Finding Purpose - Song of my Life - Kristine van Dooren

Welcome friends! As English speaking women, living in Germany, we talk about how we have learned to study the Bible. We have gone through many different phases in life, as wives and mothers. We have also learned to be flexible, in understanding different kinds of denominations, and cultural applications. Plus that, we have the challenge of studying the Bible, not only in different English versions, but also reading our German Bibles. It's definitely a life long journey, going deeper into God's Word, personally and with others. We are encouraged by these words in Psalm 19; 8: "The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever."

In my last episode I referred to the title of a message that Thomas gave in 1989, “Rising up to the challenge of reaching the next generation.” It was aimed at the parents in the church, and he would have been thinking of the generation of our children. This idea takes on even deeper meaning for me now, because my interest is the generation of my grandchildren, which ranges from ages twenty six, down to nine years old. Thomas was considering the future, but I have the benefit, of knowing how our daughters lives developedover the years. His example and investment in their lives has been fruitful, and I have had the joy in watching their children grow up. A common idiom we use in reflecting on the past is, “My,how time flies.” All of the special days, months and years that we experience are actually only fleeting moments. That’s why I titled my podcast “Finding Purpose;” because it's important to know what your true purpose in life could be, or should be. So as usual, I looked to see what the Bible says about life...

Thomas wrote in a newsletter at the end of 1989: “One particular blessing and answered prayer, was our trip to the US this past summer. We had prayed that God would make it possible to visit Kristine's family in California, whom we hadn't see in 4 years. Not only was it a special family reunion, but we were also able to visit our home church in Eureka, and ourfriends from Guatemala, who now have a church in Miami. At both churches, we gave a seminar for families, on praise and worship. It was a very refreshing and encouraging time with the Lord, and being together with old friends.“In my past Episode # 172, I had talked about my parent’s visit to Munich in August of ’88. They loved coming to Germany, but their main goal was to see their newest granddaughter Debby, for her second birthday. At the time of this following story, our girls were ages 16, 14, 12, 10 and 3. We were all excited about spending a few weeks in the States. We got off to a roaring start, with our first stop being Miami, a place we had never been before. PS: Our German song that Thomas wrote is Psalm 100! here the link to "Lift High the Lord our Banner" https://youtu.be/0Pyueyw_Tms?is=MJeHYAmP-Qho0ETC 

Today I am returning to my chronological episodes. This one takes us back to my previous stories that took place in 1989. It just so happens that this week, is the German holiday, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The national holiday is called “Tag der Deutschen Einheit” (the Day of German Unity). This event impacted us personally, because Thomas grew up in West Berlin, and his family was living there.  At the first break of the news about the borders beingopened, my mother in law Nadja, had called us on the Thursday evening, of November 1989. Thomas was then immediately on the phone with our friends in Munich, who saw the news on TV that evening. This is what happened:

The steps that began, in letting God my Father bring healing; were all about finding His truths in the Bible. God’s Word and my husband’s example, in enduring all kinds of trials, was the path to follow. Scriptures that I had been taught, took on deeper meaning. For example In Psalm 138, 8 “The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord endures forever.” Forever means never ending, that I will continue walking in his ways; his love will accompany me and my children. The Apostle Paul while imprisoned, wrote to encourage the believers in Philippians, Chapter 1, “And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Even though he could not be with them, he was sure of their future, but he also warned them of troubles ahead. At the end of the chapter, he wrote, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”