The story of a picture

2009-07-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

A picture can say more than thousands words ...- or it can need more than 1000 steps to get it. So it happened with the following one, which was shot in the last year in summer

It was on a saturday during lunchtime, when I reached the small village with the many hills surrounding it. When I left the railway station, I made a short stop and took a deep breath of fresh air. "What a lovely place in midst of all this forested hills".

My eyes went along the hill range and a big cross caught my attention:" How big will it be? It is so good visible from here," I thought by myself. " I would like to have a closer look at it"

I sighed. There would be not enough time for it.

*

It was the 80. birthday of my aunt and she had invited the relatives into a hotel in this lovely small mountain village. I was the latest newcomer, because all others had checked in the evening before.

"Your aunt has expected you earlier, but now all have left the hotel for a sightseeing tour in the surroundings. They will back at evening for a big dinner!" I was informed by the man behind the reception.

So I brought my small baggage up to the hotelroom, took my digitalcamera and a village map, and left the hotel again.

*

Where could they be? I looked around up to the hills, looked in my map. I could not come to a conclusion. " I do not know!" had the receptionist answered my question with an apologizing gaze . "They can be everywhere!"

Perhaps to comfort me a little bit he had added:" Perhaps you should go up the big mountain . You know, that one with the ski lift!" I remembered! He continued "There is a sightseeing restaurant and I have heard, that they wanted to take there coffee and cakes later."

I looked up to that hill. Ok, perhaps I should follow that advice. It would take me some to get up there. I looked at my watch: 2 o`clock p.m . "May be they will take coffee and cakes at four o`clock."

Enough time!

*

continuation will follow

The right book at the right time!

2009-06-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I was in a kind of life crisis. I had just come back to my hometown and did not know how to go on. So I did ....nothing!

After a while several people, who knew me and perhaps wanted to help me, critisized me very severely for this inactivity! They were christians like me and in their view, I had started to live an idle and godless life.

I felt wrongly accused and reacted angrily as a result. I got frustrated and at last sadly thought:" Why don't they understand my situation? Why don't they see that I need more time?"

*

At that time I sometimes went to the university to read a little bit in the big library.
So one afternoon I had just passed the entrance , when I suddenly heard the laughing voice of a young woman: " To err is human!"

Obviously she hadn`t said that to me, but I felt deeply touched by these words. A little bit irritated I walked on to my favorite place in that library.

Suddenly a funny thought came in my mind:" Why not take first a walk through the library!" I do not know why, but I gave in that thought and started to walk aimlessly and "blindly" through the corridors. At last I suddenly stopped in front of a book shelf and took a book out of it.

I really had not expected much from it, but now I read with surprise its title:"About the error"

*

The next two hours I spent reading this book. It became very clear to me, that being mistaken is part of our human nature. And has to happen ... "naturally"!

Naturally this was not a new thought to me, but in my situation it was a "revelation" to me. Now I felt comforted and was able to forgive my critics. They had been mistaken, but they had acted ...humanly!

"Are you willing to pay the costs?"

2009-05-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

So once a famous preacher came into my pentecostal church and he preached about changes in our inner life, in our character:
" God can change your life, your character! Do you want, that He changes your inner life?"

He gazed intensively into the great assembly. "Yes, I want ! Amen and Hallelujah " was the lividly reaction of the audience. "God can do everything!" someone cried enthusiastically! Cheers were heard! "Yes, he can! God is great! Yeah"

The preacher smiled:

" Well, good to hear that " , he said and made a short pause. "But are you also willing to pay the cost for such a change in your character?- Maybe there will come problems and troubles in your life, when God begins his work in you. Are you willed to accept this also?"

Again he gazed intensively into the assembly room. This time there was no Amen or Hallelujah. Only silence!

After half minute he said slowly: "Thank you , brothers and sisters, that you are so honest!"

***

At that time I made vacation in a friend`s house in the near of my hometown Duesseldorf ( Germany) . Behind me laid eight intensive month on a pentecostal bibleschool in a small town in the southern part of germany. In front of me a practical course in a pentecostal community in Bremen, which is a big city in the northern part of Germany.

One year ago in the age of 30 I had given up everything to become a "worker in the Lord`s vineyard"! So perhaps to serve as a preacher or a missionary in a foreign country. All seemed to be possible. I was absolutely decided to go where fate would lead me.

*

2 days after the strange preach about the inner change and its cost I sat relaxed in my friend`s garden. I read for a while in the bible, but became a little bit tired and closed it. The warm sun on my skin, the smell of the flowers, a bird singing ... what a lovely day!

My thoughts went forward to Bremen. What would wait there for me? But I was never good in thinking forward, so my thoughts went back to the preach of the inner change. What had the preacher said: "God can change everything. Also your inner life. Do you want that?"

My shortcomings were always well - known to me. So why not? An inner change done by god sounded good! Perhaps I could serve Him later better after such a change. I started to consider it seriously.

Some minutes later I made my decision. I closed my eyes and prayed: " God, I want this change! Amen!" - I was really a bit surprised,when an intensive thought came in my mind : "Are you sure , that you are willing to pay the cost?" I really had forgotten that aspect of the preach.

To be honest, I was really a little bit shocked about this question. "What are the costs?" I asked. The answer came immediately: "Suffering!" There now was a pause, only the bird in the near did not stop his jovial song. Did he know about suffering?

"Yes, I am! " said I with a firm voice. In the next seconds I saw in a kind of day dream me walking into a bank, staying at a counter, taking money in my hands and leaving again the bank. End of the scene!

I really was puzzled. This all made no sense to me. Had I gone lost in my own silly thoughts? "Hm, I do not know!" I murmured to myself. "Better I write it down!" I took my diary and wrote down this "dialogue" with god!

***

Two days I left my friend`s home and travelled to Bremen to spend there the next 4 months with the practical in that pentecostal church.- I reached Bremen at friday evening and on monday morning would start my work. So not much to "acclimatisize".

Most of the time I stayed in my flat. Only on sunday morning visited the church assembly of that community. I introduced myself on the pulpit and they gave me a warm welcome. Especially the second pastor, called Walter, was nice to me.

On monday morning I walked into the bureau of the first pastor.-I got a warm welcome by the secretary, the pastor`s daughter, and some easy works to deal with. The pastor was for some days on a journey, as I had already been told the day before. It was a quiet and nice start of my practical.

After lunch I went again into the bureau, when Monica told me:" Well Heiner, Sister Eberlein was here. The old lady needs some help. Could you please go to her."

So it where only some meters to her flat and a minute later I ringed at her door. After half a minute I heard from inside: "Hello, who is there?" "Ah, here is Heiner, the new trainee from the bible school!"

A key was turned around and the door opened:" Please, come in! I have already waited for you!"

***

Sister Eberlein was a nice, old lady and I followed her into the livingroom. She walked very slowly supported by a walking stick and touched with her other hand sometimes the wall or a piece of furniture for orientation:" My eyes," she complainted. " I just came today out of hospital. I have been operated on both eyes. Ah, it is no fun to become old!"

I had seen the two blinders on her eyes and wondered about them:" Two weeks I am not allowed to use my eyes," she added. "It is a shame!" - We sat both down at the big table in her living room and I got a cup of coffee. "And you are the young trainee of the bible school?" she asked curiously.

***

After some minutes of small talk I asked her: "Sister Eberlein, in bureau I was told you need some help. So what can I do for you?"

"Yes!" she said. "I need money! As I told you I came just today out of hospital . So I want you to accompany me to the bank in the city to get some money from the bank." She got on her feet and it seemed ,that she wanted immediately start.-

I was shocked! I imagined her slow walking and her blinders . How should this work ?

"Sister Eberlein", I said calmly, " I do not think, that this is a good idea! You have difficulties with walking and cannot see anything in the moment!" " But I need the money!", she insisted. "Well, I know," I answered," but you can give me a paper of authority and I alone get the money from the bank."

She did not like that idea: "It is so much money! I need 1000 DM. What if you loose that money? It is so dangerous today! So many evil persons!"

At last I convinced her to trust me and she gave me that paper."Please be careful!" she said again. "There are so many evil persons!" I got on my feet." Sister Eberlein , in one hour I will be back with the 1000 DM. You will see!"

I was already at the door, when I heard her again: "Hello, please come back. I forgot something!" I went back to the entrance of the livingroom. "Could you please buy me on your way back a package of milk in the supermarket?"

***

I left her flat with a feeling of relief. Luckily I had convinced her and now it was easy going. I took the tram and 15 minutes later I was in the city . When I had found the bank I went inside and five minutes later I left again with 1000 DM in a small handbag.

When I was already in the near of Sister Eberlein`s flat, I suddenly remembered the milk. I looked around for a super-market and remembered one, I had seen on an earlier walk. So I turned around in that direction.

In the super-market I took a trolley, put the handbag with the money in it and searched for the milk. After I had got it, I went to the cash register. There I had to wait in a row.

So standing there with my trolley in front of me, a young woman standing in the row of the other cash register caught my attention. She was nice and attractive, an eye-catcher.

When it was my turn at the register I took the milk out of my trolley, laid it on the counter and paid it with the money of my purse. Then I brought the trolley back the other ones and left again the super - market.

So everything was done and I took path in direction of Sister Eberlein`s flat. It might be after 20 meters, when sudenly a shocking thought came in my my mind: "The handbag!"

In my hands were only the milk bag! No handbag!

***

I was under shock! As you will presume, the way back into the super-market was in vain. The handbag with the 1000 DM remained lost. " Here come in many drug addicts", said the woman at the registry. " They always need money. Perhaps one of them has robbed it out of the trolley!"

So may be it happened in the moment, when I had watched the nice young woman. May be it was an addicted or someone else. The money was lost and I had to tell it Sister Eberlein.

I felt very calm inside without any desperation. It just had happened and now I had to think, how to move on. I decided to go first back to my flat.

*

At my flat I sat down and tried to think it over. I couldn`t think clearly and therefore I switched on TV to distract me a little bit. A daily soap was on. Two young man talked about something. One man said:" They have robbed me 1000 DM today. Do you understand this?" I stared at the screen in total disbelief.

What a coincidence! They about a robbery of 1000 DM and 20 minutes before that had happened to me. For the first I realized, that this had happened not by chance. It had to happen.

And then came like a flash the scene in my friend`s garden and the crucial question into my mind:
"Are you willing to pay the costs?"

Hadn`t I begged god to change my inner life? And hadn`t I accepted suffering for it? And hadn`t I seen myself in a day dream walking in a bank to a counter?

Suddenly it was very clear in my mind. God had answered my prayer and had prepared me for this terrible situation. He had showed me in a day dream four days ago, what would happen.

If you believe or not. After this sudden realization I felt lucky!

***

When I told Sister Eberlein about the loss, she clapped her hands together and shouted: "Oh, my god!" But then in the next second she became quiet, sat down on a chair and said with a low and friendly voice: "O.K, it has happened! We cannot change it!- But you will have to pay the money back!"

So I did! Every month she got 100 DM from me till everything had been paid!

***

God had obviously started to change my inner life

Stories out of my life as christian

2009-05-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

It is now almost 24 years ago, that I have become surprisingly a christian. Surprisingly in this way, that I had 24 hours before no intention to become one. You can read my Saul to Paul experience on my homepage mauerblume.de.tl under the title:

"The Lord will come soon!"

Here in this blog now I want to share some stories from my life as christian. My intention is to make evident, that God is really existent and becomes evident in believer`s life. Bytheway in all lifes!

So I hope you can profit from it! It is an experiment and we shall see, where it will lead to ...!

not-forever-chess

The story of a picture

The right book at the right time!

"Are you willing to pay the costs?"

Stories out of my life as christian