My Story 7

I had one older brother named Kees (pronounce Case). His real name was Cornelis. To me Kees was special. Why? Well I had heard in Sunday school that every firstborn belongs to the Lord (Exodus 13:2). When we were running, or playing games I always made sure he won.

Kees had his share of serious illness during the war and after. Newly available medicine after the war made him so much better,well at least until 1949. He began complaining about stomach pain, and could not keep his food down. His belly began to swell up. When he finally got to see a doctor he was immediately sent to the hospital. Stomach cancer!  I am sure nowadays they would have done something for him. After suffering at home for a while, he spent his final days in the hospital where he died. That really impacted me. I was mad, it almost ruined my faith in God.

You must understand that our family at that time, and for a great deal still today, was literally walking with God as taught by our -sometimes extreme- Pentecostal church. Kees had written everybody he knew a letter asking for forgiveness in case he had offended somebody. Many prayer meetings interceded on his behalf, for healing, some even declared that he was totally healed. But he died. And I was mad at God. We lived still with Grandma by one of the picturesque canals filled with rather smelly water. I thought of this analogy: "God, it is like you led him safely across the street(the war), and then drowned him ruthlessly in the stinky canal (cancer). How can I ever trust you again?

Kees was in the middle of graduating from high school at that time. It was 1949. It shook the entire school, and hundreds of students showed up for the funeral. Then, 49 years later, right here in Canada I met an old classmate and friend. I asked him, if after 49 years, he still remembered Kees. "Yes", he said. "What impacted me the most was his joyful Faith". Had God looked 49 years into the future? Kees is dead, but his testimony is still very much alive!

And by the way, I am not mad at God anymore.