Reflection

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A happy grandmother relates

"It happened early in August at the seaside. Jasmijn, my daughter, and me were sitting on the beach. The children were playing at a distance of 4 or 5 meters from us in the front of the water. Suddenly I heard Bram screaming and I just still saw how he fell through his legs.

Recovery from a severe burn out

“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Cor 4:5)

I was doing for over 30 years all kind of leadership tasks in the church of Jesus, when a concurrence of events led to a complete mental crash. I entered unexpectedly and unwantedly a period of burn-out that would last several years.

I was relieved of my job as fulltime pastor and I was obliged to stop my involvement in Christian Flanders. I did not preach anywhere for over a year, although I had been doing this for years throughout the whole of Flanders. I even felt written off by God and fellow human beings. The civil society declared that I was incapable to work.

Sorting!

In Belgium we figured it out: the time that you could just dump your trash on the sidewalk for the garbage truck to pick it up is long gone. Television, glass, cans, green waste… everything used to end up in 1 bag, cart or box. If people back then would have told us one day we would be sorting that junk ourselves, we would have had a good laugh about it. Now, as the years have passed, we are there: we are so used to sorting the stuff, that we are shocked when we find someone that does not do so, because it serves our environment!

So who did invent sorting really? God, of course!
You could object that when God created the world there was no paper trash nor were green waste containers required. But God taught us how to sort more than merely visible trash. He also taught us sorting our thoughts, a practice that, if well done, contributes to a happy life.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly thing” (Colossians 3:2) is His commandment. “demolish strongholds… that sets itself up against the knowledge of God…” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) is another advice He gave us. After all these years some of us have still not excelled in this type of sorting. All too often we still fill ourselves with every possible thought and junk that we can find, the media being well-willing to serve our every need...

With the holidays coming up my suggestion to you is this: try sorting your thoughts, leading them instead of them leading you. This type of sorting will change your life, and in time, the whole world!

Enjoy your holidays!
Many blessings,

Hugo