The Last Resort

The Last Resort

Our family lived on a rugged Australian sheep property in the picturesque southern Highlands of our state. Our country cottage overlooked a sun kissed lake whose waters sparkled of thousands of diamonds and mirrored a reflection of the overhead skies. The lake attracted a large variety of birds, soaring above the waters, coming in to gracefully land and feeding endlessly in it’s expanse. It’s depths held an array of an assortment of water life from silver-scaled fish to the shimmering dragon flies hovering over it’s glistening surface. 

Living happily in the lake was the Australian Eastern Long Necked Turtle. These cute turtles, whose dark, burnished shells grow to about 25 centimeters in length, moved calmly in the lake’s waters, feeding slowly, yet deliberately as they swim. On radiant, sunny days, the turtle’s beady eyes could be seen bobbing slightly above the surface, webbed feet splayed out as the turtles would float in the warmth of the surface waters, basking in the rays of the sun.

All around the scraggy edges of the lake were fenced paddocks. The wired fence lines with rough, hand cut, wooden posts, would run the length of the paddock and down into the lake itself, disappearing under it’s surface. In a  severe drought, as the level of the lake would drop, the fence line would continue to hold the sheep and cattle in their designated areas. There is nothing a turtle enjoys more than a stock fence wire strung just above the surface of the water. It afforded an opportunity for the ultimate sun baking experience as the turtles would awkwardly pull themselves up onto the fence line, balancing  on their  hardened shells precariously and remaining very still to absorb the warmth of the sun. The wire was a double twisted strand studded with sharp barbs. The turtles would have to clamber on cautiously between the barbs to avoid being hooked onto the fence.

Our daughters grew up around the delightful lake, observing it’s diverse animal life and canoeing in exploration across it’s brackish waters. One warm, summers day our girls discovered a turtle on the wire of the fence line. However, the turtle was not balancing on it’s creamy yellow bottom shell but was hanging rather perilously by one webbed claw above the inviting waters below. The turtle had attempted everything to free itself. It had pulled and tugged at it’s claw only to find itself securely held in place. No amount of swinging it’s impenetrable shell could maneuver it’s foot from that barb. Every dauntless attempt to freedom was futile. The turtle was stranded upside down, dangling by it’s claw in an impossible situation. My girls attempted in vain to extract the turtle from the barb but the turtle fought courageously against any help. In desperation our daughters paddled the swift canoe vigorously back to it’s landing place and sought the help of their father. He quickly jumped into the canoe, island style, standing in it’s middle and paddling strenuously on a rescue mission to the helpless turtle. He was able to reach down and deftly unhook the turtle’s now dried and shriveled claw off the barb and release it back into the murky waters. 

I stopped to think about how many times I have been like that turtle stuck in an impossible situation with apparently no solution . I struggle valiantly on, going over and over the problem in my mind, trying to solve the dilemma, only to finally stop and say “I guess I can only pray.” Why is prayer often the last resort? Why don’t I always pray first? Why isn’t it instantly in my mind to seek the help of the Divine problem solver? Why do I dangle helplessly over the waters of life unable to extract myself out of something when all along God wants to come and rescue me, if only I would ask. Why do we as Christians hang our heads in consternation, shaking them at a loss as we tell one another that all we can do is pray? 

Phil 4:6, 7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing

A Bouquet of Love

A Bouquet of Love

It had been a hectic Friday and finally the day was ending and the Sabbath was drawing peacefully near. I had been so busy that it had completely slipped my mind that one of my husband’s clients was planning to drop by our house to pass something onto him. I was quietly relaxing at the end of the day, lounging around in my comfortable pyjamas, when an unknown car pulled up into our drive way. Suddenly I remembered the client’s promise to drop in and I sprang up realising I was in my pyjamas and probably not in quite the right attire to answer the front door. My husband attended to the knock as I exited hastily out of the main part of the house and up the hallway into the privacy of our bedroom. I was waiting for his client to leave as soon as she had  passed the necessary item onto my husband, when he came up the hallway towards me carrying the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. My first words were to question why his work client bought me flowers. My husband told me it wasn’t his work client at the front door. Now I was really confused. Where had the flowers come from? Who was at the front door after all?  He quickly explained that I had received a delivery from a florist and the client was yet to drop by. I knew the flowers were not from my husband as he seemed just as intrigued as I was. Who would be sending me such beautiful flowers? Suddenly I knew who they were from and before even reading the card I promptly and excitedly took a photo of them and sent it off to my best friend, who lives far away in the USA. I was still in complete surprise and totally awed by the gift when I enthusiastically opened the pretty card to read the message of friendship. My guess was right.My phone sounded and my best friend was just as excited as me. She had been patiently waiting all day for the flowers to be delivered. 

I was in amazement at the gesture of love and kindness shown towards me. The flowers were exceptionally spectacular. The roses were wine glass roses; huge goblet shaped flowers, with a lovely scent and delicately tinted in pink. Surrounding the dazzling roses were charming gerberas of different shades of pink, nestled among an assortment of greenery. The box of flowers was a visual array of a palette of pink. Pink is my favourite colour and I felt transported to heaven in a delight of a blush of flowers.

I was gazing at the flowers in wonder, admiring each tiny detail of their gentle petals, inhaling the pleasure of their aroma, when I thought of my precious friend. How much she must love me to send such an unexpected gift of joy at great expense. My eyes filled with tears to think of her far away yet still pouring her love into my heart through the beauty of flowers. 

It was then that God brought to my mind a paragraph in the book Steps to Christ p10         “ ‘God is love’ is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green—all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy.” 

How often I had read that paragraph and thought about it’s meaning only to find the depth of it eluded me. Now as I gazed in awe and wonder at the perfection of beauty and the love in the gift I understood the paragraph in a deeper sense. My eyes again filled with tears at the thought of a loving heavenly Father who loved me so much that He has showered upon me gifts of beauty. All around for me to enjoy, I see the works of His hands, the graceful flowers of varied hues, the colourful birds singing so sweetly and the trees of living green waving gently in the breeze. These are gifts to me given out of a heart filled with love. 

Do I see His love around me? Do I sense the warmth of His heart? Do I love Him in response to the glories of His gifts. God has surprises wrapped with love all around me? Do I stop to excitedly delight in them?

Psalm 104:24 - O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth is full of your riches.

The Unopened Parcel

The Unopened Parcel

My husband and I travelled from Australia to New Zealand, meeting up with two of our adult daughters, to then spend some time with my husband’s family and to attend our nephew’s wedding. The first week in New Zealand we enjoyed with our family, while our nephew James played tour guide for us. He kindly drove us around to see the interesting city sights of Christchurch, the beaches of ashen sand and to entertaining street markets where we could enjoy buying souvenirs. 

I love buying presents and being in another country just gave me another opportunity to be able to pour my love into family and friends by buying New Zealand souvenirs for them all. I started at the street market stalls and then spied a shop titled “Souvenirs”, which I found was an Aussie shoppers paradise. With much delight and joy I picked up item after item, Maori hand carved bone and wooden articles, t-shirts, base ball caps, pens, stuffed toys, mugs, key rings and much more. With loving thought, prayer and planning I chose many gifts. 

Finally our pleasurable holiday in New Zealand was over. I had continued, while touring the south Island after my nephews wedding, to take advantage of delightfully buying even more presents until I had a bag bulging with souvenirs. We flew back to Australia and with much eagerness I planned on giving my gifts to their recipients.

One parcel of presents was assigned to a family in the USA. Each present had been lovingly chosen and thoughtfully wrapped and with flourishes of ribbon adding a final touch. Clutching a copy of the address, I took the gifts to the post office, placed them in a box and sent them on their way. With much eagerness and anticipation I waited for the day they would arrive and thought of the joy the family would receive upon their arrival.

Finally the day came and the parcel arrived. It was carried into the house and talked about with much expectation and a skype meeting was in the planning so the family could open the gifts online with me. Alas, however, plans were suddenly and unexpectedly  rearranged. Extended family members who were arriving to stay for a while appeared earlier than previously thought and all arrangements to open the parcel on skype was put on hold. 

Hour after hour as extended family members came and went filling the house up with much chatter, laughter, meals and time of togetherness, the parcel remained unopened. Hours turned into days and days turned into weeks. Finally family dwindled away, the house resumed normality and time was made to just sit and enjoy opening the parcel on skype. What fun we had as each present was opened and I shared the stories of how I bought it, where I bought it and why I bought it. Smiles and joy and happiness abounded as each gift of love from me was opened and cherished. My heart was filled with overflowing to see the pleasure the family gained from the gifts.

That unopened parcel reminded me so much of the gifts from God. When I chose Jesus to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord of my life I received from Him the gift of salvation. It was like a parcel with many gifts wrapped up inside. God doesn’t just want me to be saved eternally and have that *parcel* in my hands, He has also enjoyed pouring His love into me and wrapping up many gifts that come with the parcel of salvation. His gifts are full of His love and He wants me to unwrap them and treasure them and enjoy them. The Bible tells us of the gift of the Holy Spirit, of the gift of faith, repentance, the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, gifts of healing, teaching, evangelizing, languages, discernment, prayer, the gift of  prophecy, miracles, joy, forgiveness, encouragement and more. The bible tells us of many gifts all loving wrapped by God who wants to do so much more than just give us salvation. He wants us to have a life of abundant joy and to be able to share that joy with others. Do I hold in my hands God’s unopened parcel? Do I dare to open the parcel and see all that God has given to me? Will I unwrap the gifts?

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Glorious in Splendour

Glorious in Splendour

It was a sunny, cool, spring day.Perfect weather to visit Sydney’s Taronga zoo by the harbour. My friend, Lisa,  and I are both animal lovers and we were very keen to go and enjoy the variety of animals at this world class zoo. My favourite animals are giraffes and meerkats. Lisa’s favourite animal is the lion. As we studied the map of the zoo we worked towards a plan of winding our way around the zoo heading early on past the giraffes, stopping at the seal show, the bird show, heading past the meerkats until we were finally in the Big Cats section of the zoo. With the cool weather we were hoping the animals would be playful and easily seen. With much pleasure we toured slowly past koalas,  chimpanzees, elephants, penguins and a variety of other animals. The day was warming up slightly when we finally made it to the Big Cats section. Here we could view tigers, snow leopards and the lions. Lisa was so excited. We left the main walkway and followed the pathway into the Big Cats area. Gazing into the lion yard we could clearly see through the glass, several tawny toned lionesses sunning themselves sleepily. We took photos and spent some time enjoying them. We wondered where the lion was and we looked hopefully through the foliage to catch a glimpse of him, but to no avail. We decided to move on and come back again later. As we continued around the zoo we were getting tired and worn out. We had a walked a long way. It was now getting closer to the time when we would leave, so we decided to head back to the lions. I left Lisa on the main pathway and told her I would follow the footpath into the Big Cats area and if I saw the lion I would come back and get her. That way Lisa could rest a few minutes and not have to walk excessively. As I came to the lion cage I was very excited. There just several metres away was a magnificent lion sleeping in the sun. Tiredness was all forgotten. I started running and calling out, “Lisa!!!!” Suddenly her tiredness was erased from her mind and body and together we hurried in anticipation back to the lion cage. There sprawling in splendour was the lion. We were struck with awe at his beauty and as we watched he started to move. He slowly sat up. In his full regal magnificence he looked fully at Lisa. He was spectacular to behold. He was resplendent in his noble and kingly bearing. His colouring was a rich golden brown and his impressive mane held a variety of hues from flaxen to black. The joy of that moment in time has been imprinted on our souls. 

The lion is a glorious animal, a symbol throughout history and folklore of power, courage and nobility. The Bible uses this symbol of the lion to represent Jesus.

Rev 5:4,5 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals."

The Bible says that Jesus is King of Kings in Revelation 19:16 “... He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

As a king Christ will one day end this world of suffering and sin and set up an eternal kingdom of peace and righteousness. 

As I ponder the kingship and authority of Jesus I am called to question my own heart. Is Jesus King of my life? Does He have sole authority to which I surrender myself in love and adoration to His reigning goodness? Is *self* still on the throne of my heart?Am I trying to co-reign with Jesus? Am I fully surrendered in all areas of my life to my Lord and My King?

“Lord, thank you that You created me and gave me life. You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well. I praise You that I was created for good things. Help me to be renewed in the image of You, my creator. I know You made me to be so much more than I am now and that You will help me become all You created me to be. Thank you Jesus, that You are the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.Lord, You are King and Lord over all my life. I surrender everything I have to You because I recognize that every good thing I have has been given to me by You as a sign of your goodness, mercy, and love. Thank you that You are my provider and You provide everything I need."  A Book of Prayer p153 by Stormie Omartian

The Shut Door

The Shut Door

We were on a long drive of several hours from Sydney International Airport back to our home. We had picked up my friend who had flown in from a long fourteen hour flight from San Francisco. After driving for several hours we really needed to stop and use the rest rooms. We located a small petrol station that had restrooms. My friend, Lisa, and I went to the one and only female rest room and stopped at the door. It was shut and the vacant/ engaged dial was slightly turned. We waited and waited. No one came out. Lisa stepped closer to the door. She listened carefully. She was sure she could hear running water. I was sure I could hear it too. “Oh good,” we said, “ She is washing her hands.” We waited and we waited. Lisa kept announcing the running water and we kept waiting. Then we started to doubt. Maybe it was just a leaking toilet we could hear. Maybe we were  mistaken. Lisa tried to turn the door knob but it wouldn’t turn. It appeared to be locked. So we waited and waited some more.  By now we were really looking longingly at the rest room door and starting our own little dance. Then I finally looked at the door and discovered a sign on it. It read “Please ask staff for the key to the public rest room”. We discussed the issue of the key. There was no lock on the door in which one could insert a key. So we waited and waited some more. Eventually it dawned on me that maybe asking the staff for the key even when it appeared illogical was a good idea. Off to the counter I went and asked. The friendly staff quickly explained that the door was not locked and all one had to do was push on the door. I went back to Lisa, who was pacing beside the rest room door, and with a great flourish I stood beside the door and with one push of my hand the door was open revealing an empty rest room. We laughed so much about that incident. 

That funny experience made me stop and consider God’s word. How often do I have a problem and then try and think of the many different ways to solve it, but all to no avail? Do I come to God’s Word and stop to read the “Instructions” that will enable me to know how to solve the problem? Do I read the “Instructions” and then to my finite mind they appear to not agree with my own reasoning? Why not read the “Instructions” and go straight to the One who wrote the “Instructions” and receive His wise counsel?

God calls to me to come and talk things over with Him. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD...”

Isa 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.”

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him.

Gold Fish and the Tank of Death

Gold Fish and the Tank of Death

I love fish, pet fish. I love gold fish and I love fresh water, tropical fish and I love Beta fish. Two years ago I ventured into the unknown world of the home aquarium. It all started one Sunday at the local markets. I fell in love with a tank full of gold fish and joyfully I selected two comets that were excitedly looking at me and just asking to be bought. I borrowed a friend's old fish tank, cleaned it up, purchased pretty coloured stones for the bottom  and even bought a plant to make the fish feel at home. Alas, those fish died and so did the next lot of gold fish and the next. I started to feel like I was a fish murderer. By now we had progressed from a borrowed tank to our own purchased fish tank. Then started the  *Research Project*. Going from pet shop to pet shop, that specialised in fish, my friend and I asked question after question. It was here we discovered that a fish tank must “cycle”. A tank needs to mature in their levels of bacteria and nitrates to allow the fish to thrive in their enclosed environment. I hastened this process along with the purchase of a product called Start Smart which added the necessary bacteria to the tank. Now my fish were growing, staying alive and even thriving. They were named. Joseph was a beautiful Black Moor, who interestingly enough, slowly turned a flaming orange colour, and Rachel was a gorgeous golden comet. Over the space of several years we ventured from gold fish to fresh water tropical fish and even into Beta Fish. Eventually we had five different fish tanks full of brightly coloured fish. I regularly cleaned the fish tanks in such a way as to not disturb the bacteria cycle, which I checked weekly through a Ph testing kit.

In my laundry cupboard are a stack of white cloths I use for a variety of household cleaning. I clean something and then I pop the cloth immediately into the wash. I also use these same cleaning cloths to wipe the algae off the inside of the fish tanks each week. One week I was working my way through the fish tanks cleaning them one by one, starting with my gold fish tank. I was taking their filters out to clean, Ph testing the water, topping the water levels up (which included adding a special chemical to the water to make it fish friendly), adding some bacterial drops to the water and of course wiping the inside of the tank clean of the algae. Approximately an hour after cleaning the fish tanks my goldfish, Joseph and Rachel, started to swim with their bodies slightly tilted. Very quickly they belly sided up and were trying to struggle around the tank upside down, gasping as they went. Slowly they sank to the bottom of the tank and there they died. I was shocked and in grief. It was so sudden. I looked at the other tanks and the fish were alive and thriving. What had I done to make a difference in the gold fish tank to their environment that would annihilate them so quickly?

Several hours later I realised my terrible mistake. I had not used a clean cloth in wiping the algae off the tanks. I had used a cloth I had previously used only once, with a little bit of window cleaner on our bathroom mirror. I had not placed that cloth immediately into the wash. A tiny amount of cleaning fluid still on the cloth poisoned my entire tank. The other fish tanks were fine because the gold fish tank had absorbed all the cleaning product. I had killed my poor fish.

I pondered the thought of what I had done and I realised how much that reminded me of an unforgiving heart. God calls  us to forgive others and He empowers us to do so but when we don’t allow Him to work forgiveness in our lives towards others it becomes a bitterness deep inside of us. Sometimes we are not even aware of it’s existence. It becomes like the cleaning product on my cloth seeping it’s way through the entire tank until it’s deadly poison works to kill life itself. An unforgiving spirit brings bitterness, resentment, anger, jealousy and hate into our hearts. It affects not only our thoughts and our words, our spiritual experience, but even our physical health. Have I got unforgiveness deep in my heart? Do I see the fruit of it in my words, thoughts and my attitudes.  May my prayer be “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”Ps 139:23, 24

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Eph 4:31,32

Wrong Directions

Wrong Directions

My husband grew up in New Zealand and moved to Australia as a young man. We had visited New Zealand twenty five years ago and we had not been back since, until several weeks ago. Our nephew was getting married and an invitation to attend the wedding came our way. With great excitement we planned our trip. We would spend one week with our family and we would spend one week touring the south Island. Two of our three adult daughters would be able to fly over at different times and would also meet up with the family for the wedding. For months before the trip I was busy planning with military precision where we would stay, where we would visit and printing maps off Google Maps NZ. This was going to save $75 on hiring a GPS to go with the car hire. Finally the day arrived and we landed at Christchurch airport, joyfully our nephew and his family met us, and we were able to hire our car and locate our accommodation with ease. The city had changed considerably since my husband had lived there, with the added transformation of  large portions of the city’s major buildings having disappeared in the earthquake of 2011. His sense of direction was gone. We were reliant on my printed google maps. 

On our first full day in Christchurch we planned to drive thirty minutes out of the city into the picturesque country side to a small town to visit another nephew and his family. Our youngest daughter had already flown in the previous week and she was enjoying staying at their house. With trusty google maps in hand and the directions written down on how to get from our accommodation to their house, we set off down Blenheim road, a main road in town. None of the directions seemed to match up with the streets we were seeing. Where was the round about we were meant to turn at? Where was the road we were meant to go down? Up and down a several mile section of Blenheim road we drove. We ventured off in the general direction of the country town that was to be our destination but we quickly returned to the familiar area just outside our accommodation. 

We decided to return to where we were staying and take a second look at google maps. Sure enough, when we double checked, we discovered that I had typed in the wrong street number for our addressWon. I had typed in 103 Blenheim road when it should have been 308. I had placed our location  on the wrong side of the road several miles away. As a result none of the directions in the very beginning for getting from Blenheim road to the road that led to the country town were accurate when we tried to follow them.

It made me ponder about God and His word. When I pick up God’s Word it gives me the directions for life. It shows me the path to take and the destination that is mine. Do I come to the Bible with preconceived ideas of who I think God is? Do I read the Bible looking for my beliefs to be validated? Can I find myself led astray or not understanding the Bible simply because I came to it with my own understanding? Am I willing to be led by the Holy Spirit? Am I willing to lay down my own ideas and trust God and be taught by Him?

Prov 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.