Prisoner By Choice

Prisoner by Choice

We currently live in a country town with a menagerie of pets. One of our dogs is a very frisky and a very active fox terrier called Aiko. Aiko has short, wiry, white fur with a large inky, heart shaped mark on her side, that has over the years, morphed into an untidy splotch. Her black ears comically flop over her adoring, tawny face and her endearing eyes melt the hardest of hearts. Aiko has an exuberance for life and a joy that seems endless. She lives happily in our fenced back yard. She runs enthusiastically around the yard chasing any bird who would dare to land in her territory. Her bark is deep and loud leading a listener to assume that the dog in our yard is a very large and a very ferocious guard dog. Aiko takes her role of protector of the family in all seriousness and not a sound or a movement in the neighbourhood escapes her attentive ears. Aiko is courageous and daring, having once chased a would-be thief, clear through our yard in the pitch dark of night, as he hastily scrambled to climb another fence away from her snapping jaws. Yes, Aiko is brave and heroic. 

Aiko, however, has one fear. It is the fear of the unknown world outside the back yard. One very windy, spring day, strong gusts pushed against our cream coloured side gates which had not been securely fastened, rattling them back and forth with a series of clanks. Suddenly the gates burst open, much to the wondering eyes of Aiko. Aiko’s moment of opportunity had come and with the desire for adventure she sallied forth from our yard. Down our pebbled driveway she raced, out onto the tarred road she sprinted. She glanced to the left and to the right unable to decide in her moment of haste as to the best direction to dash. Suddenly, she came to her senses, and realised she was on the alone and on the outside of her back yard in a territory unfamiliar to her. Fear gripped her and in a panic Aiko tore up a neighbour’s driveway and through an open wooden gate to the very back of her yard. She bolted for cover behind a large garden shed and there she hid, shaking in fear. 

I was out at the time of Aiko’s valiant escape, but a friend who lived next door watched the entire procedure and knew Aiko had ensconced herself in another neighbour’s yard. Upon arriving home I was informed about Aiko’s flight and together my friend and I set out to locate her whereabouts. We looked all over the neighbour’s backyard, searching every corner, under bushes and shrubs and exploring high and low. All the time I was longingly calling Aiko’s name, with concern and worry growing at each unanswered cry. Finally my friend and I squeezed ourselves in behind the garden shed and there amongst the tangled growth of vines and weeds was Aiko, cowering and shaking in fear. No amount of coaxing her in tones of tenderness would make her budge. Into that twisted and interlaced undergrowth I pressed. The closer I came to Aiko the more she backed away in terror from me, her rescuer. Slowly she struggled away from me step by step through the undergrowth until she found herself squarely in the arms of my friend. In relief I raced to hug and hold my fear filled dog. In great joy I carried her home and placed her safely back in her own back yard. With tail wagging in delight, Aiko darted and raced with exhilaration around her own familiar and comforting territory once more. 

This incident was almost entirely forgotten until this week. Every time I garden in our back yard and I need to open the gates to enter our front yard I have always placed Akio  securely on her chain. However, this week I forgot. I briskly crossed the yard and abruptly flung open the gates as I strode through them. Aiko was trotting cheerfully behind me until she reached the gates. There she simply stopped. Aiko would continue no further. The fear of what was on the other side of those gates was still firmly in her mind. Aiko had become a prisoner in her own back yard, by choice.

It made me stop and wonder. Was I a prisoner too, by choice? Do I stay in my own well known territory, fearful of stepping out of my comfort zone? Is God calling me to something that is unfamiliar? Does He want me to gain new skills, grow in new areas? Do I resist God’s leading and remain a prisoner to familiarity through fear?

Josh 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Deut 31:8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Drawn By Love

Drawn By Love

In our family we have an assortment of extra friendly pets of which two of them are dogs. Emma is our gentle, soft and tender hearted dog. Her long white fur flops sadly over her eyes beside her drooping ears giving her an even more heart wrenching gaze from her liquid brown eyes. Emma is a maltese cross papillon, boasting a fluffy white coat, a feathery tail  that curls up and over her body, seeming to disappear and a yap that is loud and piercing. Emma is a house dog. She simply could never think of living life outside like an ordinary dog. Instead her life is one of regal repose curled up on a cushy lounge chair or on my  comfortable bed and at meal times she places herself securely beside me, waiting patiently for me to kindly share my meal with her. She truly has a life of comfort and ease. 

Aiko on the other hand is an exuberant outside dog. She is a fox terrier with coarse short fur and floppy black ears that surround a face of loving adoration as she looks up at me.  As much as she loves to slip inside at any given opportunity, she can never find herself dozing nobly in delicate quietude. Instead, she flings herself crazily at the pace of a race horse around the living room, leaping from lounge chair to lounge chair and hurtling herself up the hallway to jump all over the bed like a naughty child. Yes, Aiko is an outside dog.

Several times a day I place Emma in the back yard where she quickly does her business and then runs rapidly to the back door again, banging with her paw to be let inside. Occasionally she enjoys sniffing leisurely around the fence line and exploring the yard. Aiko is always entirely delighted to have her presence in the yard and immediately sets out to motivate Emma to play with her. Aiko’s form of encouragement however, makes Emma’s life rather miserable. Aiko, being slightly taller than Emma, can see that tempting tufted tail hidden away in a curl over her back and the desire to pull that tail overpowers Aiko frequently. In her eagerness to force Emma to play with her, Aiko, enthusiastically grabs Emma’s tail between her teeth and pulls. She pulls hard. She pulls so hard she actually has Emma running  frantically backwards around the yard, twisting and turning in horror as she looks upon Aiko’s clenched teeth around the end of her tail. Aiko’s idea of encouragement is to use force. She will make Emma play with her. Eventually Aiko lets go, sometimes Emma will then play with her and other times Emma will whisk her tail away from those snapping teeth and make haste to the back door only to find Aiko outrunning her and grabbing her tail once more. 

The joy of each other’s company is eclipsed through force. Aiko deliberately coerces Emma to play with her by using simple brute strength. Under duress Emma is pressed to chase and romp merrily around the yard. The compulsion over rides any choice on Emma’s side to desire to join in with a happy doggy game.

How often I have misunderstood God’s character and thought of Him as a God of force. Does God make me good through compulsion? Does God coerce me to spend time with Him? The Bible tells me God is love (1 John 4:8) . Love is about freedom. Freedom to choose, whether those choices are right or wrong, good or bad, we have the freedom to choose. There are consequences to what we choose but we have that complete freedom to choose. In love there is no force or coercion or else it would not be love. Instead, God draws us with the desire for His love. In the depths of our heart we have an empty place just for Him, we have a soul hunger that responds only to His drawing love.

Ecc 3:11 “He has put eternity into man’s heart..”

Jer 31:3 “The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

1 Cor 13:5 “It (love)  does not insist on its own way.”

Will I stop resisting the longing of God in my heart and and allow Him to draw me with a love that is indescribable, to enjoy the rapturous delights of being in a loving relationship with Him that stretches from now throughout all eternity?

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

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.