and grow.
Have we been simply ‘marking time’ in our enforced bubbles? Or have we used this period of restriction as an opportunity to seek God, plan ahead? Have we used our eyes of faith to anticipate the new things that God will allow to flourish; in His good time? “What we sow in tears, we will reap with joy,” is a verse that has comforted me through many challenging times. Our tears can moisten the area where God will help us to bring forth new growth.
We are currently in quarantine, many of feeling frustrated and anxious. We can take reassurance from God’s ability to change such a challenge into blessings for the faithful. Sow in faith, (and tears sometimes,) and we will rejoice when it comes time to harvest time. (Psalm 126 v 5-6)
Every year I purchase little packets of potential promises; attracted by colourful pictures of beautiful, fragrant or fruitful plants. They will reward our careful preparation of garden spaces, obeying instructions, and keeping tiny seeds well weeded, watered and protected. So too, if we want to grow in grace, we prepare the soil of our lives; fertile from repentance, and damp with tears of sorrow. We plant our prayers in faith, and God does the miracle of causing growth.
The cool nights and sunny days of April will settle seeds planted . As we prepare to move out of ‘lock-down’ we will step out into a different season. The world has changed, it has moved on while we commemorated our first Easter at home, struggling with electronic devices that brought us worship we could participate in. Before we break out of our safe shell, let’s seek God’s guidance for our new endeavours. What desires has He planted in our hearts? Did you seek His rainbow in the rain, and new growth sprouting from our tear-soaked ground?
Let God guide us into a new fruitfulness. The time of preparation and quiet rest imposed on us is soon to be replaced by action. Be excited! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3 v 5-6)
In His Service,
Rosemary Francis
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​The Bridge from Heaven to Earth.  God's Rainbow of Promise

Live in His light, and reflect that beauty in your 'lock-down' space.

You are not alone in your rainbow 'bubble.'  All bubbles show a hint of rainbow colours, and God is with us in our lonely place right now. ( You can add some dishwashing liquid into a cup of water, and twist a wire loop and blow some lovely bubbles. You will see God's promise in those brief-lived bubbles' rainbow colours.)

This is Gods' promise to us:
​
'WHENEVER THE RAINBOW APPEARS IN THE SKIES I WILL REMEMBER THE EVERLASTING COVENANT
                    BETWEEN GOD AND ALL LIVING CREATURES OF EVERY KIND ON EARTH '.
                                                                   ( GENESIS 9 V 17)  

 He colours our world with beauty!  Thanks be to God!

Blessings, Rose Francis.