Tervuren Fountain - A Dose of Encouragement

We used to live in a country called Belgium, between France and Germany.

The house we chose there was in a nice village which was close to a former Royal Palace.

On the way to the house we could see that workmen were doing something at the large roundabout which sat in front of the palace.

Later someone told us that the roundabout was being changed from just having flowers on it to have a large sculpture on it, but people didn't know exactly what it was going to be like.

I like flowers on roundabouts and also while we had been driving around Belgium we had seen other large horrible looking sculptures on roundabouts so I was rather worried about what we were going to end up with here. You see we were going to be driving round this roundabout almost every time we would go out and come home again.

As the work went on there was a large screen around it so we could not see what was there, then one day as we drove past we could see the top of something and it looked strange and Green.

We heard rumours that there was going to be an animal in the sculpture so then the question was what animal would there be?

Then we heard there was going to be more than one animal?

Eventually we heard that the unveiling of the sculpture was going to be on a certain day in the early evening. We thought it a bit strange because we knew at that time of the year it would already be getting dark at that time. However lots of people gathered together that evening to see what had become of the roundabout.

You can imagine our surprise and delight when suddenly lights came on behind the screens and then as the screens were removed water flowed up into the air, not just one spray of water but several sprays of water.

The roundabout was now a fountain; but not just an ordinary fountain it was an animal fountain.

Can you guess what animals there were? 



                           What the animals were doing? 



                                                     And where the water was coming from?

Well isn't that a lovely thing to see when you are driving out from home each day?

Can you imagine how beautiful it was when we would come home in the evenings with the fountain flowing and the lights on?

In the Bible it tells us that Jesus is like a fountain.

Jesus says He has living water for everyone who is thirsty.

Jesus can satisfy all the needs we have. 

He has everything we need to live the life God wants us to live.

The Bible also tells us that just like the fountain has water bubbling up through it and out of it we can have God's joy bubbling up and out of us. God's joy is real, true, everlasting joy which will be in our lives when we ask Jesus to be our Saviour. This will be real true joy because it will be from God, through Jesus and nothing is more real or true or lasts forever without Jesus.

The water also reminds us of the way Jesus will wash our hearts clean when we ask Him to be our Saviour.

I will always be thankful that God placed us in a beautiful village with this beautiful fountain to look at and put a smile on my face.



                  Isn't God good to us?


Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

Water, Water, Everywhere? - A Dose of Encouragement

Well not quite, but most areas in Northern Ireland were getting very heavy rain yet again today after the flooding in Belfast yesterday.  
Some great pics have been tweeted around and the papers are full of them too, especially the one of the police jeep half submerged and where can the police go but onto the roof.

We drove from Banbridge to Londonderry yesterday afternoon via Belfast and the journey was okay until we got closer to Londonderry and the rain came down so hard I could scarcely see a few metres in front of me.  We laughed and said thank goodness we live at the top of a hill and so does my sister (our destination).

Great visit seeing our new great nephew only one week old and of course taking lots of pictures of everyone provided they got close enough to the baby because, of course, he was the star attraction.  


We were actually celebrating so many things yesterday that our nephew declared it was like a mini Christmas with all the cards and gifts being exchanged.  


There was a new baby, a birthday, an anniversary, and a new home.

Then came all the news about the flooding, the many roads that were closed, the damage done to homes and businesses and about the way people were helping others like the guy with the surf board, yes I did say surf board, and the guy in the canoe/kayak.  The RNLI were out helping with 2 boats as well and the Red Cross were distributing aid.

Travelling back this morning was relatively rain free but now as I write this the rain is pouring down in Banbridge again and probably elsewhere too.  As we came through Belfast this morning to drop off our son most of the roads that had been shut down to traffic last night were open again but loads of damage done that will not be fixed up as quickly as the roads can dry up.  


Most of the talk in the coming days and weeks will be of how the flooding should never have happened, the council were not prepared for it etc. and the city will be rife with criticism and the caring, helpful people will not be talked about in all the major discussions. 

I love the way these people and organisations I have mentioned above and others didn't sit back and complain but got out there and helped in there own small or large but generous way.  There were probably many other good samaritans around the city who I will never hear about but they all deserve praise for helping others.


They say there could be more flooding today and maybe tomorrow but then too there will be people who will step forward to help and show that they care for others.  This is something we should all be ready to do but usually we are too concerned with what irritates us rather than thinking about who we could make a difference for.


The Bible teaches us to look out for our neighbours and our friends and not to stop there but to care about all people.  Jesus cared for young, old, Jew or gentile.  He didn't stop and think now where do they live or who are they associated with or what did someone say about them the other day?- no He cares about everyone.    

So we are also to care about everyone and help to make a difference for good in this world.  

It's even a command from the Lord.

We don't need to wait for something like a flood to happen but there are many ways we can look out for others, we just need to notice what their needs might be.

If we follow the command from the Bible to love others then we will want to help in all situations.

We don't need to wait for something like a flood to happen

We should ask God each day to make us aware of people we can help or even needs we should be praying for.

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

And some other Posts about Northern Ireland