THE LORD IS MY INHERITANCE

You might have gathered by now that Jeremiah is one of my favourite Bible characters. I don't really know why but there is just something about how he writes - from the heart. This is something I like to do too, but I don't know if my words will ever reach as many people as Jeremiah's have. Oh well!! I hope, that at least they will reach my son and his lovely wife - as these words (sorry guys), are about the only INHERITANCE that I can leave you.

In Lamentations 3:24, Jeremiah says `The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him'.
In the previous verses Jeremiah is filled with anger and bitterness. He has been homeless, sick and `his chains have been heavy'. Yet even in all this, a few minutes later he is reminding himself, that there is surely HOPE in the Lord.

Now and then I start to feel a little `down in the dumps' as Jeremiah puts it - `My endurance has perished, so has my hope from the Lord.' I know my husband thinks a lot about what we don't have rather than what we do. It seems to be the way of a husband and father - as they feel they have no inheritance (financial) to leave to their family. Without a job myself at the moment, I also have experience this `fear' that I have nothing to leave my family. Not just financially, but hope for a future. I feel my family and friends must have lost their faith and confidence in me. I know I have.

But then, I read verses like this from Jeremiah (NLT), when I discover that the Lord is my inheritance. My hope is in Him - and this is what I want most to give to leave my family as their inheritance too.

"The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him. So it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

At Bible study last week I shared with the ladies about my loving earthly father and how because of His love I am able to experience the same wonderful love with my Heavenly Father. I have often shared how the determination and courage of my earthly mother when she died of cancer. Then I remember how my step mother would be up every morning praying for each member of her family. Their understanding that the Lord was their inheritance and their HOPE was in the Lord is what keeps me going even on those days when my `endurance has perished.'

I guess not many people read my BLOGS - I don't have a lot of followers or get lots of comments; but I hope I can be a blessing to some people, for this is my INHERITANCE. For the LORD IS TRULY MY INHERITANCE, AND MY HOPE COMES ONLY FROM HIM.

Everlasting God (Strength Will Rise) - Chris Tomlin

Wait Upon the Lord

Last week I listened to my husband on the phone PLANNING MY LIFE. If I got this job I would do this and he would do that etc, etc, etc. I got quite upset with him - how dare he tell everyone what I would do.

Fortunately I didn't have the same answer for the Lord when I realized that I was doing the same thing. I was planning my life, with no thought of what the Lord might think about it. I wasn't WAITING ON THE LORD like I had been told to do for the last 3 months, I was waiting for the answer that I wanted.

Was I allowing God to be in control of my life? Now those who know me well know that PATIENCE in not one of my best attribites. By not waiting and resting in God, I was missing out on a very special POWERFUL and PERSONAL experience of Him.

Like Hannah, I had to wait for a child to bless our home. Now he has grown and I am waiting a little impatiently for grandchildren. Recently we received a call from a family member, who told us his daughter was pregnant. Now, she may love her boyfriend, she may even be living with him - I don't know the circumstance, but I do no she isn't married. Now I know it is not frowned upon anymore, and I am not criticizing my neice - but I do thank the Lord that my son and his young wife have followed the Biblical way, and are waiting.

But it's not easy to wait. Especially when you want something so much, and the waiting is just so hard to bear. But what happens when we wait and don't try to tell God what to do. We will experience the wonder of what God has store for us. For me - I wait for a JOB, but not just any job - I want to serve God, I want to make the difference in somebody's life. At the moment, I am reminded that I need to do this as a wife. No matter how hard it is or how tired I feel, I am trying to do just a little bit of housework or baking each day, just to bring a smile to Mark's face.

But most of all I am preparing myself by RESTING in Him, reading His Word, praying and meeting with Christian friends so that I can gain the strength to GO when God says GO. I am TRUSTING, as I always have, that GOD KNOWS BEST. As for becoming a grandmother, I'm willing to wait for that too!!

To hear more about WAITING ON THE LORD, I recommend you go to the Gold Coast Family Church's website and listen to some our minister's `SEASONS' messages. He says it a little bit better than I can.

"You will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH will set you free."

Last week I had my first job interview - maybe the first of many, maybe the last. As I travelled up to Bundaberg for the interview, I couldn't decide whether I was doing the right thing. Everyone was pleased to see me and told me how well I looked. But I didn't feel well at all. From the time I left on the train, to the time I returned to the Gold Coast, I felt literally sick, and I had a headache that just wouldn't go away.

Maybe it was just `motion sickness' - but I think it was more likely `FEAR'.

Have you every done something that has made you feel so ashamed that you couldn't bear to have anyone find out the truth? The Monday before I left, I had sent off my letter to Education Queensland. I had just spent the last two weeks going over all the `terrible' things people had said about me, trying to convince myself that everything they had said was not true. Trying to convince myself that it couldn't be true. Even if there was some truth in what they said, I had good reason for doing what I did - I was sick. The truth was, I had made some really stupid mistakes. I had let a lot of people down. I had failed!

So as I travelled to Bundaberg for this job interview, I was trying to think of some way I could cover my mistakes, some way I could put them in the past and move on, some way I could prevent anyone from finding out, `I was a bad teacher', `I was a failure'. Even if I got this job, would I not make the same mistakes again? I was putting on a brave face - but the truth was - I WAS TERRIFIED!!

After a short introduction they asked me the question I was dreading: "Why did you go to the Gold Coast? Why are you looking at coming back to Bundaberg?" It came out - I couldn't stop it - the TRUTH!! I went to the Gold Coast because I thought I would do a better job as a classroom teacher. For some reason I had lost faith in myself as a Learning Support teacher, and I thought I could do better in the classroom. I was wrong. I am not a capable classroom teacher, I made lots of mistakes, and now I am on stress leave. I want to be a Learning Support teacher again, but I don't feel ready - so I have applied for this Teacher Aide job.

I had blown it. What a stupid thing to say in a Job Interview? To admit to a possible Employer that you were a failure. But for some reason I felt good - I felt FREE. Their answer, `Thank you for your honesty'. After that, the rest of the interview wasn't too bad. I answered all their questions, as best I could, and then they showed me around the school.

In one of my recent BLOGS, I introduced you to a character in a book by B.J HOFF. A character, who learnt how to find freedom and peace through music. In one of her later books, "The American Anthem", I was introduced to a number of other characters, who found their freedom and hope, by facing some hidden TRUTHS, that they too had been too ashamed to share with others. But when the truth came out, it was wonderful to see how relationships bloomed, particularly their relationship with the Lord - the one who is "The WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE".

This week I sit waiting - not something I have very good at. Waiting to hear if Education Queensland is willing to give me a second chance, waiting to here whether Bundaberg Christian College is willing to give me a chance - holding on to this HOPE, that the TRUTH has set me free, as the Lord has forgiven me.

"The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will not fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand." Psalm 37:23&24