Believe.
Believe in yourself, Believe in others, Believe in yours dreams, Believe in Love, Believe in God, Believe in whatever you want, but always Believe in Something!
"Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind."
(The Rolling Stones)
I never believed in God. I studied science and so I like to think rationally.
I ended up in the Lighthouse group, because I went outside to play, to show a friend, I met hitchhiking, to show her a new game - disc golf. We ended up in a group of people, eating. They invited us. And so we ate with them and did some slacklining – having fun. Being active, being together with friends.
I got busy and met the guys just randomly for another round of disc golf. I brought three other friends. They were welcome, we shared some frisbees and played. They even talked and got jobs through each other, they trusted and helped each other from the first moment.
I came another time with another friend for waterskiing. We forgot to bring food for the group. They shared, they teached us to waterski, showed us cliffs to jump off.
I didn’t show up for a while. I was depressed and caught in my mind.
After months I made it the first time to the Lighthouse. People didn't want to come because of the self-isolation, the next day. This time I wanted to come back. I forgot the cookies I wanted to bring. I brought a book and my diary.
I came in. First thing to do: They send me to wash my hands and seat me in a chair 1,5 m apart from each other. This didn't feel like the group I've met before. We met the first time inside a room, not outside to do something but inside to talk, worry and pray but not to do. Everyone brought a book or was reading something out of the Bible. I handed the Pee Wee Kiwi book to Ryan and he read it for all of us. It’s a short little story about friends, beliefs, life and hope, almost like the bible.
I brought one book to share and got two books from them for free, one of them was the backpacker bible - I’m happy to read.
Remy was talking about his new job with bees. About hope and being grateful, not focusing on money. I read my chapter about “Plant a tree” and asked them to plant the “Echle Prinz” apple tree for me. Complicated but possible. Someone else was reading his wishes. Ryan looked into his phone to search for my apple tree. Thank you but it’s not important right now, you will not buy it right now to plant it. Someone next to you is reading for you. That’s the moment we have.
Also, we ate popcorn out of a bag without contacting them. Popcorn instead of a self cooked potluck. We prayed for love and hope. I just asked for a hug to say goodbye, because that hug gives me love instead of just saying/praying for it. Everyone was thankful, and we hugged.
Lauren gave me a bag of self-made oatmeal. She was proud of it, because she made it herself instead of just buying it. I left, saying hope to see you again! They posted a virtual meeting for next week. I will not attend. I’m sad. Virtual is the new come together in this cold new world.
I went back to the hostel. Ian the owner asked me where I’ve been. I said: Meeting some good friends for the last time for a long time. He said, just to let you know: "Next time it will have consequences." I hope the Lighthouse will always be open for me. A church should always be open, especially in dark times. Not to be a church but to have a place to believe.
A Glimpse of God is in every Human - Have Faith
"All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet." (Wangari Maathai)
I walked along the beach with my friend Jacob, a Christ, and it took me quite a while for me to convince him to come with me. Yesterday, he told me he wanted to play in the Waves with me and here we were and I wanted to show him Body Surfing. Yesterday, he already didn’t join me for some great waves. My friends even tried to stop me when I went in. They thought it’s too dangerous without knowing about the current but in the end it worked out and I played in the waves and was happy, just would have liked to play with a friend instead alone. The morning was beautiful and the waves were great. Just Jacob still didn’t want to come, when I tried to remind him that we said we will get out to scout the way because a part was not possible to go during the tide up. He said, we cannot change it anyway and we all will go the way anyways, but we said we will scout yesterday to the others. He said it would be a waste of time and he had to take down his tent. After a lot of asking he finally joined me for a morning run along the beach telling me that I’m sometimes kind of persistent and annoying asking people. For me it was not a question but a reminder of his desire from yesterday and a promise he gave to him, me and even the group.
He told me that having faith in humans could be a waste of time and I sometimes have to give up this faith. I should only have faith in GOD and Jesus Christ. A few minutes later continuing the talk, he said God is in everything and there is a glimpse of God in every human. But that would mean trusting and having faith in friends and other humans and everything around us is basically believing in God, which makes it way easier to believe in for me, because that’s what I have to do anyways.
“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees and the flowers and clouds and stars.” (M. Luther)
We scouted the way and decided it would be good in an hour. He went for a bit bouldering in the sunrise, because he is a climber and I showed him some bodysurfing, which he enjoyed like a kid. Was it a waste of time?
“Reason is the enemy of faith.” (M. Luther)
When we came back to the camp, Chantal, his wife, had taken down the tent and he proudly told me of course she did. The others asked us how the crossing looked like. I said good, even though it was still high, because I was anticipating that it’s going down and by the time we would be there it would be good. He said it’s still too high making the others think and worry. We did a morning bible reading.
One verse was: “To love is to listen” (Bible). Another story Ryan read the next morning for me was about the fisher I forgot his name, but he was meant to be a fisherman and opened the first church to fish for believers. However, he negotiated Jesus three times when I had been asked and promised Jesus three times, that he would believe in him when Jesus asked him. Sometimes, having faith is hard. In the Bible and even in real life. Jesus asked this guy, if he loves the fish, his passion or him more. If he would take care of his sheep and his lambs, which means for me, if you believe in someone, just believing and praying is not helping you have to help and to care what other people tell you and then you have to act. I don’t know much about the Bible but going fishing and taking care of some lambs sounds fun and I could believe in that.
“The fewer the words the better the prayer.” (M. Luther). - So, we basically have just to enjoy life and living kind and have to be grateful?
Fly fishing lessons
Another bible verse, the same morning was:
“Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” (Bible)
We went on and after passing the tide part and another beach we finally made it to the hut and with it to the river. Ryan, who read the Bible verses was really excited about staying at the hut and to go fishing there, so he took his fishing rod all the way but now it was senseless because we were not staying at the hut and he couldn't see any fish. But is the joy of fishing in catching a fish or to do the fishing? I asked him to show me how to fly fish, so he did after some more asking, He teached me a bit and I learned. Other friends were joining and asked other questions and we all enjoyed the river and fly fishing without seeing any fish, or even thinking or believing there could be one but we had fun and carrying the rod wasn’t senseless in the end, which would have been the case otherwise.
Go(o)d joke:
A man is caught in a flood, and as the water rises, he climbs to the roof of his house and waits to be rescued. A guy in a motorboat comes by, and he says, "Hop in, I'll save you."
"No, thanks", the man on the rooftop says. "My Lord will save me."
But the floodwater keeps rising. A few minutes later, a rescue plane flies overhead and the pilot drops a line.
"No thanks," the man on the rooftop says. "My Lord will save me."
But the floodwaters rise ever higher, and finally, they overflow the roof and the man drowns.
When he gets to heaven, he confronts God.
"My Lord, why didn't you save me?" he implores.
"You idiot," God says. "I sent you a boat, I sent you a plane."
"I think in a way we are all just like the guy on the rooftop. Things take place, there is a confluence of events and circumstances, and we can't always know their purpose, or even if there is one. But we can take responsibility for ourselves and be brave. (Lance Armstrong)
Believe you can and you're halfway there (T. Roosevelt)
There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it though I don't see it. ... This informing power or spirit is God. To me God is truth and love. God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness. God is the source of light and life, and yet he is above and beyond all these. God is conscience. He is even an atheist. (Mahatma Gandhi)
