Last supper with Pei
Me and Beng checking out our new BUFF head gear (really good!!! especially if you are an outdoorsy person)
With Zach at St. Joseph Oratoire (apparently only 5 in the world)
With Dominique at the peak of Mt. Royal
One of the greatest things I’ve learnt here is understanding more the rhythm of how God works in my daily lives. What kind of things His likes and dislikes. How He would want me to respond to things, people and situations.
In the area of relationships between me and my hubby for example; the inner workings of things… about the trust issue, understanding more of unconditional love, setting oneself apart for the other half, about commitment a.k.a conviction to go through the ups and downs of life together no matter what.
Other than that, I’ve learnt that when I develop a desire for something (anything), to be able to say with integrity that I have fully given that desire to God to work it out, it would mean not to be ATTACHED to it, not to be affected or feel a NEED for it in order for me to be happy. That is a true surrender. It is for me to say, whether I receive ‘this’ or not, it is all well with my soul. I believe God just loves that type of surrendering all unto Him. He loves knowing that our relationship with Him is the most important thing in our lives, and none of this ‘little things’ can shake our confidence and trust in Him.
It is the sense of solitude, of focus that I amazingly found throughout my time here (in the midst of living in the sincity of North America, this alone is a miracle). It is a feeling of being set apart for something bigger than life itself.
But as the days go by, the feeling of discovery has brought a sense of delight into my soul. A feeling like I have accomplished something. It is not tangible, nor measurable, but I know it is real. It feels very special because for the first time I understand what it means by achieving something in ways that cannot be seen nor measured. I have acquired knowledge and understanding. It is not in material form, nor is it a success in ministry or career. It is very liberating. It is a feeling that our lives are worth much more to God than pure statistics; of how much ‘results’ we can produce for Him.
It is a very nice feeling knowing that God DOES care about those little details…. They are often called PROCESS. I love it. It leaves you with a feeling that ‘everything is under control’. Not yours of course, but His. It compels joy to come out of you and it is really tangible in that sense. People can see it. You know it. It is an obvious thing.
Almost at the end of my big trip, I’ve come to some conclusions; that uncertainty is not as scary as it is commonly perceived and that God is a much better planner than I have often given Him credit for…
In one of the Peanuts sequences Lucy is frightened because it has been raining and raining. She wonders if there may be a repetition of Noah’s flood. But Charlie Brown tells her about God’s promise and the meaning of the rainbow. Much relieved, Lucy says, “You’ve taken a load off my mind.” To which Charlie replies, “Good theology has a way of doing that.”
“Scientists Fear the End of the Human Race Within Thirty Years,” reads a recent headline. There’s not much comfort in reading a thing like that, is there? And how about air pollution, water pollution, race riots, war, overpopulation, drug addiction, corruption in government, starvation, depletion of natural resources? Our best brains do not know the answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? The scene can be very depressing.
But Charlie Brown is right. Good theology, Biblical theology, has a way of taking off our minds the load of defeatism, fatalism, and pessimism which weigh down so much of our generation. Based on fixed and final truth, good theology gives a man a center of stability in the midst of perplexity.
And it doesn’t beat around the bush. It goes to the heart of things. Starting with Jesus Christ, it tells us that He is the mist dependable of realities. We can be sure of Him. He is not vague at all. He lived on earth; He lives now; and He draws us to the magnificent conclusion that God loves us and that His purposes can never be frustrated. Even death ceases to be a problem when considered in the light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Concerning Him, Paul says that God “has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Good theology is honest enough to tell us the real truth about ourselves. Human wickedness is behind the unhappiness of man. Can man go against God and make sense out of life? Can life ever get on a sound basis without repentance and conversion? Only Christ can take the load of sin and give us peace.
The Christian bets his life that Jesus Christ is right. The prize is everlasting life.
Captured from Get With It, Man! By Michael Horban, CA 1974
