greater things have yet to come

I graduated from the youth group today! It's such a strange feeling graduating. I'm glad to have graduated, yet there's a part in me that wants to hold onto staying where it is comfortable. It's been six years of Saturday meetings at 10 AM, and two years of praise team practices at 8 AM on Saturday and Sundays. However, now it is time to move on! I really like this quote by C.S. Lewis: "There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." Although I don't know in what context C.S. Lewis wrote this, it's a great assurance that there are greater things ahead! I read the Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis this summer. It was really confusing at first, but as I read on, the encounters the ghost has with other ghosts really intrigued me. The basic plot of the story line is that there is a bus full of ghosts that goes from one world to another world. However after the bus arrives in the other world, each ghost has to make the decision to stay (and get a chance to become a solid being) or return to their previous world where they remain as ghosts. Each of the ghosts has this opportunity to choose to live for eternity! Yet, one by one, the ghosts come up with excuses to return to their depressing world because they are still holding onto something. If you compare what they can obtain (eternal life) versus what they are holding onto, it's really sad.  However there was this one ghost who gave everything up to become solid again, and then his life was just so beautiful after! I think it's hard for me to embrace new opportunities when I'm comfortable where I am. However, I don't want to be holding onto something of the past that will prevent me from moving forward as these ghosts lost this opportunity for eternal life. The future seems so uncertain right now, but I know that if I lay everything down before God and wholeheartedly follow Him, he will make my story beautiful as well. I am learning that instead of worrying about what I will do in the future, all I have to do now is to say "yes" to the things God has in store for me right now.

High school friends! From 2013 to 2017 (that is, if we all graduate in 4 years).

The gift from the senior banquet...ready to be a terp! (:

The Undoing

God is continually undoing these layers inside of me.

Spending Korea for seven weeks was a great experience, but honestly, it was tough. God was constantly undoing these unclean layers, cleansing me of the impurities from these compromises that I made during the last few months of senior year. He was pruning me and still is. As graduation neared, I was always doing something (mostly hanging out with my friends) that I did not spend much time with God. However when I first arrived in Korea, I had hours and hours to myself. Without any friends to talk to during the day since I could only contact people in the morning or at night, I spent a lot of time alone or with adults. I had a lot of time to think and ponder on things as I read a few books. They were sweet seven weeks and I think it helped me come to a few conclusions that I needed to before I begin college.

After visiting Korea, I was so thankful that God brought my family to Maryland when I was in third grade! I see that God's plan for my life was the best. I have great friends and a loving community here!

The last school year was a peaceful year, not because I wasn't busy, but because God continually gave me peace throughout the year! Looking back, it was also a year of undoing (although I'm sure this doesn't end until we meet God for eternity). God was undoing things in me even when I thought I didn't need to be undone. Sometimes I got stuck in a place of complacency or maybe pride that I thought I was okay; I thought I didn't need to be undone. But each year, God continues to reveal more of himself to me. He expands my vision and views that I can no longer settle for what I had settled for the previous year. Before he can reveal himself to me, I must be ready to receive what he is willing to show me. And so, he keeps undoing these layers inside of me.

Reflecting on the summer, I think God is challenging me to live without compromises this upcoming school year (freshman year!). God hates it when we stay lukewarm. In Revelations, God warns us that we will be spit out if we are lukewarm. I believe it's also a call to purity. Usually we associate "purity" to abstinence in a relationship, but it goes further than that. It's a calling to be set apart for God because we were called to live for more.

Luna

If you asked me a few months ago what kind of pet I would want to have, I would have probably said "fish" or something along those lines. Growing up, I used to be really afraid of dogs for some reason. So I never thought our family would ever get a pet, especially a kitten. But my sister has been persistently asking for a cat for months now and last Saturday, they went to the Greenbelt Animal Shelter and adopted Luna!

Conversation with Korean missionaries:

M: What's her name?

R: Luna

M: NOONA?

R: LUNA

M: NOONA?

R: LUNA

M: Luna

Here's a (paraphrased) conversation that reminded me what a great father we have in God:

R: Dreams do come true when you have a good dad.

H: Well I have God as my father!

Yes, we have a good father - on earth and in heaven and he loves to give us good gifts! In the midst of everything, I forget that I have such a good father who wants to give me the best. When my prayers are not answered, it's because he knows the best for me.

I have a lot to learn about cats...

Simple Lessons

These are the simple basic lessons I learned from Bible studies while I was in Korea. I meant to write about them a while ago, but I kept pushing it back. 

• We need to value our inheritance. Growing up, UBF history was never really interesting to me so I never really paid attention whenever we had a lecture on UBF history. However, I learned the importance of valuing our inheritance. In Genesis, God gave Isaac twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Although Esau should have valued his birthright, he sold it to Jacob for "some bread and some lentil stew" (Genesis 25:34a). "So Esau despised his birthright" (Genesis 25:34b). Because Esau did not recognize the value of his birthright, he lost it. In the same way as a second gen in UBF, I have an inheritance. I can learn the values that our church was founded upon or I can choose to ignore it. There is wisdom I can learn from my parents and elders in the church that they had to experience to learn. I also had the opportunity to visit the grave site of American missionaries to Korea. God had so much grace and mercy to Korea that he chose a nation torn apart by war and poverty and brought it up to the Korea we know today.
• There is beauty in serving. "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). Being away from home taught me the importance of hospitality. I knew welcoming people was important, but after receiving so much love and hospitality in Korea, I personally learned the importance of welcoming others. It's special being able to make someone feel comfortable. I know it takes effort to begin the conversation with another stranger, but God is still teaching me. In the Bible, Abraham had great hospitality that he entertained angels without knowing it! How amazing is that?
• Be humble in prayer. "Two men went up to the temple and pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers,  evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 10:14).
• Have faith like a child. I was taking a walk with a few adults from the church and their kids. There was this one three year old boy that was amazed by everything. It reminded me of the attitude I should have. He saw and ant and was so amazed. "WOWWWW GAE-MEE (ant)." He also kept asking what things were which were followed by "WOW TREES. WOW FLOWERS." As we grow up, we forget how awesome God's creations are!
• Nothing equals spending time with God through reading the Bible and praying. 
• It's about saying "yes" to God. I don't know what I'm going to do in a year, five years, or ten years, but I know where I am going. This year, I've had this image of God holding my hand and just leading me. I've just been following him and it's really interesting where he's taking me.
• There is no condemnation in Jesus. We were studying the Samaritan woman at the Sungdong UBF Summer Bible Conference and as I wrote the testimony, I realized that Jesus did not condemn the Samaritan woman for having so many failed marriages. Instead of condemning her, he forgave her and wanted her to leave her life of sin. I observed how the shepherds in Korea, instead of condemning students for their wrongdoings, were so forgiving and open. Instead of pointing out their faults, they lead the students to Jesus. It's so beautiful!