Wat de toekomst brengen moge,
mij geleidt des Heren hand;
moedig sla ik dus de ogen
naar het onbekende land.
Leer mij volgen zonder vragen;
Vader, wat Gij doet is goed!
Leer mij slechts het heden dragen
met een rustig, kalme moed!
Waar de weg mij brenge moge,
aan des Vaders trouwe hand,
loop ik met gesloten ogen
naar het onbekende land.
This is one of the praise-songs I sang with my family last night. We always try to sing after dinner on Sunday nights. When we lived in Holland we sang Australian psalms and hymns, but now that we live in Australia we mainly sing Dutch psalms, hymns and other songs. (So Rutch, it's safe for you to come over for Sunday night dinners.) Seeing it was my last Sunday night home for a while, we sang a few extra songs. There will be a few things I will miss about Albany, especially cause that is where my parents live, but I can't wait to move to Bunbury and see what the future holds.
Life has ups and downs and right now I am experiencing an 'up'. 2011 has been a crazy year. I was in Holland at the beginning of the year and in Canada and America in August and September for a wedding. My parents had to go to Holland a few times because my oma was very sick. I moved house twice and in the middle of all that I was busy just living my life as well.
2012 has proven to get crazy again! At the beginning of the year my oma past away and my dad went back to Holland, I have done a summer session at uni and all of a sudden decided to move to Bunbury to study a semester on-campus.
I am however full of energy and excitement to tackle the challenges that will arise in this coming year. Yesterday morning I heard an amazing sermon about thankfulness and I realized how much I have to be thankful for! First of all I can be thankful for the fact that I can call myself a child of the Almighty God. No matter what happens this year, I know he will be there with me! That is pretty much what the dutch song is about (for the people that can't read dutch).
Secondly I can be thankful for the amazing family I have been placed in. Although we are a bit crazy and I can't keep up with them all, I do feel blessed to be part of our family. It suck
s that some of my siblings live on the other side of the world, but thankfully we can keep in touch through skype, email and phone. And thankfully I still have my parents, Gerwin, April, Arjan and Brendon on this side of the world. April and Gerwin both live close to Bunbury, so I will be seeing a lot more of them!
Thirdly I can be thankful for the amazing friends God has given me! Although it sucks that they are spread over three different continents, it also brings along great holiday opportunities :) And thankfully some of them live on the same continent as me, so we can go camping or go to Dylan's and eat a VERY unhealthy piece of cake.
I am also very thankful for the opportunities God has given me over the last few years and for the opportunities that He continues to give me. I have been able to travel to different continents, have different jobs which I enjoyed, start a new study and I have had
the health to do all this!
I still have 3 years to go before I will receive my bachelor of social work. Coming semester I hope to do four units. These units will be:
- Human behavior in the social environment
- Addictions and Practice
- Aboriginal Histories of the Present
- Gender, Families and Professional Practice
All of them look pretty interesting, but the one unit I am very excited about it is the Aboriginal History one.
My plan is to leave Albany on Wednesday, so I have a few days to get settled before I start uni on the 27th.
The next time I check in I hope to be In Bunbury!
Annette
We were all pretty exciting about going camping!
I love the feeling of waking up on the beach.
Although even then I am so NOT a morning person!!!
Hello, Annette:
ReplyDeleteMy name is Margriet and I live in Canada. My Mother passed away in 2001. We came from Holland in 1951. Over all those years, I remember her singing this Hymn with Dad, although I could only remember a few of the words. Thank you so much for posting it here.
Mom told me that this Hymn was the one they would sing all through their married life, as trials and tribulations came their way, and as they praised God for His goodness.
When we came to Canada on a ship, in February over rough seas, she remembered they sang this Hymn often. It must have been a very scary time for them....three children, post war, all their worldly goods had been lost, leaving all family and friends behind, and coming to a strange land, with strange people, customs, and language. It is the story of all immigrants, and this Hymn captures their spirit so admirably. Thank you again for posting it, so that I may include it in my family's history.
Margriet Kitchen (Hofman),
Have a great time at university, and best of luck in your life. (Our granddaughter is going to University in one year, here in Canada, and is also interested in pursuing a Social Services career)
RalphandMargriet@shilohranch.ca