Young and older women from all over the world have gathered for the annual sisters’ conference in March. Three of them are Imma (18), Grytsje (51), and Riekie (82) from the Netherlands. A daughter, mother, and grandmother sit together at a table in the conference center. Grytsje brings her daughter a cup of tea, and Imma shows “Beppe”—as she calls her grandmother—pictures from the weekend.
“It’s really nice,” Imma says when I ask her what she thinks of the conference. As a teenager, she also often goes to BUK camp, and I ask her what the difference is.
“The vibe is a little different,” she says with a laugh. “At a camp, it’s often totally chaotic, but also a lot of fun with tons of energy.” Things are calmer now, with more breathing room in the schedule, but just as much fun.
“Yeah, vibe!” says Grandma Riekie. “That’s the kind of word I have to look up in the dictionary first.”
We all laugh.
View the photo gallery from the sisters’ conference here
“Eternal life begins right here”
I can tell that Grandma keeps up with the times when she pulls out her phone to look up her notes from the night before in her digital notebook. This year’s theme, taken from 1 Timothy 6:12, is: “Lay hold of eternal life.”
For Riekie, this isn’t about something that happens only in heaven. “It starts here,” she says. “God has placed eternity in the human heart,” as it says in Ecclesiastes. We are, therefore, by nature, drawn to eternity. And we can attain eternal life right now.
Examples for one another
Imma laughs when I ask if she sees any of herself in her mother.
“I look a lot like her, but I think that’s a good thing, right?
What I like about my mom is that she really cares about others. I’d like to learn more about that too,” she says.
“You see how Mom and Grandma live—how they treat others—and that they have been faithful. It’s always nice to be with them, because you feel like you can be completely yourself around them.”
Grytsje also sees her mother as an important example.
“Mom is caring and observant,” she says. “For example, she pays attention to what conversations are about and how she talks about others.” It gives me a great sense of security, and I’d like to pass that on to the next generation.
Living with a sense of eternity
According to Grytsje, it is important to hold on to the longing for eternal life in our daily lives.
“Sometimes things happen around you that you don’t understand,” she says.
“It can take over your thoughts and distract you from eternal life. It is precisely in situations like these that you can turn to God and ask: ‘What do you want to show me in this?'”
It helps her to hold on to a verse from the Bible.
“If you turn to God’s word and hold fast to it, you won’t be dragged down by such thoughts, but you’ll somehow become free from the situation.
Loving God and living according to His word then becomes the most important thing, and earthly things pale in comparison. You sense that God is near and in control of everything, and this gives you confidence that His word is true and that He gives you strength in every situation.”
Only by God’s great grace
Grandma Riekie looks back on many years of living with God.
“When I was in my twenties, I decided to walk on this path,” she says.
“Over the years, there have been some wonderful moments, but also some sad and stressful ones. And in every situation, time and again, I received exactly the help I needed from God’s word. That connection with heaven is growing ever stronger. You wouldn’t want any other life. It is such a special thing to belong to Jesus and share in His life.”
Riekie is grateful that all five of her daughters can attend the conferences, as well as many of her grandchildren.
“It’s wonderful to see that future generations will also embrace eternal life,” she says.
“But that’s not because we as parents have done such a great job. It’s God’s great mercy.” She encourages her daughter and granddaughter to hold on to what they have been given.
“Never give up,” she says. “Yes, hang in there—it’s totally worth it!”
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