Nov, 15th 2010
The newest letters of Push
My dear friends,
On my trip to the U.S. some friends told me how my life is a blessing
to them (their lives are sometimes a blessing to me too). It was
encouraging to hear their words. Through this, Father helped me
understand and see how well He planned my life – in fact, He planned
every moment. My prayer is that He will continue to show me what He
is doing. It makes it easier to trust Him and think positively.
Recently He taught me even more. Sitting at our lake the other day, I realized that way too often we (at least I) think God brings big things in our lives to fulfill His plan for just us. But then I saw the waves and clouds… They are there, coming and going, just like we do, only in another time frame. But what are these waves good for? Nothing, right? Wrong! They have a reason to be there, but we often do not see this, because we are not into detail as much as our Maker is. We do not see the whole picture like Father does!
If we ask, do we really want to know what the waves are good for, or do we selfishly want to know what's in it for us? For instance, perhaps a cloud is nearby to bring a plant much needed water. Or maybe a wave is needed to transport a little mussel to where it needs to be. We may never know their purposes, but that doesn't mean, therefore, that they are meaningless. In the same way, when a problem arises in our lives, we may complain, wonder why it happened, and ask, “What good can come out of this?”
Think about this with me: In order for us to have bread to eat, long beforehand a seed had to “die”, to be crushed into the fine powder we call flour. If that seed had the chance to determine its destiny, we would have less flour with which to make bread, since a selfish seed would not like to die “just” for some dumb ‘ole bread. However, isnīt grain an important source of nutrition for us? It is obvious how good it is that these seeds keep dying... I think this applies to our own lives and shows that often our views are too little to really understand God’s plan. Therefore, our job is to trust our Maker, our Farmer who sows the seed into the ground, causes it to grow, harvests it and processes it for our good. He is the Professional, the Creator - nobody else! Therefore it is so much better when I can say to Jesus, "I trust you, that you will bring something good out of this, even when I can't see it. Thank you that you have my best in mind."
When we were in Colorado with Kirsten, a friend of mine from Canada (Melinda) wrote me, “Now we are so close to each other but still so far apart.” She proceeded to tell me her plans for the following weeks. She did not know that our plan was to go up to Idaho on the same day she and her husband planned to drive through the same town, where we would be staying. Was this a coincidence? Thatīs for you to decided. However, I only know that too much had to happen “by coincidence” to bring us together, from Germany and Canada...
Okay, are you up for something else God helped me to realize? God orchestrated another enjoyable but spontaneous visit with another good friend from Sweden, Daniel. While he told me about his last few years, he mentioned a friend, who went with him on a mission trip to Ethiopia. He told me that his friend is having a hard time right now living in Seattle. The poverty he saw in Ethiopia has depressed him, and he is struggling with living in the states while so many people around the world have no food or home...
After I returned home, I kept thinking about my conversation with Daniel. I donīt have an answer for poverty, but God showed me something that was encouraging to me. He said, “Do I not take care of you?” With that I thought about how we see a large
number of people who are suffering by poverty, oppression, disease... but I know that those who know Jesus often see their suffering differently than we do from far away. In the same way, there are many people who would call my last few years of life as a time of great suffering, but I donīt! The Christians that keep Jesus first in their lives will know that He keeps His promises through hardship. Father calls each one of us to endure and
persevere, and it is our joy to do so, if we want to seek Him more than the comfort and ease of our own lives.
Therefore, keep seeking Jesus, and He will show you what your purpose is. Then people all over the world will get the help (salvation) they really need. I want to challenge you to pray for those Christians who are in places like Ethiopia. Pray they will “shine full of joy” because their hope is not in having their circumstances change, but it is Jesus!
The communist in the eastern part of Germany (GDR before the wall fell down) did proclaim that you have to change only the circumstances, than the people will change their life (for example: they will think only for the whole community). But thatīs not true! Only changed peolple are really able to change the circumstances to make it livable.
It doesnīt matter if your life is just fine or is full of suffering; my prayer for you is that Jesus will be your hope. “My strength and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
The last few weeks you were able to see and maybe enjoy some of the pictures of our time in the USA. God blessed every day. It was God’s doing that I did so well the whole trip and was able spend time with dear friends, who I never thought I’d get to see again. We also enjoyed the wide-range of scenery we saw as we traveled.
Concerning my health, you can thank God with me that I no longer have to take anti-nausea medicine anymore. I have taken it for the last 3 ― years; it helped some, but I was still fighting nausea every day. However, sometime in the last few weeks it suddenly stopped…! The beginning of the summer I started experiencing hot flashes. We do not know what is causing this, but I now have compassion for ladies who are pregnant or are in menopause. It is now a year ago when I started walking without crutches. I think my marathon in New Zealand still has to wait, but I am very grateful to our Father that I have the freedom to walk again. Give thanks to our generous God! And thank you for still praying for me!!
