Coming and Going...COGOS!!
LONG OVERDUE!!!!! but here's the Thanksgiving entry hehe...gobble, gobble...
I really enjoy Thanksgiving...and the concept of giving thanks for blessings in our lives with the people we care about. This past weekend was a reflection of that. It was sooooo hectic, but at the same time, it was an awesome time to see and spend time with people back home in Toronto. There is so much I'm thankful for... health, people in my life...etc...just too many blessings in life that seem to emerge in my thoughts when Thanksgiving comes around (which makes me think, how much I should really praise the Lord for these same things on a daily basis). Granted, I wish I had some turkey...but nonetheless, fish'n'chips/stuffed chicken/peking duck/pumpkin pie will do :) Leaving Toronto for Kingston on Monday afternoon, I was already feeling the "cage" symptoms again...leaving the big city for the small town, leaving civilization for hermitage...I felt bummed but it needed to be done.
Which leads me to think about the coming and goings that we out-of-towners must experience quite frequently. Every single time I leave, whether from Kingston or from Toronto, I feel like I've left a bit of me behind... like I'm leaving a place where a part of me has been established. At the same time though, there's always that tinge of the "unknown"...things that will develop to be a part of me once I get there. One example is of people and relationships. Everytime someone leaves a place, they leave behind a group of people. Whether they are family, close friends, or a significant other, the truth of the matter is they'll be missed...but there's also that glimpse of hope.. that when you arrive in the "other" destination, there will be people you either will meet or already have established relationships with that will eventually become your close "family". Of course, one can't be replaced by the other, but each can contribute and help develop different characteristics and values in a person. Reflecting on myself, I think I'd be a very different person in thought and in spiritual character if I had stayed in Toronto for school. Not to say that staying in Toronto would've made me any less as a person, but the outcome would've definitely been varied! There's no end to how Thankful to God I am regarding my schooling away from home:
1. It's made me realize how much I appreciate individuals back home
It's funny how my relationship with my dad is actually better when I'm away from home. We don't argue as much or treat each other like 10-yr old tattle-tale-ing siblings as much... haha. Keeping in contact and praying for ppl have also been on my agenda of making me realize how much I appreciate people I care for back home:)
2. It's taught me how to care for those that share the same "fate" as me in Kingston
God's continuing to remind me and to refresh me on a daily basis on how to care for people around me that are also away from home. As John Piper mentioned in his recent sermon, "Carry My Love to My Beloved", Paul was demonstrative in the ways to which he showed authentic platonic and brotherly love to other believers spread around the different churches. (Romans 16). Even in his address to them in writing, he finds things about these individuals that endears Paul and intensifies his love for them.
3. It's reminded me of the omnipresence of God
sounds cliche, but it's only the truth...he's always been there for me, and that is what i'm MOST thankful for :) Whether in Toronto or Kingston, the God of gods, King of kings, Lord of lords has always been present.
What a Thanksgiving, thanks for all the fun back home ;)
I really enjoy Thanksgiving...and the concept of giving thanks for blessings in our lives with the people we care about. This past weekend was a reflection of that. It was sooooo hectic, but at the same time, it was an awesome time to see and spend time with people back home in Toronto. There is so much I'm thankful for... health, people in my life...etc...just too many blessings in life that seem to emerge in my thoughts when Thanksgiving comes around (which makes me think, how much I should really praise the Lord for these same things on a daily basis). Granted, I wish I had some turkey...but nonetheless, fish'n'chips/stuffed chicken/peking duck/pumpkin pie will do :) Leaving Toronto for Kingston on Monday afternoon, I was already feeling the "cage" symptoms again...leaving the big city for the small town, leaving civilization for hermitage...I felt bummed but it needed to be done.
Which leads me to think about the coming and goings that we out-of-towners must experience quite frequently. Every single time I leave, whether from Kingston or from Toronto, I feel like I've left a bit of me behind... like I'm leaving a place where a part of me has been established. At the same time though, there's always that tinge of the "unknown"...things that will develop to be a part of me once I get there. One example is of people and relationships. Everytime someone leaves a place, they leave behind a group of people. Whether they are family, close friends, or a significant other, the truth of the matter is they'll be missed...but there's also that glimpse of hope.. that when you arrive in the "other" destination, there will be people you either will meet or already have established relationships with that will eventually become your close "family". Of course, one can't be replaced by the other, but each can contribute and help develop different characteristics and values in a person. Reflecting on myself, I think I'd be a very different person in thought and in spiritual character if I had stayed in Toronto for school. Not to say that staying in Toronto would've made me any less as a person, but the outcome would've definitely been varied! There's no end to how Thankful to God I am regarding my schooling away from home:
1. It's made me realize how much I appreciate individuals back home
It's funny how my relationship with my dad is actually better when I'm away from home. We don't argue as much or treat each other like 10-yr old tattle-tale-ing siblings as much... haha. Keeping in contact and praying for ppl have also been on my agenda of making me realize how much I appreciate people I care for back home:)
2. It's taught me how to care for those that share the same "fate" as me in Kingston
God's continuing to remind me and to refresh me on a daily basis on how to care for people around me that are also away from home. As John Piper mentioned in his recent sermon, "Carry My Love to My Beloved", Paul was demonstrative in the ways to which he showed authentic platonic and brotherly love to other believers spread around the different churches. (Romans 16). Even in his address to them in writing, he finds things about these individuals that endears Paul and intensifies his love for them.
3. It's reminded me of the omnipresence of God
sounds cliche, but it's only the truth...he's always been there for me, and that is what i'm MOST thankful for :) Whether in Toronto or Kingston, the God of gods, King of kings, Lord of lords has always been present.
What a Thanksgiving, thanks for all the fun back home ;)
posted by vinci at 12.10.06
3 comments
