WELCOME TO HOLLAND

After a two hour flight they finally landed. As they got off the plane they were not greeted with the smells of Italian food or of the Venetian lagoon with its romantic gondolas. Instead, they were welcomed with an assorted rainbow of colored tulips and windmills. Where were they? What happened to all their plans for Italy? What were they to do now, in a place they didn’t know or, for that matter, wanted? What could possibly be in Holland? A pastor named Josh McPherson, shared this story one day to his congregation about his first child. They were a young couple, about to have their first baby girl. But, they soon learned this baby had severe complications. She was diagnosed with spinal bifida. They proceeded with preemptive surgery while she was still in the womb but, in the end, she still had spinal bifida. This wasn’t in their plans for their new family, nor was it what they wanted. They had a choice. They could keep looking for their Italy, grieving their new place, and being stuck there forever. Or, they could embrace the beauty of the tulips, the magnificent scenery of the windmills, walk The Hague ( aka Peace Palace ) and lunch on their smoked sausage and potato casserole called Stamppot. But, in Holland there is also an acquired dish that incorporates herring. Like any new place, there will be those things that you don’t like but sometimes need to try. When Josh and his wife returned home with their new baby girl, his congregation had a beautiful sign up saying “ Welcome to Holland”. Has your life gone in a different direction than you planned? Has your landscape turned from one that you don’t recognize or want? A friend of mine who was awaiting the results of her biopsy was rushed to the hospital this weekend on a completely different health scare. For many, the midterm results were not the direction they had prayed for. And for my bestie, these holidays without her husband, her best friend, will come with mixed emotions and sadness. Each of us has a choice. We can stay stuck with bitterness, grief, anger, or hopelessness. But there is also another path…a path Josh and his wife chose. Not only did they have one child with spinal bifida, but they went on to have three more children, even when the second child had the same disease. They have accepted God’s plan with JOY and have used it to help other families who also have handicap children. But, it would be unrealistic to believe we can do this on our own. We need Jesus. We need a community who comes along side of us, who puts up the sign “Welcome to Holland”, and stays there with us, to explore the new location, together. This is how we show the world the hand and love of Jesus, to be in the glass display, when His plans were not our plans. I don’t know what you may be facing right now but I know Jesus does. I pray you will choose to embrace the tulips and let Him show you how your changed vacation can bring JOY when you least expect it….