Month: August 2024

For many years, the Swiss military dumped old, obsolete ammunition in its lakes. In Lake Luzern some 3’300 tons were dumped over the years and in Lac Neuchatel that total was something like 4’500 tons. The thought was that these were safe places where the old ammunition could be dumped. Out of sight, out of mind. In Lake Luzern it lies at a depth of 200 meters below water, but in Lac Neuchatel only some six to seven meters. But: ‘out of sight, out of mind’ doesn’t really work that well. The authorities fear environmental damage (due to heavy metals), corrosion and safety, because some of the ammunition is still quite explosive despite having been under water for so long. Think about that for a minute when you are cruising these lakes with one of those neat, touristic boats that have such cute whistles and look so idyllic on the water. The ‘Big Bang Theory’ might get an entire new meaning. Therefore, the Swiss Ministry of Defence has promised rewards of CHF 50’000 for the best three creative, innovative ideas how to extract this ammunition from the troubled waters. The Defence Ministry has been working on this issue ten years already, but no satisfying solution was found to get the ammunition from the bottom of the lakes. They hope that now, 10 years later, innovation and developments have come along to better assist them with their efforts. Think with me for a moment. Our hearts and our memories are like Lake Luzern and Lac Neuchatel. We dump many unpalatable things in there: grudges, bad memories, frustrations, sin, unforgiving thoughts. We dump them in there. They go below the water level. All seems tranquil and serene from above, but down at the bottom, things corrode, toxic stuff is released, it pollutes the water and we run the constant, latent risk that one of those ‘bombs’ will get triggered and it will explode and cause damage. Matthew 10:25-27 says: There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. It is much better if we learn not to dump all kinds of ammunition in our hearts. Let’s learn to defuse the ammunition and get rid of it in a safe way. By repentance. By talking things over. By forgiving. By releasing it in God’s hands. By letting God be the judge instead of me.

One of these upcoming days or weeks, you will walk outside in the morning and you will notice: fall is in the air. Summer is still holding on by its teeth, but the first signs are there that autumn is creeping into our reality. Pretty soon, the potted Chrysanthemum Ball plants will appear in the garden centres and super markets, which inaugurate the new season. Nowadays, they already start appearing towards the end of August and it makes my wife think every year: “No, no, not yet, not now, too soon, go away, summer is still here!” What will also happen is that spiders will appear everywhere. It is their season. The spider webs – that always are there, but are basically invisible – will be accentuated by the drops of rain or dew and the insects that are trying to find a good hideaway for the winter will get caught in the webs. Every morning, I walk through a narrow path with bushes on each side and soon I’ll have to take an umbrella or some other object to wave it in front of me, lest I walk into a big spider web with my face that has been spun over the path. Remember the series we did in July about seasons of life? One of the take-aways was: embrace the season you’re in. Now it is time to practice that! Some of us might be fond of fall, but generally more people have an issue to let go of the summer season. Let’s set our hearts on the admonishment of the writer of Ecclesiastes:There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (3:1)So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them? (3:22) Embrace that summer is (almost) over, that autumn is around the corner, that things are changing, the heat will be gone, it will get colder, spiders are reigning. One thing that doesn’t change is that God is there, He is our rock, our refuge, our stimulator, our counsellor. Also in the fall of 2024. If we can practice this ‘embracing’ with the change of a season that we know is coming and is inevitable, we will also be better positioned to handle the unexpected stuff. When we must embrace a change of season that comes crashing into our lives unplanned and uninvited. The God we serve is a God of all seasons, planned and unplanned.

This week, the schools start up again after the summer holiday. That is a big thing. For the school, for the parents, for the children. For the school, it is the moment of truth for a lot of things. Are all teacher’s positions filled? Or are some classes without teachers? Are there sufficient pupils to attend the school, or does the school have to shrink, lay off people, send teachers away? Are the teachers up to the task? Will some teachers have difficulty to manage the class full of young talent and challenges? For many parents it is a moment of relief. Kids back to a regular rhythm again, parents have more freedom to maneuver, you don’t have to occupy the kids all the time. Some parents feel like flying the flag when school starts again. But at the same time, there might be some anxiety; can my kid do it? Will my kid thrive or barely survive? For children it can be a daunting experience to go back to school. Maybe they get to meet a bunch of new kids. The ‘power-balance’ in the pecking order might have changed over the summer. The school expects more of their attention span and ability to learn as they get older. Especially the kids that are going to school for the first time are thrown into an entire new and daunting experience. I still remember one incident when I went back to school after the summer holiday. I knew the female teacher already, and as a kid of 6 years old, I had picked a bunch of wildflowers for her. A beautiful bunch of buttercups, clover, dandelions and such. I had rolled the bunch in a newspaper and was on my way to school for a 15-minute walk, by myself. That’s how it was done in those times. When I was close to school, I turned around the newspaper to look at the bunch of wildflowers that I was going to hand over to the teacher. All I had in my hands was an empty newspaper. The flowers had dropped out somewhere along the way and I hadn’t noticed. It was too late to run back and find the flowers. So, I threw the empty newspaper away and gone was my grand entrance back into a new school year to arrange a good footing with the teacher. I still remember how ashamed I felt. A new school year: anxiety all around, on all sides. Here is an encouragement for all teachers, parents and children: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 Note that it doesn’t say: “Put all your anxiety on him”, or “Bring all your anxiety to him”. It is a much stronger statement. When you CAST your anxiety on Jesus, you hurl it to him with a big thrust. If you don’t put some ‘umph’ into it, the danger is that you will hold on to it anyways, because anxiety has a sticky substance to it. Only people that cast it away, will get rid of it. That doesn’t only apply to teachers, parents and school kids. It also applies to managers, employees, nurses, scientists, marketeers, researchers, statisticians, and all other people. Don’t keep on walking around with your anxiety. Cast, hurl, throw it unto Jesus, because he cares for you.

Maybe you get to see a bit of the Olympic games that are going on in Paris. Gymnastics, swimming, hockey, rugby, cycling, rowing, sailing, wave surfing. Although that last one is not taking place in Paris, but still on French soil in Tahiti. Sometimes it is incredible what we get to see. I think often to myself: “How in the world is it possible that someone can do this?” We watch it on television in a couple of minutes. And we go on to the next incredible balancing act or power exertion. Each and every performer in the Olympic games has a very, very long history of practicing. Not only the winners, but also the ones that just don’t make the podium of honour and come in fourth or fifth place and even the ones that end last in the standings. I know a bit of it. Not at all comparable to the Olympic sports(wo)men, but still. My two sons were avid ice hockey players in their days. Maybe it was their Canadian roots through their mum’s side that brought it about. Because on my Dutch side, ice hockey is a non-sport in the Netherlands. Only for a small circle of initiated. Both my boys made it to the U-18 national team for a while. The time and effort going into driving our boys to their twice or thrice-weekly practices, sometimes freakily early in the morning. Both my wife and I driving them to games in all corners of the Lowlands. The money we spent on gear, skates and especially hockey sticks… One composite ice hockey stick cost about 100 euro. Sometimes it was one stick per game. I’m sure the total of the hockey sticks would pay for a nice car altogether. It made me conclude: “Ice hockey is not a sport; it is a religion.” We see the swimmers at the Olympics come up, they swim their laps in the race, they are in the stage lights for a brief moment. If they come out first, they have a lasting moment of glory. Otherwise, they are lost in history. That’s what we see. It is the top of the iceberg. What we don’t see is the many, many hours of practicing. Alone in the pool. Pushing themselves. Finding their limits. They deny themselves a lot for their sport. Time with friends is limited. They keep a strict diet. They don’t splurge but have to be strict and disciplined. They focus. They spend a lot of time in the water. They practice. They train their muscles. They do power lifting. They run. They swim some more. For years on end. This is not limited to sports. Anyone who wants to be someone great at something great, will have to be focused, spend the time and energy, choose what to invest time in and eventually be great at something. Whether it is a career, a great dad or mom, a great preacher, a great sound technician, a great bookkeeper, a great nurse, a great person. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:5-6+11 If you want to be great at something, you need to put in the prolonged, consisted effort and stay focused.