So, I figured living in a top bunk for 3 months would be a fun experience (now that I am no longer eight years old). Indeed, it has been. So let me give you the set up first, the visual, real quickly. I sleep in a bunk in the corner of the room. Running parallel to the bunk are four large shelves for putting our clothes and other personal items. The person in the bottom bunk gets the bottom two shelves, and I get the top two. Great. Now, just the other day, tired from yet another very long and exhausting, though satisfying, day I excitedly prepared to jump into my cozy, high altitude place of rest. I got into my p.j.s anxiously anticipating the comfort my pillow would bring to me. I started my ascent. I put one foot on the shelf across from the bottom bunk and one foot on the bottom bunk itself. I then took off my glasses and put them away (I usually take them off when I am already fully in bed, but it's hard to reach across to the shelf so I figured I'd just take them off on my way up). Next, I moved my foot up to the next shelf. I braced myself for the jump, propelled myself from the leg on the shelf and grabbed for the side of the bed nearest to the wall so that I could pull myself into the bed. This is my usual routine. But having already taken off my glasses I miscalculated the width of the bed and missed the edge by a sparrow's fart (Australian for a very short distance). Having nothing within grasp to catch myself (other than an unanchored sleeping bag) and having already removed my foot from the shelf below, I found myself hurdling through the air frantically twisting in order to land on my feet. So there it is. I fell from my bed. Luckily, I did land on my feet and no parties, myself included, were injured. But Yoo Jin (my bunkmate) and I found it about the funniest thing we had ever seen. The fact that people were sleeping and we weren't supposed to laugh made it even funnier. I admit that that night, for the first time in my life, I actually laughed myself to sleep.
On a much more serious note (sorry to shift gears so abruptly, allow yourself time to adjust): this week was Forgiveness week. In order to really affect people and be effective on outreach, we need to be able to love. One thing that hinders us from loving people -whether they be our family, our friends, or strangers on the street- is bitterness due to unforgiveness. So this week we talked about forgivenss and then had a chance to "apply" it on Friday. People were given the opportunity to ask forgiveness (from God or from others) for things they've done and/or to forgive others for things done to them. This was done, by those who chose to do it, in front of everyone in the class. I have never been through such an emotionally intense day in my life. We started at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 4:00 a.m. Yeah, in the morning. It was heartbreaking the things people in my group had been through. People forgave rape, incest, molestation, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and even the murderer of a friend. Many asked for all kinds of forgiveness, too. Everyone who asked for forgiveness or extended it received prayer. It was an incredibly healing and freeing experience. Since then, I have seen in the faces of the people around me a newness and a lightness. Interaction between us is markedly different- free of shame, free of bitterness, free of insecurity. At the end of the day we all realized how broken we really are and how easy it is to operate out of that brokenness and hurt. We weren't magically "fixed" overnight, but heavy burdens have been lifted and there is room for greater healing, greater communication, and greater love. If I went home today, it would all be worth it. Luckily, I am in this for the long haul.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
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5 comments:
Thank you for the amusing story without any (or much) physical pain to anyone involved. :) So awesome how much God is doing in and around you; thank you for sharing! Have a radically blessed day, in Jesus's Name!
YAYAYAYAYYA,, I CAN SEE THE TWINKLE IN YOUR EYE.. :) im with you, and i thank GOD for the internet in this time.. dude- maybe YWAM is one of those must do in your lifetime things :). can't wait to hear your voice. stina
by the way, your email/post gave me lots of freedom today... i remembered what really mattered.. thanks sista, keep preaching via your story. stina
all i can say is... i understand, and i wish i could hug you. i feel like i'm walking through this with you as you write. keep us posted.
man, forgiveness. we just had ourselves some of that. it wasn't as intense or long as yours, but still good. i cried my eyes out over my father and I felt like God adopted me. And it was easier for teh first time ever to let myself let go of myself and let God tell me who I am. It's exciting.
Anyway man! bless you.
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