“If God had a face…”
Kibbeling, herring, and an unexpected encounter on a terrace in Katwijk
It was a wonderfully warm summer afternoon, just like the ones we’ve been having these past few days. The only place to find relief from the heat is near an air conditioner or out on the water. Since I had no plans that afternoon, I thought of my friend Jaap. He travels a lot and organizes trips abroad. One moment he’s in the freezing cold of Lapland in northern Sweden or Finland; the next, he’s in Tuscany with all its magnificent churches. He also goes on missionary trips to Pakistan and is involved in numerous other activities. He’s the adventurous type—you shouldn’t lock him up in a monastery or restrict his freedom. When I call him, I usually ask right away where he’s hanging out and if he’s home yet. This time, it turned out he was in the country. Great, I thought—then I can stop by for a bit. We hadn’t spoken in a while and wanted to take plenty of time to catch up.
In the rowboat
I drove to Woubrugge, where Jaap lives and keeps his rowboat moored at the dock by his house. We set out onto the open water and headed toward Katwijk. The route took us across the Wijde Aa, the Braassemermeer, and on through Leiden to the coast. It was a wonderful trip past beautiful backyards full of cheerful people. At every house, a few hands would go up in greeting. We regularly heard someone we knew call out, “Hey Jaap, how’s it going?”
Eventually, we reached the Prins Hendrikkanaal in the heart of Katwijk, where we moored the boat. Jaap suggested we go somewhere for some fish. He knows the area well and, as a big fish lover, knows exactly where to find the best fish restaurants and herring stands. He loves fresh herring, while I prefer kibbeling or another type of fried fish. We settled down on the patio of the well-known seafood restaurant Schuitema on Princestraat.
Healing
While eating, we shared our personal stories and discussed our discoveries from the Word of God and special experiences of faith. Jaap is a passionate evangelist. He never misses an opportunity to testify about his faith in Jesus and the healing of a painful spiritual illness that plagued him for much of his earlier life. He describes this process in a moving book about his life that will be published soon. I’ve already read it as a proofreader and am certain it will resonate with many people and show how God can radically transform a life.
Our conversation on the terrace was lively, and we weren’t speaking in whispers. A friendly middle-aged couple from Utrecht was sitting at the table next to us and listening intently. We boldly shared our personal experiences with our Lord. At one point, they invited us to join them. Over a good glass of wine, we continued talking about our faith and the role of Jesus in our lives. It turned into a special afternoon full of connection and testimony. After a warm farewell, we looked back on a wonderful encounter with kind, open-hearted people.
‘One of Us’
As usual, after an afternoon of conversation and a drink, we had to make a quick trip to the restroom beneath the restaurant. As we descended the stairs, to our great surprise, we heard Joan Osborne’s song “One of Us” playing through the speakers.
If God had a face, what would it look like? And would you want to see, if seeing meant that you had to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus…
Then the chorus kicked in:
And yeah, yeah, God is great. Yeah, yeah, God is good.
The lyrics, with their questions about God and faith, felt like a beautiful affirmation of our conversation on the terrace. We both had to chuckle at it. With great joy, we agreed: “Yeah, God is great. Yeah, yeah, God is good.”
@wimvanputten