I got back into Korea last night (Friday night.) The trip was smooth and I arrived safely. I didn't do a lot of processing on the trip. Mostly I was just exhausted and slept or watched movies. On the long flight from Chicago I sat next to a Korean lady, who had lived in the states for 34 years, but who was going home to visit family. The other lady next to her was a Filipino woman who had lived in the states for 20 years who was going home to visit her ailing father and to see her family. It seemed that we were all on some part of a trip to be with family. Despite the distance, heat (Korean Air flights are nice, except we were cooking the whole time), and how tired we all were. Sitting with those two ladies made my trip pleasant. They were both amazed that I was in my 7th year of teaching in Korea and were thankful with me, that I was able to go home to be with my family for the funeral.
It turned out that the Korean lady had the same last name as me and we found out toward the end of the flight that we were both Southern Baptist. She was so excited to know that I was a missionary and a teacher. She said that she and her husband were also involved with missions where they live. It's always nice to find a sister in Christ.
The other lady and I discussed the Philippines. I asked her if she liked Balut (sp?), which is an almost grown duck egg that is cooked and eaten. I shared with her that the times I had gone, I had always passed up the egg, but cheered on the students who were with me, while they did it. She just laughed and said, she ate it as a child, but now as an adult she didn't because it was so high in cholesterol.
Despite our different cultures, it was nice to have pleasant seat mates. The Korean lady needed me to do everything for her, but that was fine. It kept my mind from wondering about all the things that it wanted to worry about.
My mind wanted to think about missing my grandmother and my family, it wanted to worry about all the "catch up" work that lays before me, about silly people drama, about how sick I felt on the flight, or about the little bit of turbulence that we experienced. I think my seat mates were given by God to keep me from getting so anxious about things. Thinking about that gift leads me to think about the other gifts that have been given by God.
How quick am I to overlook His goodness. Right now, I just want to praise and thank Him for it.
*I am thankful for the relationship I had with my Grandmother. I am thankful for her love and her support. I will miss her, but I am thankful that I can rejoice in knowing she's sitting at Jesus' feet right now. What a thought!
*I am thankful that I work at a school where I am given so much funeral leave, where I have coworkers and bosses that pray for me, who support me, who help me. If only everyone would realize just how much support we actually have.
*I am thankful that God has called me to serve Him. What a joy!
*I am thankful that God provides for those in need.
*I am thankful for a God who knows! (sermon topic, that I'll expand on at another time)
*I am thankful for people who respond to God's call - whether that call is to serve, to give, or to pray.
*I am thankful for my family, who love me and support me.
*I am thankful that I have a God I can lean on. He is the Rock.
*I am thankful for two church families, who are actually a part of the same family, in different parts of the world.
*I am thankful for God's word and how faithful He is through it.
*I am thankful that I am able to talk directly to my God, that He hears my prayers and knows even better than I do what's going on.
*I am thankful for encouragement from friends and family.
*I am thankful for the peace that passes all understanding.
*I am thankful to have the Hope of eternal life.
*I am thankful that this sorrow can turn to rejoicing, because of that Hope in Jesus Christ.
I am just so thankful and full of praise. I hope that as I go to school to get some work done, that I can remember this spirit of thanks and praise. lol.
God is good. He is worthy of praise. He is worthy of all honor and glory and power. If you don't know Him, let me tell you about Him!
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