Where are we … ?
New Beginnings
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| Image by Tom from Pixabay |
Unfortunately, he had not emailed an official query, but he had begun asking in August already regarding the renewal of the contract. This was usually via WhatsApp, or when he was
actually speaking to someone face to face on Teams. Always the same answer, “Don’t worry. It will
come.” Little did they know themselves, that HR was in no way planning to renew
his contract. The same HR department must have known that he was still working
when they received his 13th invoice. Yet, they did not step in to
stop it. When the invoice was not settled within 2 weeks as per usual, AJ began
to ask why. Only then, did the Training Manager discover that he needed to
request from the CEO to allow AJ to continue. This procedure took a
further 10 days. A tense wait for us. Initial feedback after the meeting was
that he would continue, with no problems. We breathed a sigh of relief. The
next day, however, he was sent a curt email by the Training Manager, “It’s not over yet, but you will be paid!”.
As he completed one Type course, he was due to begin
another. He let them know that unless he had a definitive response to the issue
of the contract, he could not continue with the next course. Seems
someone had had a comprehension problem, as in the end, it was a firm NO. However,
they waited until he had completed the month-long Type course to deliver a
one-liner (after 14 years of loyal service) saying he was no longer needed. No
mention of payment was forthcoming. The next day his name was removed from the
training programme where it had appeared until January 2024. The following day,
all access to training materials and email accounts was denied. He penned three
requests to honour the now 2 unpaid invoices – one
to his training manager, one to the HR manager, and one to the CEO of the company. Not one person has responded. It’s as if he never existed.
And to date, he has not received payment. Had he not challenged them for a decision, yet another
week would’ve been squeezed out of him for no pay. (Please see my update on this below.)
You could ask why he continued to work when his contract had
expired. Well, as mentioned, it was because he was promised verbally that he
would continue, and believing the best of everyone, he trusted the leaders in
the Training Dept. And they continued to use him. In his last month he worked
up to 12 hours a day instead of the required 8, prepping for the class and
writing revision questions for the students for each day’s training. Because he
was busy 5 days a week on the Type course, they requested he work on a Saturday
for pilot training. He complied, always loyal to the company.
What is justice?
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| Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.com |
Completely taken aback at first at their treatment of
him, AJ has let it go. Admirably, and in silence, he blames himself. Before the
emails were cut off he emailed the entire company to wish them all well and he blessed
them. I bet that was one email that was not shared with the company’s
employees.
Until a few days ago I was angry. Not because of the pennies lost, but because of the injustice of it. I watched my hubby slog for the last month especially, under pressure to complete the course successfully, while suffering with poor technology that the company refused to upgrade on their end. He went the extra mile for that class, daily. Without payment. they have stolen from him. Justice is conforming to truth, fact or reason. Doing what is equitable, morally correct, or fair. True justice belongs to the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Especially when it comes to His children. Paul reminds us that the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” (Hebrews 10).
Cast ... throw off, hurl!
My all-consuming anger festered to the point of planning all kinds of actions to right the wrong. It kept me awake at night. Waking up exhausted on yet another morning where my first thoughts were of vengeance, I was reminded in a devotional on Psalm 55, that David had written, “Cast your burdens on the Lord and He will sustain you”. ‘Cast’ in the original translation, the speaker pointed out, means to throw off, hurl, with gusto. Onto Him, the one Who knows the end from the beginning. Your path, your story, was written long before you were born. (If you read Psalm 139 you’ll know that is true.) The famous verse came to me, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28) That day, using Psalm 57 v 2, I went to the Lord and cried out for justice. All alone in the forest, with no one around that could possibly hear, I cried out to God. “It’s the principle of it all! Don’t you see?”
“Give it to me,” I heard in my spirit.
“I can’t do that … I just can’t!. I would not be able to walk away and leave this with you.” I retorted.
Alone, open and honest with my
struggle, I felt God’s gentle urging. He kept on … “Give it to me. Give it to
me.” Finally, after a spiritual battle like no other I have experienced,
knowing it would set me free, I caved in. Verbally I CAST the
whole matter onto the Lord, aloud. And because not a soul could see me, I also physically CAST it onto the
Lord, going through the motions like it was a parasite that I was throwing off
… and it felt liberating. But suddenly, the injustices of this world flooded in
on me… of Jews slaughtered. Of Palestinians lied to by ideological hate
cultists. Of people losing all in deliberately-lit fires in Australia. Of the
agenda of far-left ideologists who pass laws allowing full-term, live, aborted
babies to die a slow death on a cold hard table, forbidding the medical world
to care for them because they were ‘aborted’. Of ordinary salt-of-the-earth folk and their family being made homeless by greedy governments, corporates, and landlords. SO MUCH
INJUSTICE! Does that make God unjust? No, because He is always a good,
good God. Holy. Loving and kind. Just and righteous. Not a dictator, He leaves us to choose
to submit to Him or not. Because He is God, His plans prevail, for the good or
the bad, according to His purposes. Who can question Him? Who can know the end from the beginning? Who can
question His ways?
“Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God?” Rom. 9 v 20.
Shall we accept prosperity and not adversity from the Lord? No, He has a reason for everything that is written into our life’s walk, and in the end, His name will be glorified. Even if that be in the next life, in eternity, He will get the glory. Unpaid wages are the least important in a world gone mad. God owns the proverbial ‘cattle on a thousand hills’. We are His children. Has he not repeatedly promised us … “I will be with you, I will help you”? Has he not repeatedly told us to ‘not be alarmed’? ‘Don’t be dismayed’! Over and over again, those promises, in different verses from the Word, have been coming at us through people, through sermons, through devotionals.
I walked back to the caravan, a mess, but freed from the feelings of anger and vengeance.
An Uncertain Future
The future is uncertain. What we now seek is for God to be glorified through this. We both feel that AJ should take until the New Year to think, pray, and heal. To wait on God's leading. He went through an appalling time over the last 2 months. At the last, being eaten alive by midges, reacting to each bite, and having to work 9 am to 9 pm throughout.
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| Training online |
By God’s grace, we have enough to carry us financially into the New Year. Thereafter, both of us will need to earn an income to be self-sufficient as our visa requires. We pray that we will not become reliant on help from our loved ones here, who are also battling to make ends meet. The day after AJ was let go, we received our Tax return for the last year. Let me put it this way, while we had saved for the Tax man, it was in no way sufficient. Our advisor had not warned us of the true scope. International earnings are taxed differently, I think.
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| Image by Perlinator from Pixabay |
His eyes travel to and fro across the face of the earth seeking to strengthen those whose hearts are turned toward Him (2 Chron. 16 v 9).
Kingdom Currency
A few days ago, we were sent a voice note … a devotional
talk before school … the person entitled her talk, “What is your Kingdom Currency?” Using
the Old Testament story of Elijah and the widow in the famine (1 Kings 17), and
of Peter and Paul and the lame beggar (Acts 3), she painted a perfect canvas with
words, illustrating how each one of the characters had a choice – a choice to
react to what they SAW before them, or to employ their Kingdom Currency
of FAITH, OBEDIENCE and GOD-GIVEN ABILITY in exchange for something else – help
from above for God’s glory.
Thank you, Kirsten! We resolve to employ our Kingdom Currency.
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| Image by Perlinator from Pixabay |
Thanks for stopping by. We are scheduled to house-sit in and around Gympie until mid-January. The next blog post should be more fun … be sure to watch for it. We will be looking after 4 very cute creatures … I won’t let on just yet. 🤭 Watch this space, it’ll put a smile on your dial. 😆
Until next time. Be blessed. 🌼In the Eye of the Storm ... the proverbial storm ... we found peace. To God be the glory. 💜
In mid-November we left the property in Tandur to park in a small caravan park in Gympie, closer to town and our children. We had a long list of to-dos to work through. Tax needed to be paid. The caravan's water pump gave in and needed a warranty claim. We needed to sort through banking issues and AJ's GP issues. (In this country, even if you are well, they keep nagging for you to visit the doctor so that they can check you out to see what could possibly be wrong with you. 😑🙄) We have decided to change to a different GP practice, hoping to get rid of the nagging doc.
We have had a heat wave – up to 38 degrees on 2 consecutive days. No fun. We put the AC on in the van and left to spend most of those days at our children’s home.
Ten things we learned over the past month.
- We can live on a ¼ of the income we thought we needed. 😅
- We are feeling better with two meals a day. 😁
- After ‘casting our burdens (truly) on the Lord’, we found that there is, in fact, peace in the eye of the storm! 🤗
- While we want to say a lot to God, it’s best to just listen to what He says for a change. His promises keep coming at us. We feel His love, like never before. 🥰
- Having a chance to relax and decompress after a shocking couple of months, is good for the mind, body and soul, 😌 but …
- Daily exercise is important for mind clarity after all! (Trying to keep it going.) 😅
- Paying a huge tax bill is blood-curdling. 🤑
- Ideas galore are hitting us thick and fast, but sorting them into short-, medium-, and long-term objectives is not THAT easy. 🤯😧
- Prayer has a way of calming hyper-ventilation. 😊
- Friends and family are amazing. 😘😘
And a bonus ... 11. God hears our prayers ... some He answers, some He doesn't.
Yesterday evening, I happened to look at our bank balance as we had spent a bit of money during the day on things we needed, and there it was – full payment from Gulf Helicopters! We were both gobsmacked. AJ couldn’t believe it, as he had written it off. I was amazed at how God had answered prayer. Even though I had left it with Him, I had kept on at God (like the nagging widow in the Bible story) saying that I could not believe that He would let AJ go unpaid. With continued expectation, I felt that He would motivate them to pay what was due. He did! We are eternally grateful.Our new favourite verse:
"As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me." Micah 7 v 7.
In the last week ... AJ downloaded a program on his laptop, which will allow him to do quality screen recordings. We are hoping to get a training channel up on YouTube so that he can share his knowledge with those who need it. So much expertise shouldn’t go to waste. And, who knows, it may just take off and be popular in the industry. As God wills.Our church is having a fun event over Christmas to reach out to the community, so I volunteered to help design signs and posters. That kept me busy in a fun way for a few days. The church will be on the Gympie Christmas Lights Tour for families. We hope to make it a special experience for all.
In two days we are off to our next house-sitting. Will chat again soon, along with images of who for and where. 😃😆
Thank you to all who have offered us prayers and support. We value you. Thank you for being part of our journey.
Blessings. 🌼
