Finding the Sea

Hey :) I'm in Finland! The last months have been filled with emotions, answers to prayer, confusion and rejoicing from one end of the spectrum to the other... I will post an entry about insights from general life soon, but here is something I wrote the other day (17.09 to be exact) when I found out that I can go on a ferry to Suomenlinna using my travel card (which is for all public transport within Helsinki.) It was a much needed moment to finally sit down in silence and really acknowledge the fact that here I am. And it was basically a free ferry ride. Awesome.  

Oh, and I will take this moment to thank you for reading my blog! Feedback is always appreciated, Leave a comment, on here or on facebook ;]

Aaand, last thing: I had so many pictures I wanted to use for this entry that they didn't really all fit, so keep an eye out for the embedded links, you'll find more cool and relevant pictures ^_^

  

  

 





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 I love the ocean.

I love the inconsistent consistency of it. It is always there, yet it is never the same. It is different every time but cannot be mistaken.

One of the rare times I wrote a song it was about the ocean,  and the highlight of my high school career was probably the view of Camps Bay beach from every classroom window (very beneficial during finals…) And the beach at night in Natures Valley when the luminescent plankton lit up the waves… <3  

Watching the sea water serenely slosh on the rocks and spread out to the horizon, with boats happily sailing along and bobbing out of sight under the angle of the earth’s curve, flooded me with peace.  Here I am on the other side of the world, and here is the ocean with me, like always; and how much more so is God with me.

Initially I was going to comment on how funny it is that you can find a deeper spiritual message in just about anything in the world, or be reminded about an aspect of God in everyday things.  But, the more I thought about it, the more serious the thought became. He made this world. Everything in it is proclaiming his awesomeness! I shouldn't be surprised that anything reminds me of the Creator. Often we are just too busy living in our little bubbles to look deeper and notice God in the everyday things, and that is why when we do take a moment to stop and pay attention, it seems so profound.

And there on the rocks of Suomenlinna’s shore, toes in the Baltic Sea, I had that sudden insight; 

 God is like the ocean! Obviously it is an imperfect resemblance, since God is perfect and omni-lots of stuff, but it was cool drawing parallels.

• God, and the ocean to an extent; can be trusted to always be there. 
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• God, and the ocean to an extent, is constant through change, but there still will be something new to discover daily if you look for it.
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• God, and the ocean to an extent, is powerful. What can mere man do against the forces of nature, riptides, and much less, God? When he wants to do something, it will be done. 
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• God is beautiful, and the ocean reflects this!

And the awesomest part? God’s love for you is even deeper than deepest part of the ocean and wider than the fattest distance you could measure across it! (11km deep (Mariana Trench) and 14 000 km (pacific ocean) respectively)  And nothing can separate you from it.

Four months. I’d been here exactly four months before I finally stuck my toes back into the ocean. I moved to Helsinki, which is on the shore of the Baltic sea, a month ago and the docks are barely a kilometre away from where I am studying. How did I manage?  The busy newness of life kept me from venturing down to the seashore. I didn’t even realise how much I missed the ocean until I saw it.

 And I think that can often be the case with your personal relationship with God. The high buildings of life you have surrounded yourself with stop you from seeing how near he really is. How big he really is. How much he wants to be a part of your life! And you don’t realise how much you are missing out on until you make the effort, take the unexpected turn (in my case, a ferry ride to an island) and end up watching the sun setting into a sparkling never-the-same-colour ocean.  

You should try it out. It’s the best. ^^

P.S

Can you tell which pictures are from South Africa and which from Finland? 

Comparing the seashore here to the beaches in Cape Town is like comparing the Atlantic to God, 

imperfect comparison of course ;)

P.P.S

Aahh I have to link this; because it was so funny, and here it is so true. No waves. 

If you fancy a laugh watch the whole thing. If you just want to know what I'm talking about skip to 1:42.

I Got Glasses! Again :P

I got new glasses! B) 

I've had glasses on and off since I was 6. My first ones were round purple ones rimmed with spectacle wearing stars/starfish?.  I got my second pair of glasses (plain blue ones) when I was 10 and a few years later upgraded to the suave half rimmed glasses which were 'so expensive that you have to keep them until you are 18'. Ooh. Death Sentence. I always put them on in exams to feel smart ;D But the years went by and now I got these new ones ^_^ (Still 79 days till I turn 18, not that I'm counting!) 

I've gone through fazes of not wanting to wear my glasses. Especially since only one of my eyes has astigmatism so I don't really notice a major difference whether I'm wearing the glasses or not. My left eye takes over for the other one not seeing properly. Now when I went for the eye check up the optometrist told me that, I should be wearing my glasses as much as possible, especially if I am using 'visual concentration'. I just sat there the me part of me thinking, 'Ooh visual concentration. Sounds cool! :P' and then the rebellious teenager part of me thinking ' Seriously? They don't really make a difference.' Anyways, I got a prescription for new glasses, and went to fetch them today. And they do make a difference! But you only notice once you actually put the glasses on. 

Like my friend Saphie who also just got new glasses said; 'Everything's like HD!' and I agree with her; not only HD, also like 3D! Its really cool! And you appreciate the beauty of stuff a lot more when you can see it clearly...  

You have to wear the right glasses though, if you wear the wrong ones they will probably make your eyesight even worse. It reminded me of Sunday School in Finland ( I wasn't even wearing glasses yet so it must've been aaages ago) they brought like 20 different pairs of glasses and we got to try them all on. Some had big fat lenses that made everything, well, big and fat and out of proportion. Others had cracked lenses which distorted everything etc. All the lenses give a different view, right? But then they sent around the 'God's Love Glasses'. They had no lens.  Everything looks just how it is. God sees us just how we are but he still loves us all the same. 

 It's quite a relief once you realize that you don't have to be something you're not 'just for show'. When you are a child of God that means he has adopted you into his family. He sees every flaw and failure in you but he still loves you enough to send himself down in human form and die for you sins. When we understand the magnitude of his love despite ourselves, other people's views become kind of irrelevant don't they? I mean, who cares what the rude person on the other hockey team shouts at you when you know what the Ultimate King thinks of you? 

Are you having trouble seeing the beauty around you clearly? Or in other people and yourself? These lenses might help; Get to know God and his love for you through reading the bible and talking to Him in prayer. These help you base your identity in God rather than on man. 'For man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart'. When we wear His 'glasses of love' we get to see true beauty :) Try it out!

xx


ps. here are my glasses! Yes, they're purple and orange.. ^_^ (i'm impressed by my phone's camera!)

Ahahaha and here are my old ones ^^,

A date under the stars...:)

 

Shooting stars are quite over-rated, I think. It's one of those stereotypical scenes from movies where they are lying in a park having a DMC ('deep meaningful conversation' for those of you that don't care for shortening this kind of everyday phrases;) and then they have that moment-

Guy 'Aren't the stars beautiful tonight?'

 Girl '( Happy sigh) Yes...'

*moment of silence*

Girl ' Wow did you see that shooting star?'

Guy ' Yes I did!  Quick, make a wish!'

Girl 'Ok.' *makes a wish* 'Wow, what an amazing and special moment share with you.' aww :)

Riiight I'll give you a moment to get over that mushiness.

As I was saying, people's perspective on shooting stars is all wrong. Yes they are cool when they do manage to make an appearance, but when it comes right down to it, most of us are unlucky in our movie recreation moments, and so, you will probably end up sitting there for hours freezing your butts off without seeing a single one (unless youre really clever and checked to make sure you're stargazing during a meteorshower;). Additionally their appearance is usually limited to 1-5 seconds so there is a huge chance that you and your date aren't staring at the same spot in the massive night sky at the exact same time. That awkward moment when a shooting star spurts across the sky, and your date sees it, and you don't.

Now what I learnt when I was holiday with my neighbors in Zeekogat (see it doesn't have to be on a date. Ive never done this on a date. Come to think of it i haven't been on many dates... that's besides the point.) Is to look for Satellites. THAT my friends, is the best fun ever. There are about 3000 satellites orbiting earth out of roughly 8000 man made objects in total. (ie junk that's been left in space) and they range in size from the International Space Station to microsats that can be 10cm in diameter. Those are on average visible for so much longer, as their shine comes from reflecting sunlight while orbiting around us, instead of from catching fire and then disintegrating moments later in the atmosphere. Satellites crossing the sky are enjoyable for all and can be shared without the fear of missing out, especially if you have one of those really powerful green lazers, 'cause then you can use it to point them out to those less observant than you.

The Bible says we are the light of the world. We reflect God's power and light through our lives. Shooting stars look pretty, and that flash of light is very memorable for the moment, and then its gone. Satellites stick around for longer and can be shared. We meet so many people every day! Driving to work or studies, at school, in the mall. Never underestimate your impact on another persons life. You may only make a short shooting star appearance, or you may stay beside them for most of their life. But each person you meet sees your light. And what is that light telling them about you, your beliefs, and your God?

 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5.14-16

ps. Another interesting insight from this satellites vs. shooting stars story; shooting stars are illuminated by burning themselves up, and they last only a few seconds. However satellites are illuminated across the sky. Through what? They don't create any light themselves. They are reflecting the sun's light. Don't try keep yourself alight, let God's love and joy fill you as you trust in him. That light lasts a lot longer. :)

Who is the Life of Your Party?

Hey Everyone!

I am officially Seventeen! Most people don't believe me, but it's all cool. But I think the older you get, the more insignificant the change is. I was at my neighbors birthday party and we calculated that as he turned 3, his age just increased by 50 percent. My age increased by about 6.3 percent. By the time you turn 100 (if you do) your age would be increasing by a mere 1 percent! Of course it is good that it works this way and not vice versa, imagine if when you turned 30 your age would increase by 50 percent, you would actually turn 45! Confusing and a bummer hey.. :)

Now that we are over that mathematical fun fact about birthdays, I can get to the major theme that everyone looks forward to at the special time of year, at least I do. I get overly excited, actually. The Birthday PARTY. Obviously. My mom has long ago handed over the organising of family parties to me, she makes the food, and I plan the rest. And I love it! I think it was at my 11th party that I made the first official treasure hunt on my own. Half of the clues had blown away by the time we were starting so I stationed my siblings in the places where the clues had disappeared from and made them repeat the clues like parrots. Big families are useful for this kind of things, although it may have worked better if they would have remembered the clues! 

But since that party I dare say my game choices have been adapted to the windy climate of the observatory and the quality of the activities has improved. I went on to have an Amazing race party one year, a survivor slash pool party and even this 'mixed up dinner party' where people ordered numbers off the menu and had no idea what food they would get! 

 Every year the guest list get longer, the happenings get more elaborate, and expectations became higher for both me and my friends. These all bring me to this year. Suddenly I didn't feel that amped 'it is party planning time' feeling that usually comes as soon as one party is finished. I was daunted by the fact that I was supposed to come up with yet another get together. What if people wouldn't enjoy it? I was severely stressed out about what used to be the highlight of my year. (of course some of you don't appreciate this kind of stressing over planning and prefer to just take it as it comes, but I plan my parties okay? and the planning usually helps!)

Enter my mom. I think moms are seriously under rated these days, lets stop and think about this for a second before I carry on. All that stuff she goes through for you, cooks, cleans, drives, stays up late waiting for you to come home, then listens to your problems even when she has a million of her own. Impressive! This generation has some big shoes to fill... :) Anyways, so my mom comes into the picture. Basically I was busy venting out all my 'my party is going to fail, no one's coming everything is going wrong' teenage whining thing to her and she just turns around and says ' Rebekka, who is the one who will make this party succeed; you or God? God is going to bring the people he wants to bring to your party, and he will make it work. Leave it to Him.'  

  

I found Deuteronomy 8.17-18 -->

 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Wow. Reality check. 

I was looking at my party like meMEmeMEmeMEmeME. But Christ is in me. I was made alive in Him. It is intriguing how something so seemingly secular as a birthday party, can have God's hand in it, and be used to glorify Him! I had not thought about my party in that light, at all. But now that I did, I could feel all the stress and pressure lift off me. And everytime something made me start feeling anxious, I could stop and say ' God, you take this from me, I trust you.' 

I stopped worrying about the party, and guess what? It was the best seventeenth party I have ever been at. There was enough food, enough games, enough chilling, enough friends... it was perfect. The 'vibe' was amazing, when my mom blessed the braai meat before we ate there was this unity in spirit, its hard to explain.. But I couldn't stop smiling and I felt so happy. I think everyone enjoyed it immensely, at least that is what i gathered from the feedback I got! People were blessed by the party, and the conversations and games impacted everyone. A birthday party! God is interested in the most peculiar things, because we are interested in them.

When the last person left past midnight I sat down in my room and thought about the evening. This joyous feeling came over me, and I just knew- 'That was all God.'

He is awesome.

*I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.*  galatians 2:20

:)