I wonder…

There are lots of things I wonder about as days come and days go….

My mind thinks in wondering….

The last two days I have wondered often about my Pake. Let me sidetrack for a quick definition lesson:

The Frisian grandmother ‘beppe’ (bep-puh) and the grandfather ‘pake’ (pah-kuh). in Friesland you’d call your mum ‘mem’ and your dad ‘heit’ (height).

Yesterday was the anniversary of my Pake’s death. I was in fourth grade when he died. I wish I would have had more time with him. I wonder much about his life and his journey. I remember that he was a quiet man. I have heard that he was a good provider and worked hard. I consider him to be a risk taker because today is the anniversary of their immigration departure. This picture was taken 59 years ago just before they set out…

I wonder how it was for my Pake to set out from the land he knew to an unknown land…

I wonder how it was for my Beppe to say good-bye to her family (including two of her children) and gather her children to trust her husband’s vision…

I wonder how it was for my Uncles and Aunts to leave their friends, their school, their neighborhood to board a ship which would take them to a new place where they didn’t understand the language, came face to face with a different culture and felt like strangers in a new land they now called home….

I wonder about so much….

And yet I can see where God’s hand provided for the many people impacted by this adventure….

I wonder what adventure you are being called to or convicted of today. I wonder if it carries big risks and if it will change your family story.

I wonder what it will be like for you to say good-bye to what (who) you need to say good-bye to and what you might be embracing…

I have a favorite quote and when I read it I see my Pake and Beppe’s faces….In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Thank you Pake and Beppe for being willing to lose sight of the shore and for demonstrating to us that trusting God can sometimes require big risks and bring about great rewards over time!

The Maasdam ship then…

and The Maasdam ship now….(maybe a Holland American Cruise on the Maasdam is in order! :-))