Tuesday 19 April 2011

Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear is named after Buzz Aldrin, a member of the first astronaut team to set foot on the moon. I met him when I was a young man. He came to Johannesburg to speak at a few conferences and open air meetings. Mali Kelly asked me to accompany her on the piano as she sang at one of his open air meetings. I happened to sit next to him and his wife. They had their daughter with them. I saw his special built up shoes and asked him about it. 'men were not made to walk on the moon,' he told me. All three astronauts were affected physically in some way or another. The trip into space affected his instep on both feet and the sunken instep has to be supported by special built up shoes. He told me what the trip did to his faith. He said the beauty of the blue planet earth convinced him that there has to be a creator. Only the fool in his heart says there is no God. (Psalm 14:1) Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story cartoon always says, 'to infinity and beyond!' to acclaim the possibility of reaching the impossible. It is inspiring. Meeting Buzz Aldrin was inspiring. I will never forget that day. But inspired me the most was not his trip to the moon, but his strong, simple faith in an Invisible God, whom he worshipped and served. Science and Technology had to bow before the Creator in the end. I feel so sorry for the great intellects in the world who deny the existence of deity. They harm not only themselves but also millions who follow in their wake. To believe that there is a God takes faith. Faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By faith we believe the worlds were created. By faith we receive a good report. We are called to walk by faith and not by sight. Seeing is not believing. We believe first so that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened. We cannot all go to the moon before we believe there is a God. We can simply believe it right there where we are. Nature proves it! But most of all the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the key to believing in God: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) May my chance meeting of Buzz Aldrin inspire others to believe in the existence of a Living God. Those who come to Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

Monday 18 April 2011

Flamingo's at the beach

Flamingo's are normally found in marshes or large lakes. Flamingo Vlei is named after the flocks of birds that frequent our fresh water lake near Tableview, Cape Town. But the other day, my wife, Nola, went for a walk on Sunset Beach, where our home is, and saw flamingo's on the beach! She rushed home to fetch the camera to capture this unusual sight.
Like ballerinas they moved effortlessly in the shallow water, above their own rosy reflections, and seemed undisturbed by the clicking camera, till she came to close and then they scooped up and flew away into the baby blue sky. What a sight. We have it on our desktop as a picture now.
Can you imagine the beauty? It is serene, pastel coloured and unique.
Were they fishing? Or were they catching snails or mussels? But there they were, in all their glory, parading on the beach - just of us!
These moments of awe are the spice of life. These unexpected moments of beauty created just for those who are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.
I have a little picture which I treasure. I used to keep in on my desk for several years during extreme hardship in the ministry as a missionary.
It is a picture of Hilton and a little girl when both were about 3 years old. We took them to the Oceanarium at the Waterfront. At the entrance we stopped at a huge cylindrical glass container that stretched all the way up to the ceiling. The glass container was filled with colourful fish swimming in clear water.
The container had a ledge all around it and because the kids were small we picked them up and allowed them to stand on the ledge. Both of them threw their little heads backwards, and stretched their necks to look at all the exquisite fish. They stood like that for a long time. We snapped a photo for keepsake.
Life is full of awe. As a child one discovers the awe that life presents.
I kept that picture on my desk to remind me never to loose the awe of life. Life's troubles and complications can tie one's mind up with the intricacies of life, and it is easy to loose the 'awe' of life.
But the soul of man needs to experience awesome moments from time to time to revive the weary soul. Without it life is a grind and it grinds one to the bone.
That is one of the many reasons why we live at Sunset Beach: every day we see the most awesome sunset! Sometimes we simply stop what we are doing and go to the beach below to watch the setting sun, dipping into the watery horizon and shooting its last rays up into the sky behind the drifting clouds with a promise that it will be there again tomorrow, and the day after, and the next day...
Nola is fond of such moments. We often enjoy them together. We taught our children to enjoy them. God gave it to us for free. It costs you nothing.
May this computerized cell-phone mad generation never loose the awe of life, the beauty of nature, the simple joys that God has given to all mankind, to enjoy and to relish in the absolute genius of creation.
What a joy it is to be alive!
What a peace it brings to see the flamingo's on the beach.
What a moment. What a treasure.
It makes one rich. May the image remain indelibly imprinted on our memories.
May there be many more such awesome moments of beauty.
Let us remind each other how awesom life is - in spite of what we have to endure.
The glory always outweighs the suffering.
Never loose the awe of life. Remain childlike in enjoying this life. We only have one.