As I have mentioned before, I like to answer questions like that!

I found this one in The New Zealand Herald today, on Thursday, July 29, 2010.

“Where in the world would you rather be?”

“Flight Centre takes you there.”

It is a full page advertisement in the paper,  and a  number of places are mentioned – with pictures – like Australia, the South Pacific, China, Italy, France, Africa, India and Thailand.  I used to work in Thailand as a missionary from 1966 – 1979. Our wedding took place in Tak in the “land of  the sun” and our two children were born in Thailand.

Once more:  “Where in the world would you rather be?”

I would not want to be anywhere else! Exclamation mark. I am quite happy where I am, here in Kaitaia, in the north of  New Zealand….. and here is a picture from the “real far north” of New Zealand.

Why I am quite happy, where I am? Because a hymn comes to my mind. I know it only in the German language. (I am from Germany.)

I will give you the gist of the hymn, and you will understand.

The hymn is by Eleonore von Reuss and she lived from 1835-1903. It is a very old hymn as you can see. You find it in the hymn book of the Baptists in Germany called “Glaubensstimme”. It has five short verses.

Eleonore says in the hymn, that she has been through the world and that she has seen how beautiful it is – but she is yearning for something else. She has seen the people, how they are working and how troublesome the life can be. She says the people are  looking for love, luck, honour, and they are coming back dissatisfied and loaded with sin.

In verse four she sings about the rest there is for the  poor and tired heart.  She says, proclaim that there is a place where we can go with our grief, our hurts and our pain.

The last verse  sings about the rest for all  mankind in the finished work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross of Golgotha.