EXTREME BLESSING

Have you heard of a thing called extreme ironing? Its when people iron in the most bizarre of places, like on top of a mountain or whilst riding a surfboard!  Then take a selfie and post it on social media. So there's ironing (which I quite enjoy) and there's extreme ironing...

...And there are blessings (of which I have received so many) and there are extreme blessings. I count giving birth and being mother to my two children extreme blessings.  But let me tell you about something in the 'deep blessing' category I was pondering this morning.

When I was a young Christian I was very inspired by the life and writings of a man called Floyd McClung.  Especially a book called 'Living on the Devil's Doorstep' which described his and his family's experience of living in an apartment in Amsterdam, right by the Red Light district.  How, having been part of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) for some years by then, he spent his life and energy to show the love of Jesus to the drug addicts, hippies and sex workers who lived near him. (He later became International Director of YWAM and moved on to other fields of ministry.) I was convicted by his sacrifice and inspired to spend my life the same way if I could (later I joined a christian community which had this kind of ministry, spending 18 years of my life there).

Many years after first reading the book I got married and had my 2 children, my daughter Esther at age 38 and Seb when I was 40.

Much water went under many bridges and then, when Seb hit around 24 he joined YWAM.  He lived and did outreach in Mexico and Columbia with the organisation, then moved to their base in Amsterdam. And into Floyd McClung's original apartment.  Which is right next to the red light district, next to a canal and directly opposite Oude Kirk (oldest church in Amsterdam which chimes every 15 minutes!)

Only when I made my first visit to him, whilst sitting having a cuppa in his apartment, looking across the canal to the old church, did he tell me it had been Floyd McClung's home.  And I had a moment of deepest joy. I felt so extremely blessed by my Father in heaven. I tried to explain to Seb how much this meant to me, that my own son was living in this legends place and following in his footsteps but it was hard to put into words...I was and still am so grateful to God for Him bringing this blessing about in both of our lives.

A year or so later Seb married his beautiful fiance Sanne who was living in the apartment next door to Seb's apartment.  They set off for their wedding from the iconically Dutch apartment, posing for photos to be taken on its doorstep and on the bridge over the canal beside it, before heading to a flower farm in the tulip growing area of Holland for their wedding ceremony.

Postscript

Floyd died on 29.5.21 after a life limiting illness that meant he was bed bound and could not speak for 5 years.  Just before this, Seb restored an old boat they found on the canal in Amsterdam, and named it Floyd McClung. He sent a photo of it to him in South Africa, where he was living at the end of his life and was told it brought a moment of joy to this gentle giant of a man of God.  Only in heaven will we know just how many thousands of people Floyd McClung brought joy and faith to, in his incredibly full and sacrificial life.