Isaiah 49:13-16

I've really enjoyed my classes here at BJU, but it is definitely different from Faith and Iowa, and of course, very different from Australia! So I have again been adjusting to a different culture and living situation, far away from anything familiar. I'd like to share a few verses that have been an encouragement to me as I've been getting used to life here:

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
(Isa 49:13-16)

That passage has my favorite rhetorical question in the Bible! As most of you probably know, rhetorical questions they aren't really seeking for information, because the answer is supposed to be obvious (which, by the way, can cause some interesting difficulties when translating them into other languages). The question, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" seems to have the obvious answer no, yet the answer is maybe! Mothers are sinners too, and some mothers do abuse or abandon their children. So even the most loving of humans might forget me (though my mother certainly hasn't!). But the Lord promised Israel that there was never any chance that He would forget them - and He will never forget me either, no matter which corner of the world He sends me!