Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Faith

When things get hard, take it as a compliment. 

...

It's God, whispering, "I believe in you."

"I know you are stronger than this."

"The good things are on their way."

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Someone Else's Home

On the way out of my housing area tonight, the security guard looked in the car and smiled wide at me.

"You went to Nepal right? Your mother told me about it! How was it? Did you like it?"

His joy was infectious, and soon I realized that I was smiling wide in return.

Here he was, asking if I liked the place he calls home. :)

...

This Nepal trip has offered me so much new perspective. While I may not have been of as much help as I hoped to be, I got to learn much, and understand more of the world.

One of my last days here before leaving for this trip was spent in KL city with my dad looking for a foreign currency exchanger. The more we roamed KL, the more I realized that this was a city of Nepalese men, amongst other races. A moment of sudden empathy hit me. These are men that have left their homes, their wives and their children to make a living that they may be able to provide for them. These are the men who have sacrificed much for what is most precious to them.

The plane ride to Nepal was likewise filled with Nepalese locals. Some looked excited, while others looked indifferent. And there it was again, this moment of empathy. What was it like for them to be returning to their country, after who knows how long? What did it feel like to be able to drop the responsibilities of a harsh world for but a moment, and go home? Could it be possible, that I have been taking the experience of 'going home' for granted?


Not only that, my mum told me recently that the village I had visited up the mountains, the one that made me fall in love with Nepal - Khalte, was actually one of our guard's hometowns. I wish I could tell him how beautiful it still is, and how incredibly hospitable the people there are. I bet that the curry and dahl I had eaten without a second thought is the meal he misses the most. Had I told him these things, I believe that he would have savoured every last word, just for a taste of home. 

...

It's a world out there, of people. 

Isn't it amazing that there exists a place that is so entirely different from what I consider home.. yet it is the only home for somebody else?

...

I think that I have fallen irrevocably in love with this world I live in. 

I have fallen in love with diversity, with people, with life and with the opportunity to live for but a moment in someone else's home.

I am as blessed as ever. :)

Love,
Dice

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Devotion

"It is My joy to carry you on My back."

Wow. 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

2014

It didn't feel the same as last year.

Last year, I was so ready and felt completely prepared to leap into the new year. I was eager for the new, the change, the better.

But.. this time, as praise went on in church during Thanksgiving service, I realised that I was still holding on to 2013, too afraid to let go.

Perhaps it was just a feeling I couldn't shake for some reason. Perhaps too much had happened in the span of this one year and it was merely overwhelming me then. Perhaps it was because there are many changes to be expected next year, as well as many new challenges to undertake. Or perhaps, it were the echoes of the future that I've been feeling in my spirit, and the fear of the unknown.

I closed my eyes and prayed.

And then this memory came to mind - while I was on holiday in Bali with my family, we visited a temple with an incredible sea view that came along with aggressive monkeys infamous for grabbing people's things. Personally, I have a huge dislike for monkeys after having been chased by one many years before, so I did not look forward to this experience at all. Upon entering this place, all us girls in the family wanted to stick close to my dad, because we were sure that being close to him in a monkey-infested area meant we'd be safe, and protected, and that there would be absolutely no need to fear as long as we could hold on to him.

Likewise, my Heavenly Father was assuring me that I could stick close with Him throughout 2014, and no matter what it was that scared me or wanted to break me in this time, He would fight them off for me and remain by my side to walk with me always. I just have to keep looking forward and bravely continue going.

...

I'll be okay. :) I'll be okay.

2014.. is going to be even better still.

Blessed New Year,
Dice