Journal 2018

The year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond

The things that didn’t work this month:

• Going to church with Kirsty when Wim is sharing.
• Comparison.
• Tantrum free meals, morning and evening routines.
• Cleaning the house every week.
• Saying yes when we knew we should say no.
• Feeling sorry for ourselves.
• Daily exercise.
• A young technician taking a quick x-ray of Kirsty’s back.

The things that did work this month:

o No surgery needed on Kirsty’s back to correct scoliosis.

o Morning rituals.
To calm down Kirsty before she leaves for the center, we got into a habit of spreading lavender fragrance oil in the lounge, dim the lights, burn a candle and become quiet, focusing on a name of our God.

o Living and sharing life/your gift.
Wim almost always experience fulfillment and joy after sharing at church or with a group of young people (in Paris this time) or attending a day of counselling training with colleagues.

o Forgiveness is extended unexpectedly.
A messy situation spooked until forgiveness was asked with no expectations. Joy and freedom happened when forgiveness was extended! There is hope for a mended relationship.

o Celebrating birthdays.
The face of God was born – Jesus. We shared a meal.
At Kirsty’s center, we were welcomed in simplicity and pure honesty at a Christmas family meal. We touched the face of God. How can we ever doubt that we are loved?
Kirsty turned 25. And me? I turned …. last month, a bit younger than Jesus. We had cake and coffee.

o All the figures added up.
The financial bookkeeping for 2018 added up. Yeah!

Bella crawled into the darkest corner under our bed.
The ponies went wild.
The dark of night banged into color and light.
A new number – 2019.

The year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond

Korhaan Avenue – The Full Picture-story

Amanda du Plessis as Manda
Lorraine van Zweel as Sus
Johanna van Rooyen as Ma
Wim du Plessis as Hubby
Kirsty du Plessis as Doll

The six-day airport strike in Brussels has ended. With some anticipation of what was to come, Manda flew to South Africa. There was sadness in her heart…

What had to be a day of celebration, (her birthday), turned out to be a day on the road, heading for Tzaneen without her luggage. The red of the Flamboyant trees welcomed her as did the memories…

Ma at first looked but did not see. Then she cried for joy. They both did.

They spent time walking, just sitting together, had tea, knitted and colored in. Ma had no idea…

There was time to admire beautiful art along the way.

Sus said it was time to leave. After a 2-hour drive they reached their destination. More memories came flooding back… About the little doves under the orange tree. Ma called them her little chickens.

The bleeding heart plant under the lapa. The garden she loved so much.

The jars of orange marmalade which Pa made from the orange tree at the kitchen door.

Selling the handmade treasures, giving away familiar crockery and his favourite blue suit was painful. Manda and Sus treasured a yellow handwritten love letter, giggled about a funny sketch made of Pa at work.

Boxes and boxes were packed and taped while taping the memories to their hearts.

Manda and Sus were tired when the accident happened. Bubble wrap and box tape fixed it.

The truck arrived very early Monday morning.

While in Europe…
Hubby arranged for respite care for Doll as he was off to Lithuania to talk about listening, hearing and recognising the Father’s voice.

Manda and Sus celebrated being together with coffee and cake in a picturesque little village.

Tucked away in a box, they discovered the braids. Childhood memories came flooding back… Ma cut it off in 1968 and in 1969. They donated it to a friend’s daughter.

They cleaned. The white cactus flowers opened for one day, almost like remembering the beautiful with them. A final farewell.

Manda and Sus had a last meal at Ma and Pa’s favourite restaurant.

Their last morning on the ‘sonstoep’ (porch) where Pa used to read his Bible early mornings and they had their tea and rusks.

They left it the way Pa and Ma moved in 23 years ago. The key was handed over to strangers because 228 Korhaan Avenue was sold. Manda and Sus’ memories can never be sold.

They told Ma the full story. She looked puzzled, smiled…
“I have only 2 daughters,” she said. “And I love them very much.”

Manda was glad to be back home in Belgium but left a piece of her heart in Africa. Hubby and Doll were very glad to see her.

With a happy heart, Hubby left for Paris, France to spend time with youngsters on their journey of making memories and learning to live life to the full because their Father is so, so very good.

The End

(The year: Hungry-to-see-with-gratitude-and-wonder-what-is-and-beyond)

Kirsty had respite care so that we could go to South Africa to empty out the family home. But this trip was set aside because the family house would not sell. The market is not good. The next best option?

In super spiritual language, Sabbath days or
in plain language, holiday or
in Flemish, lanterfantertijd

The only ‘cheap’ last minute option was Blanes, on the brilliant Spanish Costa Brava coastline. We did everything (very little)  slow to very slow, experiencing the beauty, the warm turquoise Mediterranean see, and the delicious food. Less was more until we came home…

Back into the rat race – the clocks turned to winter time, we had to prepare for speaking at a church camp, the bomb exploded: the family house was sold, schedules and trips had to be changed, emergency respite care to be organised, counselling training continued, speaking at church happened, flight tickets were booked and then everything slowed down again… A six-day strike on Brussels airport. My flight was cancelled, and we had to wait…

(The Year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond)

This Month in Time

We have one second to choose life and see Beauty.

We had 30 years with him and we still happily sing: “Happy birth-day Stiaan”.

Stiaan and Laura had about five minutes from jumping out of the plane before landing back on the ground. ‘Amazing’ was the word they used.

Kirsty and I had two hours to browse through thousands of English second hand books at the annual charity sale. We all love books. We read, and she tears up magazines.

We had a Friday afternoon and met with Deb and Nina, now living in India to ask about life, work, family, church. Precious friends.

We had an evening to socialise and get to know the couple – Ricky and Natalia Venter from South Africa who is to become our new pastors. We celebrated our Africanness, joked about getting hidings growing up, turned red because of the injustice of Apartheid, shared stories, goodness and hope.

Wim had one day of counselling training.

Wim had one week with a group of young people in Saint Hippolyte du Fort (South of France) to share foundational truth about the Relationships that were before we all were. They saw, and it brought freedom.

Wim had two sessions of about 45 minutes each on two Sundays to share about the Trinity and Them in us and us in Them and what makes us wrongly believe we were never in Them and They in us.

We had a season to build and celebrate our friendship with John and Harriet from The Netherlands, now leaving for a new season in South Africa. We will miss our visits, sharing hearts and lives.

We have enough time to love for eternity.

The year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond.

Gratitude celebration: 
• Writing – in this life and hopefully in the life to come.
• Really hearing through creativity.
• Heart-friends.

• Running in the cool of the forest.
• Compassionate stranger coming to the rescue of a cell phoneless-unbrushed-teeth-woman, a pyjama-dressed-uncombed-hair young lady and a happy black dog when our car refused to go after we dropped Wim off at the station, heading for Paris for a week’s teaching.

• Youngsters in Paris discovering life-treasure.
• Sharing our journey stories and people say, “Me too!”
• Stiaan’s best friend becomes a father for the first time, making him the very proud godfather of a petit pink dolly.

• Cycling with Kirsty.
• Together with my soulmate discovering ‘what is and beyond’ – seeing – freedom – excitement! There is more!

Hard grind celebration:

• Brown, sun scorched lawns and plants and most of all, maize fields blowing up dust.
• Bad nights strung like dark pearls of heaviness around my days.
• Not understanding still, the life art of the young lady sharing our lives for the last 25 years.

• Best intensions and still causing hurt to ones closest.
• To be taken into consideration rather than being heard in decision making processes resulting in feelings of ‘voice lessness’ and ‘powerlessness’. Is this not how so many people in the world feel?
• Still learning to live with paradoxes.
• Constant act of ‘letting go’.

They Year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond

As if Autumn came early, the green of June turned brown in July. Europe is drought cracked, thirsting heaven waters. Farmers watch dust and dead – no harvest but wild fires and water restrictions.

This typical African weather with SUN EVERY DAY caused sleepless nights because the house does not cool down and have had us live in dark dens with fans running non-stop. We admired those sweating it out in the heat during the World Cup football, Wimbledon tennis and Tour de France cycling. We also ventured out on our bikes with Kirsty. (Only early mornings!)

Kirsty went on a summer camp and loved it. We stayed home sleeping, reading, running, cycling and loved it – the freedom.

Wim shared a few times – at church and at YWAM Brussels.

The year: Hungry-to-see-with-wonder-and-gratitude-what-is-and-beyond

June

And June was still a green month; a fabulous summer. Time to get fingers all soiled in earth and watch green push through.

Mornings were for jogging into the green forest close to home to revive body and soul – to breathe. Agenda’s silently demanded – meetings, counselling sessions, training, sharing, saying good-bye to friends retiring, tending our ‘farm’…

Our lady stayed over at her centre for a few nights. We headed for the hilly green of the south, to a tiny log cabin in Wallonia, the Belgian Ardennes. We breathed along clear streams, spotted shy deer at dusk, smelled wild plants, strolled in quaint villages and disappeared into the world of books.

Green beans on the stalk in our vegetable garden welcomed us home.