About five years ago Riekert and I traveled to the Greek island of Kefalonia with friends of ours. We had dreamt of a holiday in Greece for most of our married life and we were determined to make this a time to remember.
Our plan was to have no plan, to be impulsive and carefree, to live amongst the locals and to experience the island as
sincerely as we could possibly do within two weeks.
Our holiday exceeded our wildest expectations. We rented a little car and explored the island at leisure. The pristine beaches were desolated because the tourist season had not yet begun. We ate where and what the Kefalonias ate, we met wonderful people and made many happy memories. Because we went in the early spring, the temperatures were cool. Despite this, Riekert really wanted to dive. We found someone who lent him the equipment and he swam out into the little bay. The water was freezing and he couldn’t dive for long but came up gleefully clutching an anchor! The kind grocers below our apartment carefully wrapped it and we left Kefalonia with our souvenir. Riekert caused quite a stir with his dark glasses, Indiana Jones hat and backpack with the anchor sticking proudly out of the top.
Back at home, our dear friend Hannes converted our treasure into a candle chandelier that will be hoisted over our dinner table at L’Abri.
What a journey! From anchor to chandelier; from Kefalonia to Vermont; from the depths of the sea to the rafters of a family home; from hard labour to luxurious leisure; from discarded rust to reigning glory.
There is a song that the Afrikaans people sing that says God takes us out of the depths and places our feet on an eternal Rock.
(Baie diep haal Hy my uit. Hy sit my voete op ‘n ewige Rots.)
He changes our identity and our destiny! Like the anchor from Greece, God takes us on an undreamed of journey, He gives us a new purpose and He crowns us with His glory.
When we sit down at our table and see the ring of candles above our heads we will always be reminded of God's redemptive gift of salvation. He truly brings us out of darkness into His glorious light!