Dad

I lost my father on the 24th of September 2008, for the rest of South Africa that day was Heritage Day or “National Braai Day”, but for me that day signifies disbelief, shock and a completely new existence. Nothing will ever be the same after that day: I will not be able to look at people’s sadness the same way as before, life will not be the same as before. After 24 September living in the present would be the way that I want to live my life. Not looking back with regret or remorse of what has been or of what could have been and what should be.

“Lente in die teologie” 2008 conference.

I consider myself truly fortunate on attending this conference, as it has awakened a lot within. Listening to Nataniel yesterday on what he has to say to the Church and what is expected from the church. I have decided on using some of his discipline in creativity and – because of today’s discussion on technology – decided to start blogging again.

I think that using this blog as a creative space, as a journal and as reflection on God’s journey with me, my journey with God and a general journey with life would be great in helping me to formulate what is going on inside my head and inside my life.

This is not supposed to be my journey alone, but also your journey as reader of this.

I hope this will be the start of great things, but sorry I need to go now as I am already late for a movie with a friend…

Finding God in the unexpected.

This was the heading given to us to reflect on in this session of our retreat. It linking so closely to the theme of my blog, I would recon that it would be good reflecting on this again.

As I have said in “The elusive presence of God” that we don’t always find God where we expect him to be, and sometimes He finds us in the places where we don’t want to be found/confronted/reminded by Him. We also find this trilogy in the story of Emaus, where Jesus had to find the two people, he confronted them again with scripture interpretation concerning what He came on earth to do and with the breaking of bread reminded them again of His presence that is with them. They found Him in an unexpected place and the moment He was found, He vanished, He was lost again – elusive.

This is ironic aswell, how absent God sometimes could be in our conversations about Him – our conversations AROUND Him – where we keep circling, keep missing the mark. Now obviously, without denying His omnipotence, it could be said that our sometimes mediocre attempts to capture God just ends in a futile action, being worthless and without growth. I must admit that sometimes this could be how I experience church gatherings, lifeless, without the breath of God blown into it – this is no exeptional theological point I’m trying to make, this is life experience teaching me this.

However it could also be said, as I said yesterday “God slipping in the cracks of our lives” that even in the monotony of every day life the unexpected presence of God could be found.

God can also – ironically – be found in tragedy, of losing a loved one, a national crisis, a train wreck, terminal illness. These are some of the places where we especially go out to search the face of God, where we go look for healing or to be consoled.

But I think that God also intended that we should go and find God within eachother, to go and be the example that Jesus set for us to be for one another, even if it is the peace and love of togetherness – speachless company.

I think that God is to be found in life itself, in the abundance of life which the kingdom of God already is, but also will become. There God could be found in the self, in the wonderfull way in which we were created and the wonderfull abilities and gifts God blesses us with each day, the abilities we recieved to go out and be Word for others.

Finding God in the unexpected.

This was the heading given to us to reflect on in this session of our retreat. It linking so closely to the theme of my blog, I would recon that it would be good reflecting on this again.

As I have said in “The elusive presence of God” that we don’t always find God where we expect him to be, and sometimes He finds us in the places where we don’t want to be found/confronted/reminded by Him. We also find this trilogy in the story of Emaus, where Jesus had to find the two people, he confronted them again with scripture interpretation concerning what He came on earth to do and with the breaking of bread reminded them again of His presence that is with them. They found Him in an unexpected place and the moment He was found, He vanished, He was lost again – elusive.

This is ironic aswell, how absent God sometimes could be in our conversations about Him – our conversations AROUND Him – where we keep circling, keep missing the mark. Now obviously, without denying His omnipotence, it could be said that our sometimes mediocre attempts to capture God just ends in a futile action, being worthless and without growth. I must admit that sometimes this could be how I experience church gatherings, lifeless, without the breath of God blown into it – this is no exeptional theological point I’m trying to make, this is life experience teaching me this.

However it could also be said, as I said yesterday “God slipping in the cracks of our lives” that even in the monotony of every day life the unexpected presence of God could be found.

God can also – ironically – be found in tragedy, of losing a loved one, a national crisis, a train wreck, terminal illness. These are some of the places where we especially go out to search the face of God, where we go look for healing or to be consoled.

But I think that God also intended that we should go and find God within eachother, to go and be the example that Jesus set for us to be for one another, even if it is the peace and love of togetherness – speachless company.

I think that God is to be found in life itself, in the abundance of life which the kingdom of God already is, but also will become. There God could be found in the self, in the wonderfull way in which we were created and the wonderfull abilities and gifts God blesses us with each day, the abilities we recieved to go out and be Word for others.