Before I came to Korea, the Bible verses I needed to get me through the day were always something from Lamentations or Psalms. It was always something like this, "I remember my afflictions and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." That one's from Lamentations. It was the kind of stuff you needed when you'd lost a love one or if you just couldn't remember the last time you felt hopeful. But I needed them all the time. Great verses and all, but sad at the same time. I was constantly searching for joy, it was a fleeting emotion, and satisfaction in life seemed a Hollywood creation.
Then this wonderful, amazing, crazy, ridicoulous thing happened. I got uncomfortable. That's right. I gave up comfort, a sense of the known, and moved away. The Lord gave me joy, in abundance. It dawned on me this weekend, in a moment of pure contentment as I looked across the park to the Gwangju skyline, sitting beside friends, sunburnt and hungry, that these moments happen so often. There are times that suck. Absolutley. No doubt about that one. Just look up the tag "hating Korea", but those moments happen few and far between. My search for joy isn't a downtrodden attempt to find friends who make me happy and laugh. God gave me those, in abundance. I'm not struggling to maintain hope or strength. God gave me that too, in abundance.
This weekend, I went to a park, arrived sweaty and thirsty, just had a damn good time. I was with new people I'd never met, some that I'd only known a few months, but have an insanely close relationship with. It's the way it is here. Find a friend and latch on. We're forced to develop these close bonds quickly because we are all too aware of our time here. I love the fact that I was with people from all over the world this weekend, and we found community and joy through sharing a bucket of ice-cream and ten spoons, a volleyball, and a camera. And when we were wrapping up our afternoon and the sky was getting darker, the lanterns put up ahead of Buddha's birthday started to light up, I could feel how full my heart was. I wanted to roll around in all the goodness of it.
A good weekend consists of:
- lots of sunshine
- a good camera
- good food
- people who love to laugh
- the beginnings of a tan (good-bye Korean paleness)
- iced coffee
- so much laughter you get a headache and your face hurts
The Bible has a lot to say about joy. I love discovering those verses and claiming those, all the time.
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