December 30, 2023

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44

“Oppa! Did you take out the trash? The trash truck is outside!”

Hyemi was yelling from the living room as I was still in my sleep. Immediately, I came to my senses, kicked the blanket, and sprung out the door. It was early Friday morning, and I completely forgot to bring out the trash bin the night before. My brother’s family had come over for the holidays and we had a great time with good food and laughters in the evening, and the thought of trash day just slipped out of my mind. It was a weekly routine I usually do not forget, and these guys always come to our neighborhood around 7:00 am. This time, I forgot and I was not ready.

I opened the garage and ran out with the bin, it was already too late. The truck was already couple houses away, and I just stood there hoping the driver would see me. Once he was done picking up the bin from that house, the kind man smiled at me and detoured back to my driveway to empty my bin. Words of gratitude kept coming out of my mouth and the kind man replied, “Merry Christmas!”

The year of 2023 is coming to an end, and we begin the new year of 2024. I pray that we will always be ready for His soon coming. Maranatha!

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December 23, 2023

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit Him.” Psalm 8:3,4.

For long distance flights I prefer sitting on the aisle side but on shorter flights, I enjoy sitting by the window to look outside. I keep looking out as the plane takes off into the air. I notice how the buildings and the cars become smaller and smaller. They become small like miniatures, and then small like the ants. It makes you think how small the world is.

But for the astronauts they go further out until they get to see the beautiful blue marble, the earth. As for many astronauts, once they experience the space and see the beautiful blue planet they have a paradigm shift of how they view the world. They call it the ‘overview effect.’ According to Wikipedia, this effect: refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this "pale blue dot" becomes both obvious and imperative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

The problems and the strife that we see around us are just a mere speck when you compare to the vast space. We are nothing but dust. Yet our mighty God who has created us is mindful of us. That is how much He cares for us. He loves us so much. Shouldn’t we, then, stop with the problems around us and focus ourselves to God?

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December 16, 2023

“Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.” 

1 Samuel 13:10

When Sebin was a baby, she would get up and come down looking for something to eat. Hyemi would be making breakfast for the family. We are all hungry. While Hyemi is fixing food, Sebin can’t wait anymore. She would run to Mom and say, “I want to drink soy milk! Give me some!”

Now Hyemi knows that is not a good idea because if Sebin drinks a cup of soymilk, Sebin will feel full. Sebin won’t be able to enjoy as much the good food prepared by Mom. Sebin will only eat a little bit and there will be leftovers. Hyemi says, “No. I am making a good and tasty breakfast. Please wait until you eat this breakfast and then I will give you a cup of soymilk.” Sometimes Sebin would listen, but other times she would insist. She would keep on asking for it. Sebin would lose patience and she says, “It’s ok! I will drink first!” Sebin is hungry and she can’t wait. She is willing to give up what is much better to come by choosing what is available now. If Sebin learns to be patient, then she will get to enjoy what is better. 

It seems something similar happened to Saul. They were surrounded by the Philistine army. They are outnumbered. In the meantime, they were waiting for Samuel the Prophet. They waited for Samuel to arrive for seven days. Saul lost patience. Then he offered the burnt offering himself. Right after that, Samuel arrived. As a result, Samuel tells the king that his kingdom will not continue because “you (Saul) have not kept what the Lord commanded.”

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