Being real - Part 2

Lately, God has been using many different ways to show me the realities of life. That's not to say that I have been living with my head in the clouds for the past 20+ years, but that hearing about pain and suffering is very different from truly understanding it with your heart. Knowing about these painful events in our heads is just being able to recite the facts, but only by knowing with our heart can we then be prompted for action.

Recently, I've been staying at home to spend time with my mom, and we've started watching a really good TV series called 蜗居, Dwelling Narrowness. It's such a realistic depiction of the struggles of life for the Chinese people living in the big cities, that it's been banned from airing in China.

For the past 6+ years, God has placed the Chinese on my heart, and I've been praying for them and seeking God's purpose for making me a Chinese American. But honestly, it wasn't until I watched this TV series that I felt my heart break for them. Yes, China's economy has been growing at rapid speeds for the past 10 or so years, but it doesn't come without dire social consequences. Surely there must be more to life than just the rat race!

Although I'm still unsure as to what exactly God wants me to do, but at the very minimum I have become more compelled to share the Good News with more of those around me, especially with my coworkers. May they come to know that only through freedom in Christ can they break their bondage of sin and of the chains of this fallen world!

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Being real

Lately, a lot of things have been going on at home and in my personal life, so much so, that I feel like I'm living in some type of Korean soap opera. Honestly, for me, I feel that it's easier to just keep quiet and get through it, than to share these personal and painful experiences with others.

It's not that I don't want to admit that I'm struggling with all these problems (well, maybe it partially is, because who wants to be known for being in a mess?), but it's also because I don't want other people to pity me or feel sorry for me. Now I'm not trying to be tough and all, because God knows my heart, but I just don't want a pity party. It's bad enough, pitying just makes the mood worse.

But then again, who am I to question other people's good intentions? I've been reminded that suffering and trails are a very normal part of life; that's the fallen world that we live in. The glorious reminder is that God is faithful through it all, and that we have a beautiful heaven to look forward to as followers of Christ! This a heaven that is free from pain or sorrow, a heaven where we will be doing what we love, and where we will be in the presence of God forever and ever.

So in light of that, how can I keep this glorious truth from others, especially those who might be suffering as well? Sure, suffering is not fun and glamorous, but I shouldn't be wasting these experiences by keeping them to myself. Rather, I should be real and honest with people, sharing plainly with them my honest thoughts and feelings, in hopes that they too can see the hope that is in me; this hope being not from me, but from Jesus Christ!

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

True love is costly

It's interesting how love and pain go hand in hand sometimes. One would think that in love, there should be no pain, that we'd just be lying on fluffy clouds and skipping in meadows with one another in perfect harmony... and yet, often times, real love is only experienced through pain and suffering. Think about it, any true act of love requires sacrifice. When we help others, it requires us to step out and give up our time, our energy. When a mom gives birth to her precious child, it requires painful labor. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, it cost Him His life.

Yesterday was supposed to be the greatly anticipated annual super duper lovely jubbly Island ECC Sports Fellowship summer time junk trip. Boy was I looking forward to it, especially when I was going to bring my cousins! The summer had been pretty rough on all of us, and we were really looking forward to being able to get away and have some fun in the sun. Unfortunately, 9 hours before we were about to take off, one of my cousins called and informed me that our aunt, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, was not doing well and was struggling immensely to hang onto life. So yesterday, instead of riding on jet-skis, the Carebears (cousins) spent the afternoon together in the face of pain and suffering, comforting each other, and rooting each other on.

It's one thing to hear about suffering; it's another thing to be in the midst of it. Suffering is heart-wrenching and agonizing. Suffering makes time drag on forever. Suffering can deflate people and make them bitter. And perhaps that's why Jesus had to come and live in this fallen world, so that we would know that He too, experienced in our pain and suffering, and because of that, can give us the hope that we need, because He is victorious over pain, and suffering, and even death itself.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."