This morning, in a newsletter from England, I learned of the death of a former teacher of mine, Dr Ronald Strasdowsky. Besides remembering him as a fine Christian gentleman, with a quiet and gentle demeanor that was at times severely tested by the vigor of high school students, he was instrumental in a decision I took in the late 80′s.
After finishing high school, I had to do national service. As a conscientious objector I had to do 20 months of social / community service. After national service I planned to go to university. Dr Strasdowsky suggested that I take out a year, and study abroad. He recommended a church school in England, Newbold College, which offered language courses in English as a second language. And I followed his advice.
Looking back over the last 20+ years of my life, I can see that the decision to attend Newbold College in 1987 was pivotal in my life. Had I stayed in Germany my life (and that of significant others at the time) might have turned out very different. This blog, if it would have come into existence, probably would have been in German. But I went to England, and stayed not one, but two years. These years were instrumental in my return to England in 1991, my final departure from Germany. Marriage, family, being a pastor in England and now in Bermuda–I doubt that any of that would have transpired the way it did. What if… what could have been, one does not know. But what is, and how it came to be, can be traced back to a single decision in the late 80′s.
So I honour Dr Strasdowsky. I cannot share with him now how his simple advice shaped my life, but I believe that one day I will have that chance. I thank God for both Dr Strasdowsky’s life and what the Bible calls “the blessed hope”.
