La Rochelle 2021

ON S G R O E T

about how well I am still keeping to my own New Year’s resolutions – and I will tell you what they are in a moment – but as I was preparing this presentation, these resolutions also helped me remember some insights I gained into life. Insights that I constantly seem to have to relearn, especially over the last year and I want to share these insights with you. I know that this is our Easter assem- bly, but I want to give a message that will touch everyone’s heart regardless of your faith. So, I want to you listen up, all of you, because I put a lot of myself into this and I know that there are learners sitting here today who really need to hear this . I know that there are colleagues here today who really, truly need to hear this and I need to hear this, out loud, since I often prepare speeches as a way of reminding myself of the very things I try to teach you all. I started my year by making three resolutions: 1. Reignite my relationship with God 2. Focus on the positive or Wabi- sabi (finding the perfection within the imperfection) 3. And to read more How well am I still keeping to these? Well with regards to my first resolu - tion, I want to tell you a story: In a previous assembly message, I mentioned that I often find God in places in my day-to-day life. In the music I listen to, the books I read, the people I meet and, more often than not (in retrospect), through the things that have happened in my life. Almost three years ago, I was sitting in my living room on the Karoo-farm where I stay absolutely devastated, frightened and sobbing because the drought had destroyed our harvest, we were laying off staff (people who had been working on the farm for years, people who have families) and we only had enough money left to pay everything, excluding our salaries for one month. Thereafter, it would be gone. The dream was dying. I was sitting there racking my brain for a solution and suddenly my phone rings – it’s a WhatsApp from Miss Lochner: “Mariechen, ek het aflospos vir Lewenswetenskappe tot einde van die jaar, stel jy belang? Ek

kan nie nou detail gee nie, ons praat môre.” My hart het amper gaan stil staan. Dit was een van daai oomblikke wat jy rondkyk en dink “Wie’s daar? Wie luister in op my gedagtes” want dit was soos ’n direkte antwoord op my smeekgebede. Ek moes die boodskap oor en oor lees om seker te maak dis werklik. Ek analiseer elke woord en laat val amper die foon so vining probeer ek terug tik “Ja”. Van al die dinge waarvoor ek die dankbaarste is in my lewe, is daardie oomblik in die top 5. Juffrou Lochner, jy weet nie hoe naby aan daai donkerte juffrou my kom red het nie. Ek weet God se hand was daarin, net soos al die vorige kere waarvan juffrou dalk nie eers weet nie. Dankie. Last year I received a very philosoph- ical book from one of the matrics. The type that I would never have picked for myself, but I fell in love with the author. Reading it there was this one beautiful line that has just stuck itself in my mind which reads: “We use earthly means as if Godly ones to not exist and we use God as if earthly means do not exist.” Which may sound weird, but to me it means that as humans we have these two spectrums: We either try to solve problems by all “earthly means” possible, forgetting the “spiritual means” available, OR we throw everything into the “spiritual means” and forget the very sane, scientific, and often inspired “earthly means” available to us. Because not all problems are the same or have the same solutions. Dis amper soos die storie van die man wat op die dak sit terwyl die vloed sy hele huis en dorp wegspoel. Drie, vier bote gaan verby en elke keer wat hulle aanbied om hom te red sê hy net: “God sal my red.” Maar God stuur die bote en die mense om hom te red! And this got me thinking about how I “use” God in my life and I immediately thought back to that day in my living room when “Godly means” presented themselves to me even as I was trying to use “earthly ones” to correct my situation. From this experience I have learned to pray about it as much as I think about it . I have also learned that you can have control or you can have trust , but

Mev. Mariechen Vermeulen.

Beste Larries, Hier groet ek julle, alweer. Dit is nou die derde, en ek glo, laaste keer, alhoewel dit vir my die moeilikste keer is. Ek voel al soos die “comeback-kid” wat net nie kan wegbly nie! Maar dit is omdat La Rochelle so ’n groot gedeelte geword het van wie en wat ek is. As ek terugdink oor die laaste sewe jaar en die paadjie wat ek gestap het, kan ek dit nie beter beskryf as die toespraak wat ek vir Paasfees in Maart 2020 geskryf het nie, voordat die werêld op sy kop gedraai het – toe 2020 nog die jaar van “plenty” was. Ek het nie geweet wat kom nie. En toe ek vanjaar weer hierdie toespraak oopmaak en lees, besef ek hoe baie ek en julle daardie woorde nodig gehad het – as ek dit maar net op daardie tyd kon spreek. Ongelukkig moes skole sluit en alles tot ’n stillstand kom. Maar selfs daarin is daar wabi-sabi. Ek glo dat hierdie boodskap alles opgesom het en daarom wil ek dit as my laaste woorde aan julle oorlaat. “Good morning to all the Larries, Show of hands: who of you made New Year’s resolutions at the start of this year? And who of you are still going strong with them? According to Google the most common New Year’s Resolutions are (and let’s see if any of them ring true for you): 1. Exercise more 2. Lose weight 3. Get organized 4. Learning a new skill or hobby 5. Saving money 6. Quitting smoking 7. Spending more time with family and friends 8. Travel more Seeing as it is April, I got to thinking

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