In the Markgrafenkirche zu Bindlach
It is often said that German churches are rarely filled. This cannot be said, however, about the Bartholomäus Kirche in Bindlach last Wednesday evening. A Diospi Suyana presentation was held in the beautiful, 250 year old church, with its baroque pulpit altar.
Afterwards tea and coffee was served in the church hall. Just the right thing to prepare oneself for the walk home through the cold night. I shook hands, signed books and spoke to people standing all around me and saw so many impressions that I could hardly get my head around them all. It was my third talk that day and early the next morning I had to go to Innsbruck, stopping on the way in Regensburg.
A man then starts telling me about his life. His voice is quiet and I have to concentrate hard, but suddenly the hustle and bustle around me fades into the background. “It was a long time ago,” says the man hailing from Upper Franconia, “I was lying on the sofa and knew, at this very moment my father was having a relapse. The withdrawal treatment had not worked. A slave of alcohol and more stress at home!”
That is the life as we know it – the sentence flashes up in my mind. Over many years almost all families experience dramatic things: they fail and cause each other unheard of grief.
He continues: “That was back in March and that evening seemed desperately dark. ‘Where was God?’ I asked. I felt so lost, devastated and disappointed. In my mind’s eye I could see the alcohol level in my father’s blood rising and thought to myself: “A personal God does not exist; I am left alone in my anguish!”
The next day I received a big surprise and I heard a clear voice: “God has done this for you!” I was just as I said. God had spoken to me ever so clearly. I started to pray. Perhaps it was a scream for help. But that day 30 years ago was the start of my journey to and with God!”
On the autobahn at high speed heading southwards my mind starts to wander. Our lives do not run in a straight line, victories and failures are part of our lives. Often we tremble from one week to the next. We look with sadness at our past and full of anxiety at our future. But whenever despair tries to make inroads into our lives, God is always near. /KDJ
