Image by Creatas Images on Freeimages.com

We are God's instruments, His hands and feet in this world. I find it quite incredible that God chose to use us as His instruments, since He is all-powerful, omnipotent, and He rules the whole world. How gracious is He that His plan to spread the word is through ordinary human beings who have been created by Him.

As I consider my responsibility as one of God's instruments, that I should honour and glorify Him, I can’t help remembering the many times I‘ve fallen short, behaved selfishly, been lax, forgotten about Him or tucked Him away in a back pocket, to be pulled out only when I needed him most. It’s not my intention here to beat myself up in public, but I wanted to get that out of the way before turning this into an uplifting, encouraging blog that hopefully will contain a seed or two for you to take away and enjoy.

To do that, I’ll begin this blog by quoting an inspiring and thought-provoking verse from Ephesians:

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2,10)

The idea expressed here about us being God's instruments, ties in with my last blog, ‘Who’s Plans?’ which is about God’s purpose for our lives.

Most of us like to be so independent, to plan our days, weeks, months and even years according to what we want to do, how we would like to run our lives, in which direction we would like to be moving. Therefore, it’s very refreshing to meet people with totally different priorities, who are so focused on running their lives according to God’s priorities that they literally shine for God.

At our local church, for example, we have so many service teams, people who serve tea, others on the welcome team who greet and smile, making newcomers and regulars alike feel welcome, members of the congregation running Bible study groups, people making sure all the technology goes smoothly, people on the music team. The list of volunteers extends to helping the local community outside the church: we have visiting teams for the elderly and the sick, knitting groups providing blankets for the needy, a food storage space for weekly donations, amongst other initiatives.

However, it is so good to remember in the busyness of carrying out various tasks and responsibilities that we didn’t even plan these ‘good works’ ourselves; that long before we even pour the first cup of coffee after the service, smile at one person coming in at the door, prepare one Bible study session, connect one wire or play one song, that it was God who prepared all these ‘good works’ for us to do in advance. That He actually created us so that we can be His hands and feet in a broken world. And that profoundly, beyond our understanding, we were created ‘in Christ Jesus’, which I find both daunting and encouraging.

For we have an exceptional Master to follow, a Master who lived in this world as we do being tempted in every way, but not ever sinning. Jesus Christ is the ultimate shining example of perfection, and although we will constantly fall short of the high standards He set for us when He lived on this earth more than two thousand years ago, we can attempt to follow in His footsteps.

There is a Sunday school song I used to sing as a small child which is coming to mind now:

Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on.
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Everywhere he leads me I will follow on.

I’ve only just discovered now, all these years later, that there are many words to this hymn and this is only the chorus, but to my recollection, we only used to sing the chorus. But I’m reflecting now on how wonderful it is to commit one’s life to such a perfect Master and role model. And how much better the world would be if more people believed in Jesus and did exactly that: followed Him.

A Christian friend I speak regularly to told me that her group leader said the pendulum is turning. There has certainly been extraordinary things happening to the American youth at certain USA universities.

So as I pray, read my Bible, go into schools, do readings, teach, write and welcome at my church door, I’m going to consciously try to remember that all these ‘works’ have been prepared a long time in advance for me by God himself, and that I am ‘God’s workmanship’, created by Him to carry out His purpose for my life. And I will remember that I am one of many of God's instruments in the world.

If you’re anything like me, you regularly make plans for your life, but whose plans are they?

From a very early age, I was in the habit, on the 31^st December, of making plans for the new year. My standard practice has been to take a long, slow walk, preferably alone, to plan, dream, reflect, think about some important decisions and even plot out a new picture book in my head. Those old year’s eve walks for me have always been very special as they give me some perspective for the future.

Having been a teacher all my working life (I’m still actively teaching for two days in the week to free up some space for my writing), life starts to crowd in with all sorts of demands like lessons to plan, marking to do, strategies to change, particularly with the proliferation of AI everywhere, I sometimes feel that I don’t allocate enough time for reflection, writing and considering other peoples’ needs.

But as I begin yet another new year, my biblical explorations have reminded me that I can make all the plans I like, but it is God’s purposes and plans that prevail.

Who am I to think that I can single-handedly plot out the course of my life, when my times are in His hands, He will use me for His purposes and He holds me in the palm of His hand:

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33,11)

So in  all the pressures of teaching, relationships, looking after my health and the general busyness of life, I need to ensure that I keep focusing on God who ‘will fulfil his purpose for me’ (Psalm 138,8). I need to remember that any gift I have, has been poured out on me by my generous Father, that I can do nothing without Him, that I will be totally ineffective if I don’t pray regularly and earnestly and that I am dependent on Him for fruit.

When my mother was alive (she passed away in 2007 at the good old age of 89 – I had been living with her for six years before this happened), we had occasional conversations about the existence of God, especially after she had attended a church service with me – I remember the pastor being put off by the fact that she regularly fell asleep during his sermon.

She said she found it difficult to believe in God because everything was so complicated, for example, during all the years that the earth has been in existence, billions have people have died. How could a God know everything there was to know about all these people? In her mind, which was a very mathematical mind – she was a brilliant bridge player – the puzzle pieces about the world, life and people just did not fit together.

I believe that many people, like my mother, either find it difficult to believe in God or they make God too small. He is, after all, the creator of the universe! How can we, three score years and ten men and women, possibly understand the mind of such an awesome creator?

A verse from Jeremiah expresses these sentiments better than I can:

O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve. (Jeremiah 32,19)

I am really hoping that this year I will pray more, trust more, hope more as I take one step at a time, one day at a time into my unknown future. But whatever happens this year, I know that God will be watching over me, guiding me through His word and loving me every step of the way.

Whose plans? God’s or mine?

God’s overall plans for the world, for my life, so with the help of the Lord, I will venture into 2026 with hope in my heart and the knowledge that even in possible future daily difficulties, He will be with me as He has promised to never leave me or forsake me.

My prayer for you, my reader, is that you will feel God’s presence in your life this year and in the years to come.

Image by Jayofboy on Freeimages.com

I am hoping that 2026 will be a productive and fulfilling year for everyone who is reading this blog.

For me, it is heralding some exciting changes: changes in my blog content and my messaging. While it’s not completely new content on which I will be focusing – my stated intention of ‘sowing good seeds in the world’ is very clearly stated on this website – I would like to be more intentional about the messages, specifically the Christian ones, that I write about in my blogs.

There is so much content that is based on biblical teachings that I want to share with my readers, especially as I feel that we’re frequently being swamped with the dark and depressing realities of the world around us. So instead, I intend to fill my blogs with uplifting messages of hope, with helpful messages of guidance, of inspiring messages of how to navigate the confusing and unfortunately very often destructive messages millions of people are being surrounded with on a daily basis.

A couple of decades ago while I was still teaching in Johannesburg, I attended a Cesa church in Wendywood where I was part of the music group. At one of our practices, the music director, a guitarist, shared with us a song he’d composed, then played a few cords and challenged us to come up with lyrics which I remember we all did with enthusiasm, one member coming up with one line, the next person with another line, a phrase or even a word and so on until the song was complete.

It was such an exhilarating exercise for me that as soon as I got home, I began experimenting with short combinations of musical phrases on the piano.  A caveat: I’ve never been very competent on the piano – it takes me ages to master a simple song after practising it repetitively – I’m certainly not a natural pianist, but I have to read every single note in order to eventually master a tune.

However, to my great surprise, I did eventually manage to come up with a basic tune I was comfortable with. Then began the satisfying exercise of matching words to notes.

Once again, after much experimentation, I composed a song with the title, ‘Go out into all the world’; the song was inspired by Jesus’ command to His disciples to do exactly that; to share God’s life-giving message of hope and redemption with the world.  My song was simple, both the tune and the lyrics, but I found it an incredibly satisfying activity pouring out my thoughts and feelings both into the words and into the music. Here is the first verse, plus chorus, of this very basic song:

Go out into all the world,
To share the good news with the lost,
That Jesus our Saviour is coming again
Who suffered and died on the cross.

Chorus:
Wake up, look up, and open your eyes
To Jesus our Saviour who offers you life. (Repeat)

The words of that song mirror my motivation for both writing my blogs in 2026 that will hopefully reach many interested readers, and my desire to indeed ‘go out into…the world’ as I visit Cape Town schools where I am offering to do readings of a selection of my books.

I am hoping that you, my blog readers, will be inspired by my positive message around the subjects of love, grace, forgiveness, prayer, hope and concern for other people, amongst others. A couple of years ago, I was writing regular blogs with similar content; I would now like to re-visit those areas of thematic Christian content in my writing.

Every time a hopeful message goes into the world it counters hopelessness; it gladdens hearts and overcomes sadness; it revives and restores faith in the future instead of ruining and quenching expectations about what tomorrow will bring.

So here’s to facing 2026 with hope in our hearts, with trust in the King of Kings and the knowledge that, as the Negro spiritual goes,

He’s got the whole world in His hands.

I have a question for you to consider: what do knee scooters and writing have in common?

Whoever would have guessed that my recent foot surgery would prompt me to think about the writing process?

But first, let me share my story, and then I'll explain what knee scooters have in common with writing.

Anyone ever propelled themselves around the house in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or on a knee scooter? If the answer is ‘yes’, you will probably be able to identify with my hiccups, challenges and modest, but feel-good sense of achievement, when I managed to crack the required skill of knee scooting successfully around my own house.

After recently, having an operation on my right foot, I was given strict instructions that the ground was off limits for my recovering foot, for six weeks.

From the first moment that I put my left foot on one side of my newly acquired knee scooter, tentatively balancing my right knee on the knee pad, I knew I was in for a rocky ride – or rather, scoot. My first foray into the tricky art of steering the scooter was launched with the help of a physio. In the hospital, I learnt to propel myself forward and to reverse, but what I didn’t learn was how to negotiate around tight corners.

That I learnt, by trial and error, at home. Picture a passage with a tight left turn into the bathroom. Imagine manoevering – or rather twisting – a scooter into that narrow space! Oops. You nearly knocked your foot against the wall. And whatever you do, don’t put your foot on the floor as you lower yourself into a seated position. And remember to slide gently sideways onto a box to avoid stabbing your foot into the scooter wheel. And when you wash your hair, make a cosy towel pillow on which to rest your foot before leaning over the basin, propped up by your make-shift towel pillow.

When all your ablutions are done and you scoot along to your kitchen, don’t be too eager: careful, slow movements are recommended.

Making a simple salad has never been more challenging: the bits of lettuce dropped on the floor remain exactly where they fell, together with the naartjie peel from yesterday that didn’t quite make it to the bin; the water to boil your egg has to gingerly slide across the counter onto the hob, and it’s a vigilant stretch to the switch on that stove; the olive packet which you’ve managed to retrieve from the fridge door has to be sliced open at the sink which, unless you’re a contortionist, has to be done sideways.

Success at last! Salad made. Seated at the dining room table. Foot up on an adjacent chair. Lean back to enjoy your meal. Until – it’s time to wash the dishes, so the skilful art of steering your knee scooter begins again.

I can’t help reflecting that knee scooters and writing share certain similarities...

Here's my take on the job of guiding a knee scooter and the process of writing a book:

1. You acquire your brand-new knee scooter (new to you that is, the scooter may actually be secondhand);
   - Similarly, you open your writing ‘tool-box’.
   
2. You tentatively practise your first few scoots - this way, that way, backwards and forwards;
   - Similarly, you haltingly write your first few words.
   
3. You face some obstacles, like menacing walls, and ‘scoot’ your way around tight corners;
   - When writing, you confront some barriers like writer’s block, which you force your way through to the next written word.
   
4. Whilst on your scooter, you drop something on the floor and leave it there;
   - Whilst writing your first paragraph, you ‘drop’ some words, editing them out of your piece.
   
5. Resting on your knee, you stretch across the handlebars to turn on the stove switch;
   - After pausing to rest your brain, you find yourself searching for a new idea as you exercise your imagination.
   
6. When, after all the challenges, your meal is finally made, you relax and enjoy your food;
   - When, after all your mental gymnastics, your piece is finally written, you feel a deep sense of satisfaction that your writing is complete – for now – until your next foray into the world of your imagination.

Happy writing!