Re-reading my last blog post makes me feel slightly uncomfortable:  the text from Ephesians 4: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” turned out to be more apt than I had imaged.  The Christmas period was not without its uncomfortable moments, as we tried to strike a balance between taking a healthy interest in daughter no 1’s wellbeing and what was too readily taken to be nagging!  Oh dear, what a tough job it is sometimes being a parent.  But what I reckon it all boils down to in the end is good communication:  if she could have found a way to communicate her need for some personal space, then there would have been a greater degree of understanding.  If we could have found a less-threatening way of addressing our concerns over next year’s accommodation situation the whole thing would have been less upsetting.

As it is, Christmas came and went, and both daughters are now back at university, have sat their exams and have now embarked on semester two.

Daughter number 2 has found a nice groups of friends with whom she wishes to share a house next year and surprised us with her degree of organisation, having attended an accommodation talk last term, been given a helpful booklet of questions to ask when looking at houses and now getting on with the task of researching possible houses.

Daughter number 1 meanwhile is busy turning her attention to applying for a summer work placement, whilst the thorny accommodation issue remains.  My prayer is that God has just the thing lined up for the first and just the right person lined up for the latter.

Reading Lamentations in the last few days I was struck by the words:

“Yet this I call to mind

And therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

For his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

Therefore I will wait for him”.”

Lamentations 3: 21 – 24

I pray that if there is something all-consuming just now in your life, that you will know God’s great faithfulness to you and to those you love.