En historisk dag og Guds stemme - A historic day and God's voice

I dag er lidt af en historisk dag for mig. Jeg starter den officielle oplæring i mit nye job. De næste to måneder har vi afsat en del eftermiddage i kalenderen, hvor informationer, arbejdsrutiner og værdier skal videregives fra en generation til en anden.

Igår talte Gud til mig til aftengudstjenesten. Jeg blev mindet om et vidnesbyrd, jeg hørte for måske ti år siden. Det var Else Pedersen fra min barndoms menighed, der delte nogle kloge ord. Jeg kan ikke huske sammenhængen, men hun sagde: "Når gamle og unge skal arbejde sammen, er det ligesom når kniv møder slibesten. Det slår gnister. Vi bliver måske chokerede over gnisterne, men det er en helt naturlig proces, der sliber os og gør os mere skarpe/brugbare." Kloge ord, Else!

Og hvad skal jeg så bruge dem til? Det vil måske vise sig. Jeg tænker på, hvor hårdt det var for mig at pakke mine Teens To Children manualer sammen og give dem til Ida i slutningen af september - selv om jeg vidste, at de var i gode hænder. Teens To Children - mit hjertebarn -var jeg med til at starte og lede i seks år. Hvor meget hårdere må det ikke være for Paul og Audrey, som har ledet vores Europæiske undervisningsafdeling i 15 år at skulle videregive deres hjertebarn til sådan en grønskolling som mig - som ovenikøbet med jævne mellemrum kommer til at gøre totalt tåbelige ting - såsom helt spontant at lægge mine fødder behageligt til rette på et bord midt i et lærermøde i sidste uge.

Tja, hvad kan jeg sige: Måske får vi alle tre brug for en god portion nåde, når vi går i gang med denne slibeproces. Men lad det bare slå gnister - hvis gnisterne kan bruges til, at endnu flere bliver sat i brand for Europas børn!

Today is somewhat of a historical day for me since I'll start my official training for my new job. We have set aside a good number of afternoons the next two months where informations, working rutines and values can be passed on from one generation to another.

Yesterday God spoke to me during the evening service. I was reminded of a testimony that I heard maybe ten years ago. It was given by Else Pedersen, a lady from my former church. I can't remember the context but she said, 'When young and old work together it is like a knife meeting a grindstone. It throw sparks. We might get shocked by the sparks but actually it's a natural proces. It sharpens and grinds us for further ministry.' Wise words, Else!

And how am I gonna use these words? Time will probably tell.
I think about how hard it was for me to sort through my Teens To Children manuals in the end of September and pass them on to Ida even if I knew they were in good hands. I co-founded and co-lead Teens To Children for six years and it was one of my most precious ministries. How much harder must it be for Paul and Audrey to pass on the Education Department to me after 15 years. And to pass it on to me - a crazy - still fairly young - person who frequently does really stupid things - such as spontaneously putting my legs comfortablely up on the table during a teacher's meeting last week.

Well, what can I say? Maybe all three of us will need a good portion of grace as we start this process of grinding. But just bring those sparks on! As long as they lead to even more people getting on fire for reaching the children of Europe!