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“Zijn jullie ook op zoek naar geluk?”
Ik zit met beeldend kunstenaar Wiebe van Dingen op een bankje bij de Schaapskooi als mijn gesprekspartner twee nietsvermoedende wandelaars overvalt met zijn vraag. Hier in de kalme bossen van Hoog Buurlo voelt Wiebe zich op zijn gemak. “Ik kom hier graag” zegt Wiebe. “Op deze plek kom ik tot rust en doe ik inspiratie op voor nieuwe kunstwerken. Daarbij gebruik ik letterlijk elementen uit de natuur: van de boom gewaaide takken, wortels van door storm gevelde bomen en opvallend gevormde stenen. Wat de natuur afstoot kan ik weer gebruiken in mijn werk en zo een ‘nieuw leven’ geven.”
Het interview kun je hier lezen: rynaldo.nl/gelukszoekers-wiebe-van-dingen
Rynaldo's Fortune Seekers - English translation of the Interview in Dutch
"Are you also searching for happiness?" I'm sitting with visual artist Wiebe van Dingen on a bench near the Sheepfold when my conversation partner surprises two unsuspecting hikers with his question. Here in the peaceful woods of Hoog Buurlo, Wiebe feels at ease. "I love coming here," says Wiebe. "This is a place where I relax and find inspiration for new works of art. I literally use elements from nature: branches blown off trees, roots from storm-felled trees, and strikingly shaped stones. What nature discards, I can reuse in my work and thus give it a 'new life.’"
Is life a quest?
“For me, it is. My quest is part of who I am. When I was fifteen, I noticed I was making different choices than my parents. With all due respect for their choices, I aspired to different things. Although I was religious, I seriously questioned what I was living for. In a sense, I became a seeker. A moment of truth had to come; I had to make a choice. Even then, I loved being in the woods, but one day, kneeling on the moss, I prayed: ‘God, the life others lead doesn't challenge me; I don't want this. If you call me, I will live differently. If you lead me, I will follow you.’ There, in the woods near Groningen, I felt God come and the Holy Spirit pour out on me. From that moment on, I knew I no longer needed to seek an encounter with God. He was with me and will always be with me.” In that trust, I don't follow a set route, but as the Holy Spirit speaks.
Did your encounter with God that day help you in your search?
My experience in the woods made me more receptive to God's presence and to hearing His voice. Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." The meaning I get from this is that sometimes you have to go, even though you don’t know all the details or having fixed the details in advance. You trust God to have a plan.
For example, when I was 17, I felt compelled by that same voice to visit friends on Ameland. (A Dutch island) I didn’t have any money for transportation, so I decided to hitchhike. In Holwerd, just before the long pier, I got a lift to the boat. When we arrived at the ticket office, I wanted to get off because I didn't have any money for the crossing, but the people I was traveling with told me to stay put. They provided the solution and paid for my ticket without hesitation. Thanks to them, I was able to visit my friends. The lesson: "Don't look for money, but for a way to go.”
Is that path always equally visible?
"No, to be honest." The same year I had that experience in the woods, I attended a youth gathering with fellow believers. At one point, the boy next to me said, "I've never experienced this before, but I'll just say what comes to mind. I think God wants to say something to you. God is going to give you a treasure, and that treasure will glorify God and make Him known, and this object will go around the world." At first, I didn't believe it at all. Why would God say something to me through him? I dismissed the message, partly because I was too busy with other things. Until about ten years later, I began to realise that perhaps God had spoken after all... I laid my doubts and uncertainty about this before God in prayer.
One day, the realization dawned that I had to go to the Rijksmuseum. I had no interest in art or museums, but I had learned to trust the voice in my heart. The idea of the treasure kept resonating. Hoping to find something in the Rijksmuseum, I examined almost every object with a kind of built-in antenna, searching for something recognizable from within. But no matter where I looked, nothing happened. I was tired and wanted to go home. I headed towards the exit when a security guard suddenly addressed me: “Sir, have you seen the prayer nut?" I couldn’t believe my ears. This complete stranger asks if I've seen the prayer nut. I've never heard of it, and he asks a question about prayer. I'd been praying constantly the entire trip. And there it was. This was a moment when heaven touched earth. The moment I stopped looking for it, I found it: a small wooden sphere hinged on one side that folds open like the two parts of a walnut shell. This one revealing detailed woodcut of the Nativity on one side and the Crucifixion of Jesus on the other. The Gospel from beginning to end in a nutshell.
"Don't look for money, but for a way to go.”
Seek and you will find, and then you'll find it when you stop seeking. Isn't that frustrating?
"That certainly seems frustrating, and actually quite sad, especially if you are searching based on your own merit. Like, 'I'm trying so hard, I actually deserve a reward for that.' But that's not how it works. People don't let themselves be distracted from their deep need to find something that brings them peace. In that sense, you have to give seekers the time and space to bump their noses and run into walls. They must first discover that it's not of this world, nor does it come from their own efforts. This search is about satisfying a spiritual hunger, a revelation about what grace is. By being honest, they will open up and ask, 'God, can't you show me the way?’
Once home, you decided to create your own version of the prayer nut: a wooden nut, a travel altar, in which the wearer can write their "need." Does this answer the question you asked God as a 16-year-old?
The question, my prayer, was the beginning of a complete transformation that corresponds with the explanation found in John 3:5. "You must be born again." There in that forest near Groningen, the request for His guidance in my life has become a reality. "It's one of many answers. My life is varied and full of challenges because I continue to trust in His guidance and provision. Most people get a good idea and go for it. I get ideas by listening to God and grow into them, only to put it into practice years later. I see making and sharing the prayer nut as my purpose and calling. Not as an obligation, but as a form of voluntary service to God and my neighbor. The idea came from listening to God. If you have a servant’s attitude, you seek the good of others."
"Sir, have you seen the prayer nut yet?"
What has making and sharing the prayer nut brought you?
"Above all, connection, both with myself and with others. The making process is a form of introspection for me. While sawing and sanding, I look within and examine who I am, where I stand, and the path I'm on. I find joy in praying for the person purchasing the prayer nut while I’m crafting it. Or as it says in Psalm 1: '...who delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.'
Last night, a woman appeared at my stall. She read the explanation and spontaneously responded, "Oh, it's about prayer!!!" She explained that her 16-year-old daughter suffered a brain hemorrhage on the day she was born. "I was exhausted from the birth and couldn't be angry or happy. I could only pray, 'Lord help.' The medical world couldn't do anything, and now this daughter stands here as a healthy, vibrant teenager." At such a moment, I listen with my heart and look beyond what my eyes see. When people feel safe and open their hearts, you don't just give, you also receive. That sharing and being understood is, for me, the definition of happiness.”
Do you have a message for anyone searching in life?
“Going on a journey means leaving things behind and being open to the new. Traveling allows you to let go of your baggage and ideas and leads you to the truth. Or as Jesus says: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ “Ask Him for direction, read the Bible, and begin with the book of John."
