Newsletter #17
January 2011
Lift Off
H
ere I am, sitting...
waiting....in great
anticipation for my
beautiful wife to
walk through the door of our
quaint apartment in Preto-
ria East. Her flight is due to
land any second now and if
the traffic is good, she will
be home within the hour. My
heart is beating more intense
than usual and the butter-
flies within my intestines are
reminiscent of those on my
day of matrimony.
Yes, absence makes the
heart grow fonder...a lot!!!
It’s been eleven days since
I last saw my wife. January
is the busiest month of the
year for us both. She went
to the Cape Province to pro-
duce some stage productions
for her company and I was
on tour with The FLOOR(our
band) building new and ex-
citing relationships with our
local churches. We had the
awesome opportunity to lead
worship at Doxa Deo’s First
years camp. The fruits were
good despite the weather and
by Eugene van Deventer
lack of sleep. Many teenag-
ers surrendered their lives
over to Christ. It was truly
blessed.
The day before my return my
wife left for Cape Town. In
her absence I have realized
that I love the Mrs. way more
than I thought. The days
seem long and gloomy and
the thought of going home to
an empty apartment was the
epitome of discouragement.
But out of the ‘darkness’
came a dual realization.
Firstly, it made me appreciate
my wife exponentially. Not
because of what she does for
me and how she contributes
to my life. No, it was way
deeper than that. I missed
her character. Her being. Her
spirit. I believe that marriage
binds us together to form one
flesh and spirit. I felt incom-
plete. This realization trig-
gered the second realization.
Jesus calls us His Bride and
Himself the Groom. He ex-
presses His intimate love
for us over and over again,
inviting us to draw near to
Him on many occasions. Now
the question is, does He go
through the same feelings
when we are distant from
Him? Does His heart yearn
the same way my heart
yearns for intimacy with my
bride? I think it does, and
even to a greater extent, for
His love is perfect and uncon-
ditional. Why is it then that I
often times distance myself
from my Bridegroom. It ef-
fects us both. We both want
intimacy. We want that con-
nection.
I love my wife more than I’ll
ever realize...and because of
that love I draw even nearer
to Jesus...or maybe it’s the
other way around.
May this year be filled with
balance. A balance between
my bride, my work and my
Groom. I’m excited to discov-
er love and Love in all three.
Happy New Year.