Losing Everything

How would you cope if everything you owned was suddenly gone? What would you do if you not only lost all your possessions but your family was completely wiped out? Would you be able to rebuild your life if you lost everything?

Yesterday marked a year since heart breaking floods swept through parts of Queensland. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed, some people lost everything.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan last year were absolutely devastating. We saw vision of entire towns being destroyed as a massive, surging wall of water forced its way through community after community. The death toll was over 15 000 with many more lost or injured. We don’t have to think back too far to remember the Haitian earthquake that killed around 220 000, injured more than 300 000 and affected 3.5 million people. At the end of 2004 there was the Tsunami that killed over 230 000 people in fourteen countries

Over the last several years we’ve seen an increase in floods, earthquakes, fires, natural disasters, wars and continuing instability in various regions around the world.

It seems that millions of people around the world are being faced with the reality of losing everything. World events have caused me to ask myself how I would cope in such a situation.

Sometimes the loss isn’t on such a large scale. We hear of family homes burning down leaving the occupants with just the clothes on their backs. How do you recover from something like that?

Where is my security?

The question I’m forced to ask is, “Where is my security?” Am I placing my security in the ‘stuff’ I accumulate? Is my security in my family or friends? Do I place my security in my own health? All of these could be ripped away from me in seconds.

I’ve seen brave people on television talking about how they’ve rebuilt their lives after tragedy. Could I do that? Could you?

My hope is that I’m never faced with having to rebuild my after losing everything but if something did happen I hope that I would put my security in the only real constant I know.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

How would you begin again if you ever lost everything?



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Mark Simpfendorfer 1964 – 2009

Mark.jpgWords really don’t come close to describing how I feel right now. On Friday night this world lost a generous, caring man who I was privileged enough to call friend.

Mark Simpfendorfer left this world for a better place following a massive heart attack. He was a director and producer working in film, television and corporate video. His 3D IMAX movie, Red Crabs: Australia’s Christmas Island, is set for release later this year.

My head is full of thoughts that race through my mind, only stopping for an instant before continuing on their journey. Thoughts jump between what was, what could have been and what the future looks like without Mark. I really haven’t slept well over the past couple of nights as my mind keeps racing and trying to come to terms with what has happened. My heart aches for his family, especially his four children, for other friends and for the friendship I’ve lost.

Mark was there for some of my most memorable life experiences. We travelled half way across Australia together in 2003 as he videoed a team of cyclists I was leading on a marathon fund raising ride from Perth to Hobart. He later created a short documentary on the ride that was shown on Australian Christian Channel.

Earlier in 2003 we had travelled to India together. Mark was there to capture my ride from Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, to Delhi. It was an amazing experience for both of us. Neither of us really knew what to expect when we set off for India but we loved our time there and were more than happy to return two years later with a small team of Aussie cyclists. We were talking about returning next year around the time of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The last time I saw Mark was at our new home just a couple of weeks ago. He dropped in to capture some video for a project he was completing and we shared a Limca, the lemon lime drink that we enjoyed so much in India. Several months ago Pauline had found a shop nearby that imports Limca from India so when I knew that Mark was to visit I made sure there was some ice cold Limca in the fridge.

Mark was also a major part of one of an extremely significant day for Pauline and me. He agreed to video our wedding back in December 1992. The resulting video, as expected, was spectacular.

Even though he’d been through some deep waters in recent years, Mark always stayed upbeat and optimistic. In many ways things were looking up for him and he had such great plans for the future.

Mark’s legacy will live on in his remarkable children.

He taught me a lot about life through what he said and especially the way he lived. I know that I certainly won’t be the only one who will miss Mark. He was a great friend and I look forward to catching up with him when my time comes to leave this life.



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Carina's Funeral

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Pauline’s sister, Carina Berg, passed away at 6:30 Sunday evening at Bethesda Hospital, Claremont. Pauline and her parents were at her side when she passed from this life.

A service to celebrate her life and remember the impact she made on each one of us will be held at 10:00 a.m. this Friday at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 497 Marmion Street, Booragoon. Please feel free to join us, either as a friend of Carina or to support her family.

Please pass on this information to anyone you know who was a friend of Carina.

Thank you for your prayers, kind thoughts and support over the past month as Carina battled the cancer which took her life.



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