Down Memory Lane

The year was 1990. It was early spring, and my wife and I had just moved into a new home across town. We were living in the Netherlands at this time, so a move across town seemed like a move across the world.

At this point, we had four kids: two boys, William¹, our oldest, and Marcus, our youngest. The two beautiful young ladies were in the middle, each two years apart, Jenna and Grace. 

An Early Spring Morning

One morning, I decided to run some errands. I stepped into the car and turned the key in the ignition. Unfortunately, when I turned the key, instead of hearing the motor kick in, I heard some sputtering coming from under the hood. 

So, of course, I opened it up and stared at the inside of the car. As if I had any notion of what was wrong. I must confess, I am not very knowledgeable in the mechanics of vehicles. 

At this point, I had attracted the attention of the two oldest kids. 

One of them asked: “Not working, dad?”

I answered with a “Nope, but let’s take a look.” 

Fairly early on, it became clear that I shouldn’t pretend that the problem would be fixed soon. 

But as soon as I closed the hood of the car, my new neighbor tapped me on the shoulder. 

“Car trouble?” he asked. 

I nodded yes, and told him that I didn’t know why. He clearly knew more than me, which became evident when he opened the hood up again. A few minutes later, the car was running better than before!

I was grinning from ear to ear and thanked him. “Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away!” This is a saying taught to kids in the Netherlands, from a wise ancient Book². The Dutch take this to heart and it is quite evident in how they interact with each other in the community. 

Running Errands

Once the car was running again, I took the two oldest and went ahead with my errands. I was waiting for a letter from a company I applied to earlier.

The company was about an hour away and was looking for a Production Manager. I was pretty interested in the position and was pleasantly surprised to see the letter inviting me to an interview the following week. 

An Unfortunate Weekend

Come Saturday afternoon, and I was lost in a good book while the kids were playing outside. Rinkje was preparing us some lunch when suddenly Jenna came bursting through the door. 

“Mom! Dad! Something terrible happened!” she screamed. We didn’t hesitate, and within moments, we were outside.

We saw Grace, our little girl, buried under a pile of bikes and one of my other kids. Apparently, she went down the hill, and one of the other kids fell on top of her. I saw right away that her leg was broken.

I carefully took her inside and called the doctor. Within moments, he confirmed that she indeed had a broken leg; more specifically, her femur was broken. We were sent to the hospital, and she had to stay there for six weeks with her legs positioned up to allow her femur to heal properly. 

Change of Plans

Of course, this called for a change of plans for the whole family. However, I was still able to make it to my interview.

Instead of taking the car my neighbor fixed, I decided to take the train. This allowed Rinkje to visit Grace in the hospital, and I could still make my interview.

Time for the Interview 

The day had come, and Rinkje brought me to the train station. The kids came too. We didn’t have much opportunity to say goodbye; parking wasn’t available. 

Everyone a quick kiss, and I reluctantly headed to my train. After all, who looks forward to an interview?

I asked myself how the day would go as I got myself seated for a 1-hour train ride. And I’ll tell you what, it was one of the richest and most interesting experiences of my life. The train ride could’ve lasted the entire day if I had any say in it.

If you want to know what happened on the intercity train, subscribe below! Or check in next time to see if you will be as encouraged as I was. 

God Bless

¹Due to privacy concerns, the name of our children are changed.