Page 41 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 8_2022

Food for Thought

WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING?

BY PETER STOFFBERG

ever name a pet fish, they say you get too
attached. Well, that’s easy for them to say, but
Nwhat if your little princess already named it?
Bethany is a bright yellow fish of the Cichlid family.
She and a number of others arrived earlier this year
and have been a great source of interest and comfort.
The sound of the water combined with their graceful
movement produce a really calming effect, even Gus,
our large, lazy, feline, spends hours appreciating it all.

He seemed especially grateful for the distraction as
our family packed up and left for the August holidays.
We’re never comfortable leaving him, and the
additional concern of the fish just made it worse. A
dear friend allayed our concerns by keeping an eye on
them in our absence, and it was a huge relief to return
home to find them all doing well, or so it seemed.

A day or two later, Bethany presented with a
noticeably swollen head. It would be Bethany. After
a phone call to the pet shop and hours of internet
research, we were left with two possible scenarios.
Bethany was either sick with a parasitic infection or
holding a mouthful of fertilised eggs. We decided to
back option two. Cichlids are mouth brooders, the
mothers go on a three-week fast so that they can stuff ON SITE SUNDAY SERVICES @ 9h30
their mouths with the eggs until the small fry hatch www.familychurch.online
and are big enough to swim around on their own. DAINFERN COLLEGE AUDITORIUM

We’ve isolated Bethany in her own tank and we’re
keeping a close eye on everything she does – as is seems to be too little time. We could spend our days
Gus. This is the best we can do. We can either spend stressing about it, or we could be expectant, just like
our days stressing over whether these are her last Bethany.
moments, or bask in the joy of the notion that she’s
expecting. Don’t you just love spring? Thankfully, we don’t have to fast for weeks or carry
our children in our mouths, but God has designed
The choice of attitude that we’re faced with is and created each one of us for His unique purpose. In
surprisingly common at this time. As the year draws to Ephesians chapter two verse ten in the Bible, God says
an end, the pace heats up and the pressure mounts. “...we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
We’re tired, there’s so much to be done and there good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them”.

Today is a great day for new beginnings, what good
things has God prepared for you to do today?

I’m hoping to report the safe arrival of a brood
of anonymous Cichlids in the next column. And
I’d love to hear from you what God has brought
into your life this spring. Please let me know on
connect@familychurch.online.

God bless you.

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