Preservings $20 No. 25, December, 2005 - Plett Foundation

The quiet Mennonite has become a contentious
faction-monger and [in part] a supporter [of]
ideas he doesn’t understand.... Our faith in God’s
defence which through centuries has protected our
people, our fathers, is replaced by “Self-defence.”
Our youth spend their leisure in dancing and other
frivolous [activities]....
With this I would say: May God restore our
old congregation, our services, instruction
classes for youth, our gatherings,
so that we could again proclaim God’s
Word freely and be edified. Might He
also grant that all those imprisoned
and exiled could be reunited with their
families; that we could again have the
opportunity to bring up our children
and grandchildren in the fear of the
Lord. We must prepare them spiritually
for worse times yet to come. May
God grant this. “But we, Thy people,
and sheep of Thy pasture, will thank
Thee eternally and proclaim Thy glory
for ever and ever.”
August 15, 1936: Watchword:
Psalm 91: 1-2: “He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High, who abides
in the shadow of the Almighty, will
say to the Lord: My refuge and my
fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
It is a year today since we left Dnepropetrovsk
in a “Stolpyn” wagon and began our long journey
into exile which we reached on October 17. One
year has passed since I looked into the eyes of
my dear wife. She stood on the platform, I in the
steel-barred wagon.
When, oh when, will I see her again? When
will I look into her eyes again? And yet, what
grace, what wonderful divine providence that she
was able to be there on that particular day! She
[was able] to accompany me to the railway station,
though from afar, exchange a few words with me,
and say farewell. God be praised! Yes, my refuge
and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Be Thou
my shield and buckler; under the shadow of Thy
wings I will find refuge. There my dear wife and
children too shall rest securely. Lord, bring us [all]
together to Thee. Abide in us and let us not turn
from Thy love. As Thou hast been with me during
this long, hard year, and also with my loved ones,
and hast helped beyond what we can ask or think,
mayest Thou so continue to do. Amen.
August 16, 1936: Last night and today we had
a slow drizzle, dark sky; [it was] dismal outside,
dismal inside, hopeless and comfortless, as if the
sun doesn’t want to shine anymore. How useless
is a life that consists only of animal instincts and
feelings. That is the way most people live here
and we also to a certain degree are being forced
by circumstances to think only of food, drink and
clothing. We dream of freedom which can only
be described on paper. It can never be realized
as long as factional purposes and goals are the
highest motives. Where one party rules, or a single
individual, it is evident that the result is absolutism
which is the greatest enemy to freedom. “If the
Son shall make you free, you are free indeed.”
Without the Son, Jesus Christ, life would not be
worth living....
In his meditation on Psalm 4:4 & 2 Corinthians1:8
-12, he asks: “Why is it thus?”
It is good if we ask this question in order to
gain clarity and understanding about this matter.
Psalm 4 gives us the answer: “But know that the
Lord leads the godly marvelously.” Not in the
usual but in a special way. He leads to heights and
depths, through darkness and troubles, in dangers
Aron Toews in the office of the medical train, #194, 1914-15.
and trials. Blessed is he who knows that being
led “marvelously” is typical of God’s children.
Think of Job. God, so to speak, exposed him to
the will of the devil. What calamities [befell] this
servant of God as well as Paul, Peter and John.
One is led differently than the other, yet always
“marvelously.” The forces of evil are evident also
in the [lives] and experiences of God’s children
[today]....
Oh, how glorious and marvelous this is. The
daily difficulties, troubles, sickness, crosses and
sufferings about which so many of us complain,
are often our redemption. [These] are the tokens
of love, helping us on to heaven.
Remember, dear Mary and children, that the
Lord leads his children marvelously. This is the
God-given pathway and [it] is the one that is good
for us, Hence the watchword: “Lord Jesus, lead us
day by day,/ Amazingly and blessedly.” Amen.
Nov. 15, 1936: [This entry consists of a
lengthy Christmas meditation.] My dear family,
my beloved wife, beloved children in Christ! What
does Christmas give us? To us as adults? Consider
what has happened! This is the third Christmas
that I am not in your midst. How many cares and
problems lay before us! Remember my journey,
Kolya’s illness, the worries about bread and
money which loomed before us like an unsolved
riddle, [like] steep impassable mountains. Who
was it, my beloved, that stood by mightily with
counsel and deed?
When all my efforts are in vain,
I know not how my goal to win,
When all my weakness I confess,
My feeble mind and helplessness:
Then Christ, Thou art my mighty tower,
Who giveth counsel, strength and power.
His name is Counsellor, mighty God,
Who Christmas now to us has brought.
How often you and Kolya were sick; how
often you were discouraged and weak. I too was
often at wit’s end, powerless and depressed. One
thinks that one cannot go on. But today is Christmas
day, and you and I can participate because
His name is the Mighty God. He can and will give
us strength again and again.
Though all my inner strength has left,
My soul of all its sap bereft,
Though life’s vitality is spent,
And weak and languishing I faint;
[Yet] do I feel Thy mighty power,
Fill me with strength this very
hour....
Therefore, my dear ones, come to
the Christ-child, for through Him you
have an eternal Father in heaven who
never forsakes His own.
This is the third Christmas of
separation from my loved ones. Oh,
how restless and disturbed one often
becomes! What will the future bring?
What will become of us? These questions
often fill our hearts. Added to this
are the mistakes, the sins we commit:
the flaring up of emotions, impatience,
dishonesty, indignation, dissatisfaction
and many other things which rob us
of our peace and cause us to be disturbed.
Oh fearful heart, crushed spirit,
troubled soul: Look to the Christ- child, hear the
angel’s song: Peace on Earth! Peace to you!
Throughout these last difficult years Toews had
a staunch friend, a non-Mennonite named Karl
Wiese who provided much needed spiritual support.
There were other non-Mennonites whose
friendship Toews recalls in his diary:
Goltjavino, March 13, 1937: [Long ago],
my friend, Severin Sergi Danilovitsch, gave me
a book called Smotitrie na Sviesde (“Look at the
Stars”). I have forgotten who the author was, but
the content of the book became very important to
me. I read the book during a trip from Nikopol to
Zaporoszhe. Then I gave it to a passenger. Today,
whenever I look at the stars at night, I think of
that book.
What majesty, what glory, what godly quietude
and splendor, what calmness and tranquility,
what magnificence! The starry sky is surely
much more beautiful here up north than [it is] in
the south.
Yesterday between 8 and 10 o’clock I saw a
wonderful light in the north. Above the horizon
a bright half-circle rose up, crisscrossed by innumerable
rays of various hues beaming up from
the horizon into the heavenly dome. These lights
flickered, [first] brighter, then dimmer. Finally,
around the first semi-circle appeared a second
and gradually both vanished. Was it the so-called
Severnoie siianie, the Northern Lights, or was it
something else? Nevertheless, it was a spectacular
sight which demanded worship. Then I thought
of the book, Look at the Stars!
Exalt Him ever, O my soul,
His Holy Name laud and extol.
Praise God, the Father, o’er again,
Let all the world repeat, Amen.
Let all the world sing thanks and praise,
And trust and serve the Lord always,
For He is worthy to be served!
Preservings No. 25, December 2005 - 79