31. Under god’s control

Studying the Bible for my parents was discovering life and this world from a completely new perspective. Topics they had never paid attention to before because they had no direct relevance to them were brought to life. Biblical prophecy of the history of our planet was one of those topics.

We would all gather around pictorials that illustrated different prophecies. I was impressed to see how interesting this was to our children not only to my parents. Daniel chapter 2 was our most liked. Mum identified with the Nebuchadnezzar who had a dream that troubled him. From her own experience, she knew when God wants people to understand something he makes it known to them in the most impressive way. God allowed the king to forget his dream to make sure that he found the right interpretation. The dream could have been interpreted by someone to whom God Himself revealed what it was and what it meant, God chose Daniel.

The statue of a man represents different major kingdoms in this planet’s history. Different materials, which the image was build represent the qualities of the kingdoms; the head made of pure gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron, the feet of iron and partly of baked clay. The feet represent our era and there is no more. The statue was hit with the rock and became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth. It represents the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Together we studied some history. The Babylonian empire was followed by the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek empire and the Roman Empire. We focused on the present day situation. Just a year before the Euro was introduced the whole question of mingling and uniting Europe became the centre of our attention. We started reading other prophecies from the book of Daniel for a clearer understanding of this one. It was like putting puzzle pieces together.

What was very significant for my parents is the certainty that the prophecies give. God is in control of this planet. Nothing is happening here that God did not know would happen. God is going to bring His everlasting Kingdom to this planet, and we live at the end time for there is nothing more left of the parts of the statue.

Scientists and movie producers create sensational predictions of our planet. However, God has already revealed our future through prophecies. We can trust God that not only life on this planet but our individual lives are in His control.

32. No regrets

Questions on prophecies triggered some questions about our individual lives. I didn’t know how much time God was going to grant my mother so I was bold enough to ask mum whatever interested me. “Mum if you could relive life again what would you change?” I asked mum when we were on our own.

“What kind of question is that?” mum was surprised and a little annoyed with my question. “You are a God fearing person and you know that life is not about speculating or making it more comfortable for yourself. Life is to be lived with all the decisions that we make and their consequences.”

Mum paused for a moment and then continued to explain. “I don’t know if the choice of my husband was the best one. However, it was my own choice and at the time seemed a good choice. Some things that happened to us were out of our control and others followed our decisions. There were many tensions and struggles in our marriage but many good things came out of it too. Three of you our children are more than any parent could desire. Each one of you in your own way is good, clever and strong. No regrets.”

I provoked mum further, “Mum, have you ever considered divorce?” To this question mum carefully gathered her thoughts. “Divorce? Hm! People think about things that they are prepared to do and not prepared to do. Sometimes I felt as if my marriage was a cross that I carried. At times it was so hard, as you know it well. I wanted things to be different but I didn’t know how to change them and if I could change them at all. I was determined to carry my cross to the end. But you know what? It’s not a cross any more. Dad and I started bonding as never before. God has brought us closer to Him and to each other. It’s a pity we needed to wait all these years to feel thankful having each other and to feel united. No regrets! No regrets, for life is to be lived with all good things that it brings and bad things too.”

Mum’s attitude to life and people always inspired me. A few years before when dad was made redundant he received a substantial amount of money for his circumstances. I encouraged mum to use some of it to renovate the house and I gave her some tips what they could do to make it look nicer. Mum thought it was a good idea and dad agreed. She couldn’t wait for me to see the difference. On our next visit mum was so glad to show all the work that was done. However, I noticed that the job on the walls wasn’t done of the highest standard. “Mum, who did the job?” Mum was so happy to answer, “Our young neighbour is training to become a builder and he did the job.” I commented on that, “So you didn’t need to pay him as a professional?” Mum gave me a serious look and said “Our neighbour needs to feed his family the same way as professionals. So, why should we pay him less?” That was my mum. I gave her a big smile of approval. Mum taught me a great life lesson of treating people the right way not only the correct way.