Benescke Janse van Rensburg

A few weeks ago, we had a perfect Spring day in Cape Town – no wind and not too hot. To celebrate this perfect weather, I took my daughters to pick strawberries at a nearby strawberry farm. It was a wonderful day, filled with fun and laughter. On our way home, we quickly stopped at our favorite butchery. It is a family business with the friendliest people.

Where the father and his two sons are usually there every day, they were noticeably absent. The woman behind the counter also seemed sad. When I asked her where the owners were, she explained to me in tears that the mother of the boys had been seriously ill with cancer for a while. It shocked me. I visit the butchery weekly and the family remained friendly, even though they were probably going through the worst storm of their lives. The mother's situation deteriorated considerably and earlier that day, the father phoned his sons from the hospital to come there straight away. Their mother was at her last. She died later that night...

The contrast of this day hit me. To me it was a day I wanted to relive over and over. To them, it was a day they probably want to forget as soon as possible.

This made me think. Around us, people are fighting battles daily. At times, the only sign we have of it, is their actions. For instance, your impatient, unreasonable manager may be struggling with his or her own loneliness or depression; an impatient motorist blowing his horn in traffic might be struggling with heartache because his wife had a miscarriage that morning or a slow cashier making mistakes might actually be worried about her sick child at home. Hurting people, hurt people – maybe because it seems like the only way to cope with their pain.

In Psalm 34:19 we read: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” And in Hebrews 13:16 we read: “...do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

God is close to us in broken, desperate situations and He wants us to demonstrating His love and mercy to those struggling around us. May we, instead of immediately taking offence, feeling rejected or angrily straightening out those who have wronged us, rather look deeper and develop empathy and show mercy. Doing this, we might be putting a plaster on that broken heart that will never heal otherwise. God bless.

Father God, thank you for Your grace and mercy towards me in broken seasons. Help me to do the same towards those who might be going through a tough time at the moment. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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