Happy Korean New Year!

Happy New Year! What? I’m late? Not so! On this side of the ocean the Lunar New Year is being celebrated. Sulnal (Lunar New Year) comes at different times each year and is a big holiday for the people here in Korea. A visit to Grandma’s house, a nice monetary gift, some good rice soup, and a very busy highway help mark this special time of year. It’s like an overblown Christmas Eve for us Canadians. Possibly 300,000 or more vehicles leave Seoul to travel to the country and then return after a two/three day celebration with family – the mass exodus!
Well, this ‘red day’ also means a little rest time for us too. Rolling over to the sound of the wonderful morning call on my cell phone, I realized it didn’t know I was planning on sleeping in a little this morning. In this lovely world of technology, it still didn’t have enough courtesy to just let me sleep. To its surprise, I know where the ‘off’ switch is and chose it instead of the ‘ring again in 15 minutes’. Oh the bliss! And somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness is where I found myself for . . . Anyway, in a world of planes, trains, and automobiles – I rested!

Where will this year take us? As you can see, the rest doesn’t last long. We are busy these days prepping for our little English Mission to move into a new year of study. This year we will begin two new classes. One class will be a writing class and will help prepare middle school students for their English tests in high school and furthermore, university. The other class will be for a group of little jewels aged 5-6 in Korea.

This puts them anywhere between 3 and 5 in Canada. If you remember an earlier post about a dream for many children, you will understand that we are overjoyed to have these little energy packs start learning about God and His love. As I look in the mirror each morning and admire (well . . . maybe not quite) the silver that is so perfectly highlighting my head, I have to wonder if we are really thinking straight as we venture into this new year. Then I’m reminded of the joy in our hearts and the mission at hand. The little hearts are so tender and open. The seed is so easily planted. One thing I ask my Father daily, “Don’t let me get in Your way.” In a world full of demands, we desire to see the need at hand and tend to it rather than run ahead of Him in the haste of getting things done ‘yesterday’.
The economy is tough, study is tough, families are having tough times, the future looks tough, but the hearts are soft and searching. Midst the hurt and hopelessness, how do we offer a bright ray of sunshine? We sing, we rejoice, we thank, we praise, we share God’s love . . . and smile!
This week’s memory verse at EWAM is taken from Philippians 4:4-5.

Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit
be known to all men.
The Lord is near.

We can rejoice! We have so much to be thankful for. When we wake tomorrow morning and realize we have taken a breath to start a new day, let’s rejoice. Don’t let the material things around us steal our joy. We must not allow ourselves to become heated at the first little bump today, rather, we must think of the little things in life that we so easily forget (a close friend, a nice cup of coffee, a warm home, a smile that is returned each time it’s given, the ability to share a kind word with someone today, the opportunity to lift a prayer to our Father who cares about us . . . and the list goes on). So, why shouldn’t we rejoice today? Our rejoicing spirit must be passed on to those we meet. We must not forget that we are blessed. Heavenly Father, may others see the gentleness of You in us today. Amen!