Sunday, February 28, 2010

Rain!


After a sunny interlude yesterday afternoon, the rain is back today, and it will be increasing in the course of the day. Do you feel like joining me for a hike in the park looking at this view from my living room? However, hearing about raging floods and trembling earthquakes in other parts of the world, I shouldn't be complaining about the elements here in Brussels.

I'm just thinking now about how I'm going to spend my Sunday. I will probably do various chores at home (including my favorite one - cooking) and spend some time in the gym. It would also be nice if I could talk to some friends in the US. Let's see who will have time to spare on the phone with me!

This would also be an ideal day to do a cooking school at my home. I thought it would be much easier to invite people over, as I have all the equipment here that I would need.

The bottom line is that I would really like to get busy for the Lord and do whatever I can to educate people about the health message and point them to our Great Physician. When I was still at Uchee Pines, it was quite easy to serve people as this was may daily assignment. As soon as I left there and spent a summer at Eden Valley weeding lettuce, thinning carrots and watching after a group of self-sufficient elderly people, something was missing. I did want to do more to serve while I was there, but maybe I didn't seize the opportunities or I just didn't get them. Right now, I'm facing the situation that many doors are opening, yet nothing really materializes. Perhaps I should become more pro-active.

I just read an interesting quote:

"But like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and no delay." (Desire of Ages, p. 32)

Wow, that's profound. Yet it leaves open what exactly God's purposes are in our individual lives. And how can we discern whether our views of God's timing are distorted, as His timing is just perfect and well-aligned like the circuit of the stars. Well, this gives rise to more thought, and I may get back to it in a later posting.

Yesterday, when I was worshiping with the French speaking Church, the lyrics of one of the hymns we sang caught my attention.

Le cri de mon âme s'élève vers toi, elle te réclame, Jésus, pour son roi. Ton joug est facile, ton fardeau léger; sur mon coeur docile, règne ô bon berger.

Eclare ma route, inspire mes choix, dissipe mes doutes et soutiens ma foi. Dans la nuit profonde, tiens-moi par la main; lumière du monde, luis sur mon chemin.

In English this means the following:

The cry of my soul is rising up to you, it claims you as its King. Your yoke is easy, your burden light; reign oh Shepperd over my meek heart. Light up my ways, inspire my choices, dissipate my doubts and uphold my faith. In the deep night hold me by your hand; light of the world, shine on my way.


May the Lord's light shine upon you today!


PS: And this is how ugly it became later in the afternoon. What a blessing it is to have a warm and cozy home to dwell in...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sunshine!

The sun has been shining all afternoon - a rare treat in Brussels at this time of the year. During my lunchbreak, I went to the park to indulge in it for a while, and I wish I could have captured the scene with all the birds enjoying themselves on the frozen pond.

I have a new colleague in the secretariat, Livia from Romania. My other Romanian colleague just gave birth the other day and so we needed a replacement. I'm sharing the office with her this week to explain her the job. This is keeping me fairly busy, and I've also been trying to gently push my head of unit to work on his backlog of incoming mail. He has a tendency of keeping letters pile up and allocating them only at the last minute or later. This is against my nature, and I hope I'll be able to help improving this situation. At least he has been cooperative, and the pile made it onto his desk by now.

Yesterday, there were almost 20 people killed in a terrible train crash not far away from Brussels. A friend from the US contacted me to ask me if I was ok, so even there it went through the press. I wrote her that I was fine as I'm not taking the regional trains to get to my workplace, but that I should maybe start praying that something like this won't happen with the metro!

This brings to my mind again how fragile our lives are, and that we can only be truly safe in the arms of Jesus. Have you consecrated your life to Him this morning? I'm realizing more and more the urgency of getting ready for the difficult times ahead; and also to prepare others around us.

I received some more encouraging responses as a fruit of my endeavors to provide the departing Commissioners with a copy of the Great Controversy. Both the German and the Swedish Commissioner sent me short messages to thank me for the book. I was encouraged by this and I'm looking forward to more opportunities.

Today I'm thankful that Jesus can always enlighten our souls, no matter if the sun is shining or not - and that HE is the only One who can give us contentment, peace and true fulfilment in life.

There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

O there's sunshine, blessed sunshine,
While the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face
There is sunshine in my soul.