A Moment of Pause
This September marks the three-year-anniversary of my baptism. An unforgettable day that happened a year after an unforgettable choice: converting to Christianity. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been beautiful beyond measure. So to celebrate, I wanted to share some of the story four years later, and hopefully provide a perspective moment for you too.
Four years ago in August 2018, when I stood at a water temple in Bali…
….a peace that surpasses all understanding suddenly washed over me. It was the last experience in a series of synchronicities that had included an earthquake and a stranger in Singapore telling me his coming-to-Christ story, the first time I had ever heard one.
It was beautiful, but not for me, I always thought, until at some point my heart simply knew. ‘The truth shall set you free’, it says in the Bible. Never had I thought this would happen to me.
The theme song of the retro series ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ best captures what happened next: “Now this is the story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down”.
That’s what I wanted to share about here. The way finding faith changed my life. Perhaps also a reflection moment on life-defining decisions you may have made throughout your life. Looking back, can you see what those moments were? Can you see how they shaped you into who you are today? How they altered the course of your life?
Portrayed in a poem, and also recorded if you prefer to listen, to hopefully provide a moment to pause and pray, reflecting on your life path so far and any next turns you consider taking.
Poem: Four Years After Finding Faith
At a Balinese temple I stood
When a peace washed over me
That would change my life for good
The truth would set me free
“Peace that transcends understanding”
Was the verse that swirled inside my head
My heart knew, my mind was defending
The secure worldview it once had
The verse led me into God’s Word
That’s when I knew, this is true
As if my ears had opened and heard
God saying, “I’ve waited for you”
I came home, a new phase, a new me
From Bali back to The Netherlands
Getting used to my new identity
Find a new job, home, church, and friends
I wish it was one easy ride
And all pieces fell right into place
No longer a single tear cried
But well, that was not the case
There were clients I had to let go
Friends leaving like leaves from a tree
A new home that for years wouldn’t show
Work that twice turned out not right for me
Gave up a life of Balinese ease
With sea, sunshine and palm trees
Some bumps, an occasional breeze
But nothing to make my heart freeze
Now it sounds like a failure, I know
But the opposite is the case
No matter what, and where would go
Peace accompanied this new phase
My character was being changed
Old wounds were being healed
Circumstances rearranged
Breakthroughs slowly revealed
Slowly came friend after new friend
A home I love after three years!
A new church that seemed God-sent
And a burnout to break off old fears
All externals one day fade away
What’s inside will forever stay
Time to leave all false comforts at bay
A new way to face life come what may
Wishing you a beautiful continuation of your day, come what may 🙂
