With This Ring

One week after my arrival at Merindol Farm, Danie took me out for lunch. We drove to Rustenburg, the nearest town, and went to the Waterfall Mall. Arriving early, we decided to walk around the mall, until lunch time. Holding hands, laughing and joking with each other,we slowly strolled along the wide isles, lined with bright lights, and Christmas Carols playing in the background. I realised, I only had one more week with this amazing man, and then had to return to my hometown to spend Christmas with my parents and children. I clutched tighter to his hand, knowing I would miss him more and more each time we were apart. So kind, so gentle, so caring ... this kind of love was new to me. Undemanding, unselfish, giving all of himself. I felt special, almost priceless. As I relaxed and enjoyed the moment, I suddenly heard Danie saying - "Let"s get engaged!" - With a sudden bump I fell off cloud nine and hit earth with a force. "Get what?" I gasped. "Engaged!"

I turned my head, and gazed into those striking blue green eyes that always had a sparkle in them. Danie was smiling, with so much expectation, and I could clearly see he was dead serious. Mind racing, sudden fear gripped my heart - Should I? Could I? What if? - I had prayed so hard for God to choose the right man for me, as my choices had not been good, and all I had was a heap of ashes. I wondered, "Is this the man, Lord? Is Danie Your choice for me?" From far away I head my voice cry out in anticipation - "Yes, why not?" Like two kids on a merry go round, we held tightly onto each other, our feet shuffling in a frenzy amongst the crowds, and headed for the jewelry store.

We stopped in front of the jewelry store window, and gazed in awe at the shining stones, as the lights that shone upon them, bounced off like sparks. In we went, to view the entire range. Ring after ring was placed on my finger - and then my eye caught the most exquisite one - silver gold, with one single diamond perched in the middle. It must have had my name on, because as it slipped onto my finger, the fit was perfect..."This one" I whispered. Danie looked at me and smiled. As I took it off, the price tag inside fell off - "Oh my! No ... No ... not this one!" Danie looked puzzled - "It is far to expensive" I mumbled. Throwing his head back, he chuckled and told the shop assistant he would take it. I tried to argue, but he ignored me saying - "Nothing but the best for you Dia" Dia being the love name he had begun calling me.

Over lunch, he slipped the ring on my finger saying "I love you Dia, and I want to marry you" I was blown away, like a feather in a brisk breeze. I was ecstatic as the diamond brightly and proudly sparkled on my finger. Then reality hit home! What about our children, his and mine. I had never even met his girls, he had met mine twice. Excitedly, we snapped the ring on my hand with the cell phone, and sent the photo via mms to parents, children, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. I am sure you can guess the reaction - most were as happy as punch ... except the kids!

Accepting Jesus as your Saviour is very much the same. He is also dead serious when he chooses His bride - you and me. He gave everything, even His life! He loves us unconditionally, He is kind, caring, understanding, does not demand, but gives us freedom of choice. Yet, when we accept Him, we may loose friends and family. We have to count the cost, and decide for ourselves, if we are willing to become His bride. I took the chance,- and have never looked back.

Two weeks to Forever

My two week vacation on the farm had kicked off to a good start. Impressed with what I saw and naturally seeing Danie again was the absolute highlight. What was it about this man? I did not have those butterfly flutters I had experienced as a young girl - I had only really loved once before. No, this was something deeper, and it seemed to grow stronger each time we were together.

The farm was like an oasis in the desert, so different from the stress and strain of work in the city. Waking in the morning to fresh air, birds singing and blissful calm - now this I could get used to for sure.

Danie and I drove all over the farm on his quad bike. Down the long rows of peach trees laden with fruit tinged in pink and gold. Lush green foliage lined the rows in the ten thousand tree orchard. We picked and ate of the sweet fruit as the quad bike bumped past. In the distance lands, proudly sprawled with various crops - red, green and yellow peppers, hubbard squashes, pumpkins, butternuts, sweet potatoes, and hectares of tomato lands lay basking in rays of sunshine. What a sight! I realised, that beside the beauty of it all, lay many months of hard work and planning, planting, fertilising and watering in order to grow a crop worth harvesting.

I pondered as Danie drove me around, thinking how our relationships with God, so resembled the work on the farm. He plants us, nutures us, has plans for our lives, sees to it that we have the watering of His Word to help us grow - waiting to harvest us as His own. Looking at Danie, showing me all that he had done, proud of what he had accomplished thus far - I could almost hear the Master's voice saying to us, after He has accomplished all on the Cross ..."This is my Son (daughter) in whom I am well pleased."

The question is - Is He well pleased with our lives? Only we ourselves have the answer to this important question.

A Visit to Merindol Farm

The moment Danie and I realised we had found something special in each other, he invited me to come and visit on the farm for two weeks. I was excited yet apprehensive at the same time. What was waiting for me on the other side?

The drive to Magaliesberg was breathtaking. Mountains, valleys, lush and green. It was all so beautiful I had a hard time focusing on the road.

Next to Danie's farm stood a large feedlot where approximately twenty two thousand cattle a day were fed. He had failed to tell me this. Naturally, when I turned onto the Merindol farm road with thousands of cattle to my left and peach trees to my right, I thought it all belonged to him. While trying to take it all in, a stench suddenly hit my nostrils with such a force it caught me unawares. Cow dung mixed with urine! The smell was strong, almost like acid. I gagged for breath. The first thought that crossed my mind was, "I could never live with this."

I ventured on down the narrow road and finally turned left up a long lane to the farm gate. When I entered the gates, I thought I had arrived in the Garden of Eden. So much green, so much colour. It was filled with life. Water cascaded down rocks into a rock pool below.

I drove up the driveway, stunned at the beauty of the place. The stench I'd just experienced was no longer present. Birds sang, leaves waved to me in the breeze and Weeping Willows bowed as I passed. This is Paradise! I reminisced on the stench life had thrown my way, contrasted with the beauty of Christ stooping down, picking me up, and setting me in a "Paradise Place," assuring me He was always there with me, not matter how hard it may have been.

In The Beginning

It all started on an internet dating site. Ouch, many would say, but hey it worked for me. One day I got a short message saying, "I cannot type, please send me your phone number." Now who in the world, in this day and age cannot type I asked myself. Weird, to say the least, in an age of rapidly evolving technology. Quickly I scanned the man's profile. Danie Malan. . .married 45 years. . .a farmer. . .wife died. . .living in Magaliesberg. . .and so on. Reading the profile, I found we at least had something in common--the loss of a loved one. I was a business woman and him a farmer. . .what a mixture! Like oil and water. Cutting a long story short, after a few sessions of emails, in which he would type only a few words, I finally relented and sent my number. It was not long after when the phone rang, and after a two hour conversation we had struck up a friendship. On instinct I trusted this man, and after talking on the phone for five months, I finally agreed to have him drive down to meet me. Six months later we were married. Wow, that is quick you may think, but hey, at our age you do not have all those nitty, gritty issues; you no longer have to prove yourself to the person; you have found you space in life and you know what you want. The rest is history--we married and what a wonderful four years it has been. Finding your soul mate is awesome!

No thinner place for a mother

For over thirty years I was married to an alcoholic, so I’ve known many thin places in my life. Even after my husband was killed in a car accident, the thin places assailed in different disguises. I knew that God was with me in each miserable, frightening and tragic place, but I couldn’t always sense his presence. Many times I felt alone.

The time I most questioned God’s perfect love was when my youngest daughter, only seventeen, was snatched from my life in a tragic car accident. Could there be any thinner place for a mother than to lose her child?

In the dark months that followed, I pleaded with God to let me see Karin again in a dream and have the assurance that he really does care. For months my nights were silent, filled only with tears.

On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, four months after her death, I once again fell asleep on my tear stained pillow. But that particular night I found myself in the most beautiful place, surrounded by heavenly music, perfect peace and a love so intense I could literally feel it. Karin was going about life in her mansion called Mizpah, perched high on a hill. Paul says he knew a man who’d been transported to the third heavens. Had God allowed me there too?

When I woke, I could still feel her kisses on my cheek. I hurried to my Bible. Mizpah, a watchtower: “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.”

http://www.blogtourspot.com/2010/02/thin-places-blog-tour/