Apple-Eye

“In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye…”

Deuteronomy 32:10

The phrase ‘the apple of my eye’ dates back pre-Shakespeare to as early as AD885. It’s a phrase used to refer to someone or something that is cherished above all else and it appears a handful of times in Scripture.

Its use in the Bible comes from the Hebrew, ‘the little man of the eye’. Looking into someone’s eye you see your reflection shining back – you are the ‘little man’ in their eye. To see yourself as the apple of one’s eye means you need to be up close and personal.

Our little girl is four and she often refers to herself as Daddy’s “apple-eye”. She knows that she is the apple of her Father’s eye and with this knowledge comes significance, security and a strong sense of her self-worth. She will bound into our bedroom early in the morning announcing, “Daddy, Apple-Eye is here…” Our daughter knows that as her Father’s apple-eye he is always pleased to see her, he delights to know what’s on her heart and is quick to envelop her close if she has fallen or is sad.

Your eye is also one of the most vulnerable parts of your body – to protect it you need to blink or turn away from a ball or a blow (as evidenced in the Australian/England cricket match last night)! So to be the apple of someone’s eye also means they’re going to protect you in your vulnerability.

My little girl has confidence to step out and try new things when her Daddy is near. She knows that her Daddy has got her back and will shield and care for her, she knows that he will guard her. Why? She knows she is precious to him. She knows that in her vulnerability, her Daddy will look after her, and that he is ‘mighty to save’. She knows she’s his apple-eye.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”
Psalm 17:8

Did you know that you are the apple of your Heavenly Father’s eye? You are treasured, valued and prized beyond your comprehension. Come to the Father this week knowing that Jesus, the crowning apple of the Father’s eye, took on the greatest vulnerability and received the ultimate estrangement because you were worth it.

You, my friend, are God’s apple-eye.

Winning at Granola

Homemade granola and yogurt for breakfast?  

Surely this is a check me out winning at life post…  

Not so much.  But we’ll get to the granola.

Considering only yesterday I was talking about the desire to be real and honest on social media but not being sure how to go about it without turning a post into “let’s all feel sorry for me” I find it delightful that today I can share how life isn’t always peachy.

So.  We’re attempting to emigrate.  The kids and I got our visas this morning - win!  Except it has a condition on it that would mean we’d need to leave the UK before the end of the school term - lose!  That would mean missing weddings, family holidays, precious time booked with loved ones before we go.  It’s not the end of the world in that we will be able to change the dates (probably) for a fee (per person).  On top of solicitor stuff for selling a house, children management (who knew it was such hard work - their socials lives are crazy), lack of sleep, full on husband schedule at the moment, this was kinda the last thing I wanted to receive.  Another hurdle, another set of paperwork, another job to add to the very long list, another cost... 

So what’s the granola about?  Well - my granola (despite being delicious) was supposed to be more like granola slices / flapjack style baked goods for the kids bake off competition at school today.  It didn’t work.  My culinary skills were not up to scratch and so granola slices became granola.  I could have posted about lovely granola - that wouldn’t have been the full story.

Here’s the lesson in it.  It’s not about if life deals you bad days or things go wrong.  Things will go wrong.  Stuff will break, things won’t work, people will let you down, visas will have the wrong dates on them, granola slices won’t set...  What matters is what you do in those moments.  How you look at a situation and take what you have to turn it into something good.  Broken slices don’t have to stay broken slices, they can be shaken up, redistributed, stuck back in the oven and become a delicious granola.  Life doesn’t always happen the way we want it to or expect it to, but we do have a choice with what we’ve been given, and we are responsible for our attitude in those moments.  And sometimes, working with the broken pieces that we’ve got can actually lead to something else that is beautiful in its own right.

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The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. 

Psalm 28:7

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10