Ineke Marsman-Polhuijs

Netherlands
We sang the song Oceans in church, a few months after our daughter was stillborn. I used to love that song. I always longed to walk in faith wherever God would lead me. But now I found myself not being able to sing it. What if going wherever He leads would mean I lose another child? I suddenly realized I didn’t trust God anymore. I was shocked. Some months later I went to a songwriters retreat. In a workshop the leader invited us to write down what bothers us and to give it over to God. After that we asked God what He wanted to show us. I ‘see’ a man on the water. The sea is calm and the sun breaks through, right above the man. We told each other what we received. Then we prayed again and I ‘heared’ a song line from the band Live: ‘Run to the water. I find you there’. I thought it was funny. I’ve always loved Live and God knows that of course. I didn’t know what to do with it, though. ‘Isn’t that man Jesus?’ someone said. I was startled and immediately thought of the song Oceans again. I realised Jesus was inviting me to walk on the water, in the light. I wrestled with what this means exactly. I listened to Oceans again and then the last line hits me: ‘in the presence of my Saviour’. That’s what someone said as well: ‘But Ineke, you don’t walk alone on that water. God is always there.’ It is true. If I honestly look back, I can’t recall a moment I was completely left alone. I was always in the presence of my Saviour. I kneeled down and told God that I don’t dare, but somewhere deep-down want to trust Him. I just didn’t know how. Then I described what I saw in this song. In the months following, I sang it again and again.
This song started with a challenge: 'write a song about rest'. I was just reading Psalm 34 that week: Taste. See. Pondering on what that might mean, I realised that to really taste or see, I needed to pause, to rest, so I could focus on what my senses noticed. I decided to write about this Psalm and working on it, I found out it ministered to me. The song kept coming back when facing a small surgery I was really afraid of. I listened to the song over and over again and also sang it to others. It is the opening song of my first album as I hope my songs will help others to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Reading the story of the Prodigal Son, I was struck by how the father hugged his son and gave him a coat, a robe. He restored his status, clothed him. Suddenly I was reminded of the soldiers who took away the robe of Jesus, God’s Son, when He was crucified. They cast lots to decide whose it would be. Jesus laid down His robe, His authority, His dignity, His status, for me to be clothed with garments of salvation and wrapped in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). I was so amazed that I wrote this song.
This song was written in a time wherein I was so overwhelmed by grief that I couldn’t write songs anymore. Someone mentioned I could ask my pastor for a theme to write about. My pastor immediately knew: Romans 15:13. I studied Romans, read it in all translations I could find and then wrote this song. A song of hope when I felt no hope at all. But when I sang it to and in our church, I found I could sing it along very well. Now I hope this song will bring hope to others.
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Bio

Ineke Marsman-Polhuijs made music since she was a little girl. Her first song she wrote as a a personal gift to a dear friend. Someone heard that song and encouraged her keep writing songs. Ever since she wrote songs for her own church and for people who needed encouragement. Ineke has a masters in rhetoric. She is married and the mother of five children, four of them living here on earth. She wrote two bible study books and a book about faith in the valley: When Nothing Beats Anymore. In 2023 she published her first album I’m Davida, with songs she wrote about in her book and some congregational songs she wrote for the church. Ineke works as a singer songwriter, editor, translator (English to Dutch) and writer in her company Davida Words and More. She is also a writing coach at a department of the Dutch government. She serves as a worship leader, musician and songwriter in her church and loves to do bible studies and coaching people on their faith journey.

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