Rust Disease

As promised, here's my second installment for you.

Rust Disease

It's ironic that at exactly the same time this virus began, my raspberry plot seemed to be overtaken by something called 'rust disease'.   As I've been focusing on defeating this highly contagious disease, I've been thinking about some parallels, as I often do when I'm gardening.   Firstly, the plot looked healthy and was bearing fruit, functioning well when this disease was unknowingly spreading on the underside of the leaves.  The outer appearance looked fine until the rust disease eventually began to make itself known turning the leaves yellow and the fruit speckled with an orange powder. The only solution is to pick off every infected leaf, burn them or remove the entire plant if its been totally overrun.   When Covid19 erupted, so much of our world and its habits seemed to be spinning out of control.  Scientists have been sending out warnings that if we didn't address our selfish ways urgently then our planet's future would be impossible to turn around. Making money and building economies have taken precedence over having a healthy planet for all of us to live on.  Its amazing how a virus could force us to stop like nothing else.   Lakes and rivers are being given a rest, our skies are quiet and the oil industry is having to slow down.  Even the alarming issue of wildlife markets is finally under the hammer.   The worldwide church seems to be waking up to praying more than before.  Families are slowing down and having much needed downtime with each other.  

Have we been given this unique opportunity to reassess our rushed, distracted, 'confetti' juggling lives and remember what matters most?  I'm not underestimating the stress this has created for so many who have lost their jobs and are facing various uncertainties etc.  I'm trying my hardest to remember the good that may come and is coming out of this time of waiting.  My plot looks sad and vulnerable right now after losing 80% of its leaves but it now has a chance to breathe and the regrowth has been springing up remarkably quickly after many back breaking hours of tending its well being.  I'm hoping that as we stand together in the communities we're in and help as many as we possibly can through this crisis, that we will come out of this with new regrowth, better fruit and a world that is changed for the better.  

Thoughts in Lockdown

Hi everyone out there who may sometimes click on this sporadic blog.

I've had so many thoughts about this time we're experiencing in history...the first time so many people have been locked down and impacted together (208 countries to date), more-so than any even World War 2 (190 countries). I'm planning on blogging 3 installments in the next couple of weeks...the one below about too much quail and the effects of moaning. The next one is about the wilderness which I hope will encourage you and bring you some reassurance. The third one is about rust disease...if you haven't heard about it before then please read my post in the next couple of weeks.

Overdosing of social media...could it be a cure? 
One thing that demotivates me to blog is the thought that blogging has gone on the back burner as instagram, tik tok, facebook, twitter, snapchat etc etc have taken off and seem to distract all of us with their serotonin powers. Now that we are all hemmed inside, our need for social media still continues unabated but maybe some of us have more time to read in these weeks of being inside...

As we are now moreso dependable on the web and all of its entertainment and mindless scrolling, but without our in-person community, it made me wonder whether it could be possible for one to have an overdose of online addictions to the degree that one gets sick of them? There's an example when this happened in the old testament. While the Israelites were in exile they started moaning and asking for more than their daily manna, so God gave them quail.  God gave them quail, quail, quail until the thing they most desired became the very thing they would loathe  "Although the Lord gave the Israelites quail, He was displeased with their grumbling and their ungrateful words against Him. He told Moses to tell them, “The Lord heard you when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18–20). When we come out of this, could it be possible that we'll all put down our phones and focus on the real people around us, knowing how much we missed community, hugs, eye to eye contact, fun together? I pray that this could be possible, although I know it may sound naive.   

The effect of moaning against the effect of gratitude
While we're in this time of being hemmed in, its interesting how each morning our attitudes can swerve from hope to despair, from fear to faith, from being motivated to demotivated, from complaining to trying hard to be thankful. Its been really hard for our teens to stay positive, understandably due to so much disappointment, plans changing, uncertainty etc etc. I'm trying out a 'glad game' challenge like the lovely Pollyanna...sounds young I know, but it does work so please give it a whirl. I've asked all of my fellow inmates to try to say thanks in their mind for simple things they do throughout the day...for eg. thanks that I have water to drink, thanks that I have my family with me, thanks that I have pets, thanks that I can still work in the garden, thanks for my neighbours' laughter and music, thanks that MAF care for our well being and are looking at contingency plans etc, thanks that the British Embassy are also checking on us, thanks for electricity and gas, thanks for my family and friends who are praying, thanks that we're all being held still for more than we know.   We can all think of something that we can give thanks for....even if it's for brushing our teeth. Our minds will be healthier for it and this exercise, although it sounds simple, will elevate our moods and make us much nicer people to be around for our fellow prisoners or if we're on our own, those we talk to. The opposite effect is when we give way to moaning, we start to repel people, we lose hope, negativity starts its paralysis and we become positively ineffective.    

Weighing up Covid19
Our world is experiencing a paradigm shift which we cant yet estimate the effects of, where it will take us or whether we can recover from most of the globe being brought to a standstill for more than a month. We're now in Uganda without any options to fly out and we're watching each night the cases going up by a few each day (currently on the 6th April at 55). We're on our knees praying that this virus stays away from the very poorest in the world who have no alternatives, no options, no back up, no safety nets. Also that a solution is found quicker than predicted when its affecting the entire planet.  Saying this, the third world deal with a much greater killer everyday. The death toll of people dying of hunger is a shocking 25,000 everyday which currently would match Covid19's death toll over 3.5 months in just 3 days. 405,000 people died of malaria in 2018 with 280 million cases.  Uganda has been dealing with a much deadlier killer, Ebola, over the last 3 years lurking just over the border and on top of this they are coping with AIDS, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever and the list goes on and on. And yet, COVID19 has been filling Ugandans, and all of the world with fear as we watch the worldwide death toll every night and read endless articles about the way its spreading.  Ironically, now that the poor community have had their livelihoods put on hold, the daily death toll of hunger will rise while we address getting this contagion under control and its hard to know how the global economy will recover from this epic lockdown. Its all very perplexing.

Pass Over us Lord

I don't think its a coincidence that this is all happening while we're going through Lent and coming up to Easter and Passover. I received one word from a friend drawing out the significance of UK lockdown starting on the 26th March and ending on the 16th April.  They pointed out that Isaiah 26 vs 20 says 'Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His indignation has passed by.' Uganda's President quoted this verse the same night I had just read these words. This year Passover ends on the 16th April, hopefully the same night UK's lockdown ends, unless it ends up extended. Regardless, the Passover story has come to life in this time when we are looking at what the Lord's blood represents...His covering over the doorways of our homes to protect us from the death angel passing over....His love is able to watch over those who cry out to Him...'Hosanna' or  quite literally, 'Save us'. 'For love is as strong as death, jealously as unrelenting as the grave. the fiercest blaze of mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.' Solomon 8:6  He knows how to save us from this pandemic, but the concern of our Father is the way our world has been turning away from Him..the sickness within our souls is way more of a concern to Him then this virus which will pass. Let's stop moaning, blaming our leaders or any country and just stop....turn to Him and ask Him where we've gone wrong, for He promises 'If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' 2 Chron 7:14  This is an antidote laid out for us thousands of years ago that is of grave importance.  

The Word is coming to life through this strange and uncomfortable time...Isaiah, Hosea and many of the prophets seem so relevant. I wanted to end with this one from Nahum to hopefully bring you comfort. 'Who can stand before His indignation?  Who can endure the heat of His anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire, and by Him the rocks are broken in pieces. The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in a rushing flood.'   Nahum 1:6.   

One of the most magnificent sunrises I've seen over Kampala was on 22nd March
when we heard the news of Uganda's first Covid19 case

If you would like to watch a short video online of our first day of restrictions in Uganda, please click on https://youtu.be/_CW9wQ1WCDo

Be strong and lift up your heads...

Love the Vines in Kampala