Joy is like the Rain - HIRD

by the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

I have never felt so grateful for rainfall than when recently watching the TUTS musical Oliver at the Stanley Park Malkin Bowl.  Without our complimentary Theater Under the Stars panchos, we would have been cold and drenched.  It is too easy to take rain for granted.  The smoky Sechelt and Pemberton forest fires reminded us how much we need rain for our very existence.  It was shocking to look up in the North Shore sky and barely see the sun through the thick smoke covering. A couple who live right near Panorama Park told me that Deep Cove had never been so smoky and covered over.  I was reminded of the song ‘Smoke on the Water’ by Deep Purple.

Miriam Therese Winters wrote the song ‘Joy is Like the Rain’ at a very dark time in her life: “I saw rain drops on my window, Joy is like the rain.  Laughter runs across my pane, Slips away and comes again.  Joy is like the rain.” Little did she know that this song would end up being sung by millions of people around the world.

Many blessings in our life come in disguise. Only later do we realize how important they were to our development.  Were you ever taught to count your blessings as a child?  Sometimes that is easy. Sometimes that is very hard. Some families, like in Charles Dicken’s musical Oliver, seem to be flooded with tragedy and hardship.  Oliver was born to a dying mother, sent to an orphanage, and tricked by a pickpocket gang.  Yet in the middle of all this ‘rain’ and tragedy,  Oliver’s grandfather Mr. Brownlow recognized a locket picture of his daughter, and realized that Oliver was actually his grandson.  Joy is like the rain.  Oliver had many blessings in disguise.

God has blessed each of us to be a blessing to others. The rain in our life is meant to bring a rich harvest in other people.  Every blessing in our life is like a birthday present, just waiting to be unwrapped and shared generously with others.  Don't just store your blessings away in your attics.  Blessings are meant to make a difference in the lives of your friends, family, coworkers and neighbours.  Everyone needs to know that they are blessed and loved, that they have a heavenly Father who has a plan for their life.  Jesus loves each of us dearly and wants us to know that no matter how hard life can get, he is for us and not against.

My prayer for those reading this article is that we may realize afresh that joy is like the rain, that the blessings in our life are sometimes right in front of our noses.  What blessings can you be thankful in your life?

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Mission in Canada

-an article for the August 2015 Deep Cove Crier 

-author of the sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit in paperback and ebook.

 

Ten Valentine's Day Tips - HIRD

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

What is Valentine’s Day without love? Dr. Gil Stieglitz, author of Marital Intelligence, says that love is meeting needs.  We feel loved when someone else meets our needs.  They feel loved when we meet their needs. 

Without love, relationships don’t last.  The Great Physician taught that the greatest commandments are all about love: love God and love our neighbour.  Without loving people, we can’t really love God, because God is love.  All the commandments are fulfilled when we love each other.  We are called to do everything in love, to serve one another humbly in love.  Love is called the Royal Law.  Jesus taught that the Ten Commandments given us by Moses are about love.  When we keep the Ten Commandments from our heart, we are being loving. When we break them, we are being unloving.  The Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” is once again about showing love.  The greatest love, said Jesus, was to sacrificially lay down our life for another.   Because Jesus was so full of love, he gave us a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.   Love, says the Good Book, is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  The greatest is love.  Imagine how our world might be different if it was more about giving than taking, more about putting others first ahead of ourselves.  How might that affect Valentine’s Day?

How might love and God’s Ten Tips give us a better Valentine’s Day?  The first two of the Ten Commandments teach us to lovingly say no to idolatry.  When we put another person on a pedestal, they never stay there. They fall off.  On Valentine’s Day, love is about honouring and valuing another person without expecting them to be perfect.  Other humans make poor idols.  They will always disappoint you once the Valentine’s buzz wears off.  They are not God and neither are you.  We’re just human.  A key to a healthy Valentine’s Day is forgiving other’s imperfections.

The third of the Ten Commandments lovingly teaches us to not misuse God’s name.  It is interesting how easily we can be tempted to misuse God’s name when life doesn’t go well.  How we treat God shapes how we treat others.  We need to respect other people’s names, personalities, and unique histories.  Putting down others to make ourselves look better always backfires, especially on Valentine’s Day.

The fourth of the Ten Commandments teach us that workaholism kills relationship both with our spouse and our Creator. Busyness is often relational avoidance.  If we never fully stop, we can never fully be.  We just end up as restless and shallow.  Having a day of rest is key to Valentine’s Day breakthrough.

The fifth of the Ten Commandments teaches us to show love through honouring our father and mother.  Through forgiving our parents when they make mistakes, we are more able to show love to others on Valentine’s Day.  Disrespect is contagious.  So is honour and respect for others.

The sixth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that murder is not loving.  We can murder people’s reputations through gossip and slander.  Love rejects violence especially on Valentine’s Day.  Sadly video games and pornography are becoming more violent, desensitizing many of our younger generation to the importance of gentleness and kindness in our male/female relationships.

The seventh of the Ten Commandments teaches us that adultery is not loving.  We show love through rejecting sexual exploitation.  All humans, being made in God’s image, are of equal worth and value, regardless of background.  Faithfulness particularly in marriage builds loving families and healthy communities.

The eighth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that stealing is not loving.  On Valentine’s Day, we want to be people that can be trusted.  We will not take advantage of others.  We are here to bless and not to hurt.

The ninth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that telling the truth in love is the way to healthy relationship.  When we are deceitful and dishonest, everyone loses, especially on Valentine’s Day.  No one wants to marry someone who can’t be trusted. 

The tenth and final of the Ten Commandments teaches us that coveting destroys loving relationship.  As the Beatles sang, Money can’t buy you love.  Greed dehumanizes and destabilizes.  Love frees, releases, and strengthens.  My Valentine’s Day prayer is that those reading this article will choose the way of love.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

http://stsimonschurch.ca

-an article for the February 2015 Deep Cove Crier

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook ), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just send a $20 cheque (USD/CAN) to ED HIRD, 1008- 555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC, V7N 2J7, Canada.

- In order to obtain a signed copy of the prequel book Battle for the Soul of Canada, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.  This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide :  Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada

You can also download the complimentary Leader's Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide