Time just flies. I can’t quite believe this is the 3^rd blog I have written. I hope they are in some way helpful.

If this is the 1^st you have read, I am simply reflecting on the phrases I repeat to my 3-year old daughter as she rides her bike. Words of reassurance, encouragement or challenge. Today I’m thinking about one phrase that I think is very powerful…but one that can be missing in society:

“You’re doing really well!”

Daisy has little legs but a HUGE determination. That said, she gets tired. Occasionally the wheel spins a little as the stabilisers lift it of the ground on bumpy surfaces. Other times there are hills that seem too much. At other points she feels nervous about going too fast. So, over and over I tell her, “You’re doing really well.”

The power of encouragement is an amazing thing. When someone tells you that you are doing well. When someone sees and recognises your effort and speaks out words to enthuse and cheer you on. I wonder sometimes if these words are too often lacking in society, in organisations and (deep breath) …in churches!

I love going to the cinema and as long as the projectionist does their job well, I don’t notice them. I see the output of what they do – the images, the action, the soundtrack – but I don’t give them a second thought…UNLESS…unless they make a mistake and the film is interrupted. Suddenly then everyone in the cinema is very interested in the projectionist. Suddenly everyone has an opinion that needs to be heard. Now everyone is an expert as they chunter and tut. To my shame, I have been this person, both in the cinema and outside of it.

Someone’s efforts have not met my expectations, so, rather than with love or grace, seeking to encourage them, “You’re doing really well!” I have voiced frustration that their best efforts have not met my standards!

Imagine if I applied this to Daisy on the bike! Not riding up the hill fast enough…rubbish, get off the bike. Too nervous to go down the hill…I am selling the bike on eBay! You would (I hope) rightfully tell me I am being too harsh – cruel even. And yet, if we don’t keep ourselves in check, we can be like this in other circumstances – work, family, church. It comes from a critical spirit and it is dangerous. Dangerous and devasting to any family…including the church.

I don’t get this one right all the time with my kids, let alone in other circumstances, but that is part of the journey isn’t it. Part of the refining as we seek to become more like Christ. Paul writes a great encouragement to the church in Thessalonica. Wouldn’t it would be life-changing and kingdom-building if this was our truth everyday – let’s pray for that!

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

But until we get there, we are all trying out best…so keep on going:

You’re doing really well!

Teaching a 3-year-old to ride a bike…and other reflections!

So last week I gave a little bit of insight into my life under lockdown – particularly my daily walks/jogs with Daisy as she is loving cycling. Last week I reflected briefly on one of the phrases I repeated over and over, “Stop looking backwards!” and today I want to pause for a moment on another.

Daddy is right here!

For the most part, Daisy is very confident on her bike – even yelling at me from time to time if she thinks I am getting involved when she doesn’t want me to. This is often when she wants to show me that she can do it on her own – so my meddling (in her eyes) simply removes some of her choice and some of her autonomy.

That said, she still wants to know I am there. When she thinks I am in some way a bit distant (usually a work email on my phone) or if I have fallen behind at all, she lets me know…in no uncertain terms, that she wants to see me or at least have confidence I am close. As such, I find myself frequently reminding her, gently that “Daddy is right here.”

I remember in all my days growing up in church, I knew God was a Father. Unfortunately, I often heard the message that God is ‘like a father’ – which simply is not true. God isn’t seeking to mimic – he is the perfect example. I also remember hearing him referred to as ‘Father’ – a term which I always thought was quite a distant naming – it didn’t seem that warm to me. I remember the first time I heard that the word Abba has a meaning close to ‘Daddy’ made me feel a little uncomfortable. To call God Daddy felt far too familiar and kind of strange.

I am now probably at a midpoint on this…I understand he is Daddy, but I rarely call him that…but that is something He and I can work on!

So why did a story of a bike ride suddenly take a sideways leap to the father-nature of God? Well, simply this…I really want you to hear the words today that ‘Daddy is right here!’ In the midst of the current uncertainty and new ways of living. As new rules are introduced. As a new path into a new future is slowly revealed. As the ongoing changes that COVID leaves on our lives come into focus. In good times. Bad times. Hot days and rainy. In panic and in calm. Alone or in a family. Throughout all of this, ‘Daddy is right here.’

Sometimes we might think God is distant or quiet. Sometimes we want to feel him closer than we currently do. We might even question where he is during hard times or strange times, but the simple truth is this…’Daddy is right here.’

As Matthew 28:20 reminds us, in the words of Jesus, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”