Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenges me to start out my New Years thus:
"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people, claims, and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with more important tasks...When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of opportunity raised in our path to show us that, not our way, but God's way must be done. It is a strange fact that people frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God's 'crooked yet straight path.' But it is a part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God". Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian, murdered by the Nazis during WWII.
On a lighter note, our "schedule" was interrupted in a most delightful way this past weekend. We had 3 young men in their early 20's (kids of Kathy's cousins) stop by to see us during a 10-day European tour. We were able to give them a little taste of legalized anarchy on New Years Eve, when our usually quiet little neighborhood housing somewhere between 600 - 1000 people (covering a territory equal to approximately 3 square city blocks) turned to bedlam. Millions of dollars go up in smoke in Holland between 10 pm and 2 am every December 31, when anything, anywhere, is legal. The net effect is, you get the kinds of fireworks displays going on 360 degree around you, similar to public shows on the 4th of July in the states. Here are a few pictures of the carnage about 12 hours later, noon on New Years Day.
Brian Nuth, Brent and Randy Johnson
