(Dedicated our precious girls and their husbands and our grandkids)

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!”  Psa. 103:2

This early morning I woke up facing the fact that it´s exactly 75 years ago my mother gave birth to me in Copenhagen.  I´m not going to narrate my life´s story here, but just use the same heading for my life as was the title of John Bunyan´s autobiography:  Grace Abounding!

Really, I´m “only” 60 years old, for it was in the fall of 1951 it pleased the eternal, sovereign God to bestow on me “the exceeding riches of His grace”  (Eph. 2:7) on my lost, bewildered soul that soon found itself “lost” in the seeking, untiring Shepherd .  My godly grandfather, an independent business man and a zealous  preacher too, had  a vital part in my life.  Soon, very soon, I may see him again in the eternity, and I shall say to him, “Thank you, Grandpa, for all your prayers for me!”

My mother gave me at Christmas 1951 the best gift ever, - a tiny devotional book, known internationally too, called “Daily Light on the Daily Path”, published in, I think, more than 40 languages.  There´s a new topic for each day neatly arranged with Bible words, and then comes, like beads on a string, a compilation of various Bible verses that throw further light on that theme.

Today, on January 2, my birthday, this devotional book boldly says, “Sing to the Lord a new song!”  (Isa. 42:10) and then follows Bible verses about singing praises to the Lord.  I was at that time a babe in Christ, only a few months old, and I thought, “I´d better do that!” so spontaneously  I started singing then and there in my simple basement room “a new song” from a hymn book, and my room was thus turned into a small chapel with only 4 persons present, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - and myself.

That´s many years ago.   Alas, the years have been full of blunders all right, but full of “Abounding Grace” also.  At that time it never occurred to me that I would ever write a single line in prose or poetry.  I admired my uncles, aunts and several relatives in my mother´s  family who did that, but me?  Never!  But “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform”, and today I´m of a kindred spirit with the psalmist describing himself as “the pen of a ready writer”,  and I gladly lay it all down at His feet, as my “composition” is really about “the King”  (see Psa. 45:1).

So my story boils down to the wonder of “Abounding Grace”.  I´ve already parted with many friends whom I´m going to see again in the eternity.  A special treat will be to see again those who through my simple testimony were turned to righteousness (Dan. 12:3), i.e. to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Are crowns waiting for me too?  If so, they are meant to be “cast before the Throne” while I join the choir singing:

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created!”  (Rev. 4:10-11)

Jan. 2, 2011 –