Salvation not guaranteed?

At the moment, I am weary of all things Christian, the jargon, the songs, the Bible…

I am literally going through the motions hoping that if I stay inside the 'loop', maybe something will come along and ignite my enthusiasm. As they say of the Lottery, 'You've got to be in it to win it'

One of my closest friends Sheila is reading a book called ‘Heaven Is So Real’, by Choo Thomas. She is on a real spiritual high! My curiosity took me to the author’s website. There was the usual jargon, and then I got to one line that started a chain of thought...

‘Remember, none of our salvations are secure until the end. We must do our best while we have a chance.’

Coming from a deeply religious background, I’d lived many years in permanent guilt. No matter how hard I tried, I could never sustain a good genuine Christian life. Even when my behaviour was all correct, there were still all those sinful inner thoughts. To me God was ‘Big Brother’ who logged everything I did wrong and getting into heaven relied heavily on the status of my Sin’s Balance sheet.
The way things were looking; there was no chance (excuse the pun) in Hell that I’d get to heaven!

Then I heard the good news! Jesus paid the price by dying on the cross to save me. All I had to do was accept that this was true for me and I was sorted! There was no catch, just believe

“What about this good deeds stuff?”
“The Holy Spirit will come to live in you, and will change you from the inside. You’ll find that your desire to do wrong things will start to fade away”

No other religion offered such guarantees and so I threw in my lot with the Christians!

I can’t tell you how relieved I was. It felt like a burden had been lifted and I was now free to live secure in the knowledge I am loved of God and that He would take me to heaven when I died!

It WAS a good deal!

You see security is very important to me! I’ve had so little of it in my life! I don’t trust people or things easily. To trust someone I’ve never seen or heard… TO TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD… is a big step for me.

I don’t like signing up to things only to discover that the rules have been changed, or that there was some small print that I wasn’t told about!

Of course there is the ‘you reap what you sow’ principle in Christianity whereby all behaviour, good or bad, has consequences. I understand that this applied to my time while on earth as a part of every day living
But not on the SALVATION thing! I believed that to be a DEFINITE, a NON NEGOTIABLE that could not be affected by anything I said or did!

What’s the point then in being a Christian if my salvation, according to Choo Thomas, is down to my behaviour? That means I’ll never make it! No one can make it! Why would God raise my expectations only to dash them to the ground! It just goes so totally against the grain of His character to break His word. (At least from what I’ve read about Him in the Bible)

If I can’t trust God, then what’s the point of life?

What will the Bazungu think of next?

Everyone I showed this picture to thought it was a wind up, probably something set up by Channel 4. Michelle at work said

"You'll go in, then some guy will pop out from behind the counter and say, 'Smile you're on Candid camera"

Yati and I decided to do a bit of investigating. Just before we entered we checked for any hidden camera men, TV Vans... that kind of thing...

All Clear (Mission Impossible theme music)

First thing you notice is the wet doggy smell (urghh). I whipped out my camera and started taking photos. Yati (the look out) was giggling nervously. There were 2 basins, hoses on either side with a set of instructions above them. Vending machines dished out gloves, soap, treats for £3 a pop (pricey!!!).

The most interesting thing was the 'Pee pole' in one corner where dogs can take a leak, and then owners flush it!!

So what if they want to do a 'Number 2?'

Just as we were about to make our getaway, a girl came out from the back door. I checked to see that she was not being followed by a TV crew before asking, "How is business?" "Great" "Tee hee hee hee"(Yati)

It is a weird concept, but it is clearly working.

Innovative...

Different...

I wish I'd thought of that!!!

Cheer Up!

As a melancholic I am pessimistic by nature and tend to focus on the darker side of life. Almost like Marvin from Douglas Adams, 'Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy' (ok not as bad). You know in the movies when the hero is in a tight situation, there's always the one whimpering in the corner saying
'It's no use! We are all going to die!!!'

That would be me!

Come to think of it, Marvin was abandoned by the group because they found him really depressing!

The other day a customer at the restaurant asked me to read an inscription 'OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE'

Me: "Opportunity is no where"
Customer: "No read it again!"
Me: "Opportunity is no where" (privately thinking 'Idiot! Doesn't he know I've got other customers to serve?)
Customer: ' Nooooo, read it again... slowly!'
Me, "Opportunity is"... penny drops... "NOW HERE?"

You see?

The thing is, people who complain really BUG me! But is that because they remind me of myself!
In Britain there is this culture of complaining (or moaning as we call it) and people find it all so...normal! If someone is too cheerful and optimistic, there is an automatic assumption that they are either naive or insincere. You almost feel that it is your duty to burst their bubble or expose them for what they really are! The kind of humour I like (and most Brits) is sarcastic or very satirical in nature. But if you look at it really closely - isn't that just negativity dressed up in clever words?

Life has been going great for me! Some people would count me as VERY lucky - especially fellow Ugandans! So why then is my cup still half empty?
... the debt; poor track records with relationships; a dead end job; the fact that I own only 40% of my flat...
When I should actually be thankful that at least I've got credit facilties and TIME to pay off the debt. And even though I don't have a boyfriend, I've still got very good friends. At least I have a job and a roof over my head!

Perspective!

I'm really trying this year to focus on the bright side of life! Obviously means I will be much quieter - especially when I feel the urge to complain! Bite my tongue when I come across those annoyingly optimistic people and try to join in with the cheer instead of giving my negative take on things. I will also give myself loads of pep talks in a bid to drive away those negative thoughts!

Let's see how long I can sustain it. After all old habits die hard... (and the pessimism's just made a reappearance)

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Never Give Up

My 6 year old niece said something very profound to me last weekend. I’d been struggling to open one of those little balls dispensed out of vending machines located mostly at amusement arcades and outside off licences. This is supposed to be a KIDS toy, but is sooooo hard to open! After 10 minutes of struggling with a knife, my teeth and all other implements I could get my hands on – including waitress, I handed it back to my niece saying, "I am defeated! I can’t open it!”

She refused to take it saying, “Aunty Kim, Never give up!”

I looked at her in shocked surprise and she repeated, “Never give up!”

With a renewed sense of determination, I grabbed the ball back and, Hey Presto opened it like in 10 seconds!

Sometimes kids can speak such wisdom. I’m not saying my niece is the new King Solomon – so please don’t flock to my door in search for the answer to all life’s questions. She was probably repeating by rote something she has heard from her Mom.
My sister is like that! The tenacious one. Probably explains why she is the most successful in our family! I’ve seen it in her education, projects, work ethic, businesses, and her kids! She’d keep pushing at something and only give up if it was beyond repair or completely dead!
She inspires me!
Perhaps this is something to start 2007 with! Never Give up!