A Truth Universally Acknowledged

A brother engaged is a marvelous thing.

That's right, we're having a wedding! We're gaining a sister! We're losing a brother! However you look at it, it is supremely interesting and beautiful. Mercer has always been the most interesting kid.

A wedding will be great fun. To gain a sister is a fascinating science, plus she is going to be such a wonderful addition to the family, and so perfect for Mercer.

Losing him will be hard. We all rely on his opinions so. But he has been more and more gone over the past few years, so the pain will not be perhaps as acute as it might have been. I really don't know what I'm talking about. This is the first of everything for all of us.

Oh, yes, it is exciting. Happily, cheerily, bubblely, sunny summer thoughtful melancholyish exciting. A brother engaged is a marvelous thing. It changes and charges and beautifies and activates. It gives and takes away. It blesses.

Iconic Goertzen Family Portrait Recreated 70 Years Later!

Maybe we've got too much time on our hands, maybe we've got cabin fever, maybe we just wanted an excuse to dress up on a Sunday, or maybe Avril had finally begged and weedled enough. We did it. And here it is.

The original, taken of the Isaac and Maria Goertzens in 1950.

The recreation, from Quarentine circa 2020.

My Mother (nee Goertzen) wrote a commentary on the process:

"We decided to fulfill Avril's longtime wish as our family historian to recreate the iconic Goertzen family picture from 1950.

It's fun to study a family photo so carefully that you notice not only Cornie's slightly crooked bowtie and Annie's hand so cutely held up in the air, but also Adina's ability to sit up straight while her elbows are resting on her lap and Abe's slightly forward posture looking like he was ready to GO somewhere!    Unfortunately we have two too few children.  So we were missing one of the older brothers in the back row.  And Sonnet had to represent both Agnes and Peter, which she was quite suited for.  (Although I can't quite imagine that Peter would have had a breakdown and asked for a blankie in the middle of the original photo shoot :)

In our picture, the older girls sewed the dresses that they are wearing.  Sonnet is wearing the dress I wore as a flowergirl at Aunt Annie's wedding.  

Amazingly, Oma and I are the same age in the photos, 44 (depending on what time of year it was).  This was for their 25th wedding anniversary, I believe, and our 25th will be next year."

Age comparisons (based on the year, not on when the birthdays occur):

Annie 1        Bronte 1

Peter 3        Sonnet 3

Agnes 7  

Cornie 9      Takis 11

Martha 13    Avril 16

Henry 15     Phoebe 13

Abe 17        Heath 18

Adina 19     Celeste 20

Dave 23

John 24      Mercer 22

Maria 44     Danea 44

Isaac 49     Chuck 46  

Back: Abe, John, Dave, Henry. Front: Adina, Maria, Annie, Cornie, Agnes, Peter (our Opa), Isaac, Martha

Back: Heath, Mercer, Takis, Phoebe. Front: Celeste, Danea, Bronte, Sonnet, Chuck, Avril.

Leave a comment with the details that you notice (or maybe a detail we missed!).

Here is the video Phoebe made of getting the photo set up:

Stay Behind God

This last weekend was Mission Fest, and I think there's a lot of us who came out of it raring to go, to do, to make an impact for the spread of the Gospel - with impatience, even. That is a very good thing. Every one of us needs a little fire burning under the seat of our pants, never satisfied, always ready to jump for the Lord.

For some, the spark that lights their fire is some good ole statistics. Jamie Saint showed us a hundred-yard measuring tape and said that if it represents the 3 billion people who have never heard the Gospel, than the number of full-time missionaries currently on the foreign field were represented by 1/8 of an inch. 90% of those work in countries that are considered reached (where everyone knows at least one Christian).

Others get their spark from hearing a personal story, such as a missionary coming home after spiritual attack or a new believer breaking down in tears because their deceased family members never got to hear the truth (these things happen all the time, all over the world).

However your fire is lit, it burns extra bright right after Mission Fest, and we young people are tempted to run out and start wildly proclaiming the truth. Cherish that impulse, because it is the right one to have. But like all of our urges, it needs to be brought before the Lord and we mustn't forget to be in prayer over our missionary aspirations.

The Lord does not do blanket calls.

He speaks to each person and directs them in His way at the right time. Very likely He has many important lessons to teach you before you can be an effective worker for Him. Learn to tune your spiritual ears. Never resist a prompting, even in a really embarrassing situation. In the journey to overcoming spiritual deafness He may have to shout at first, but if you listen and obey, eventually He will speak more quietly, you will respond more quickly, and you will learn to recognize the voice of the Lord better than the human voices around you.

A few years ago I heard a preacher use a phrase during a missions report, and it has stuck with me ever since. He said he had been eager to move on to the next step on the mission field and was praying for direction, when the Lord replied,

"Stay behind Me."

In all the energy of youth and untamed fervour it is a challenge to stay behind God. Let's talk about this concept.

Obviously it means not running out ahead with our own grand ideas. The Lord is very patient. He runs the clock and He can see the future, so I think we can trust His judgement on the timing of things. If we get impatient with His process we can dash out and end up creating a whole big mess. Staying behind God means waiting for His leading and provision before hurrying into a new ministry or chapter of life.

Another way to look at staying behind God is remaining under His guiding and protecting hand, letting Him take the buffeting and keeping in His wake. He places us behind Him because of His great love for us. I think of the scene in Jane Eyre where Jane and Mr. Rochester are in a room with a mad woman, and he takes Jane and puts her behind him before receiving the wrath of the mad woman and locking her back up. Staying behind God means we are preserved from the worst of the devil's attacks and threats.

The last and most encouraging aspect of staying behind God is that He never asks us to do anything He isn't willing to do Himself. When we walk in His footsteps we know He has been there before us, preparing the way and covering our path with His blessing and grace. He says, "This is the Way. I have walked it and I know what you will encounter along the journey. Walk in it, and I will be with you wherever you go."

The Lord has only ever given me jobs I really enjoy. Somehow no matter where He sends me He always manages to find me my favourite task. I have been discouraged, sure, and there may have been moments of distaste or nervousness, but I have never had occasion to wish I was doing anything else. Fear God, but not because He is a monster. He knows you better than you know yourself, and if you entrust your next step to His direction, He will ensure you never regret it.

Soli Deo Gloria

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