334 SE Tecumseh Road  P.O. Box 5  Tecumseh, Kansas 66542  (785) 379-5005  Fax - (785) 379-5061

Contact Us: | E-mail | Map & Directions

Ham – or cheese? Psalm 146 I was with my mother (Maria Galina Knetsch van Blitterswijk) this past weekend. She’s nearly 92 now, and her dementia (possibly Alzheimers) is advancing. And yet, we’re still able to enjoy some good conversation, though much is repetitious, and nearly all of it focuses upon the rather distant past. One of the things which my mother now experiences is that she frequently hears music being played, and she’s convinced that it is coming from the radio or TV in the care facility where she resides. The remarkable thing is that everything she hears is Dutch music – in fact, what she hears are all Dutch hymns, and she enjoys singing those hymns out loud. Her recollection of those hymns, and the words thereto, is actually quite remarkable. Never mind that they’re all in her head – the fact remains, her ‘head’, her brain, one which is weak and deteriorating, is nonetheless capable of recalling all of that musical history! She even started singing one of those hymns as we were sitting in a restaurant, much to my sister’s embarrassment. Evidently the restaurant’s management had also decided to play Dutch hymns over the sound system. Mama lives in the past. She lives in an idealized past that takes her back to what has always remained her home, The Netherlands. To this day, my mother grieves the fact that, in her opinion, she hurt her parents and her siblings by leaving home. In fact, just this week she again shared with me that as the time for our 1955 immigration approached, her mother (my Oma) said to her: “Well daughter, what is it you think you’re going to find in America? Do you think you’ll get more slices of ham, and fewer slices of cheese?” Oma had a way of cutting right to the point. All my mother could say in response was that she needed to go, because her husband wanted it so, and it was her duty to stay with him. Where he goes, I too have to go – no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice. It’s been hard, and there have been - and are - many tears. And so, the hearing of those wonderful old Dutch hymns is a gift, a blessing. Even in the midst of sadness, loneliness, heartache, my mother is able to sing. I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to God all my life long. (Ps. 146:2) Mama still has hope. She does believe that happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob. She does believe that in God’s time she will join with her husband, and she will be reunited with her mother. At that point, Mama will be able to say to her mother, my Oma: “Mother, I did find a bit more ham – but in the end, I missed the cheese. But now I’m home, to stay.” Praise the Lord.  - Pastor Piet - October 29, 2006