Today, I reluctantly got out of bed. I really felt like sleeping in, but I got this consistent impression (Holy Spirit?) that I need to go to church. It is not my custom to skip church – it is one way in which I keep the Sabbath. So I eventually got up, took a quick shower, gulped down two glasses of water and a banana and dashed off to the Sabbath-keeping church close by. While the sermon itself did not speak to me that much, it was still a blessing because I saw some old friends.
I worked with both Robert (American) and Sharon (Korean) a couple of years ago at the language institute where I worked the first time I came to Korea. In fact, Robert and I were room mates. At that time he and Sharon started dating and sometime after I returned to South Africa they got married. Today was the first time for me to see them again since then. They both have a pleasant glow about them, which is nice to see.
After church we sat together during potluck and had a great time catching up. It turns out that Robert taught at the same university and the same department, where I’m teaching now. Actually, he was professor to the current chairperson of my department – Division of English Studies – back in the 80s.
It was superb talking to Sharon as well. Sharon, Kay (a friend from Italy), and I often hang out together talking about such varied topics as being single and our concepts of heaven. Of the three of us, Sharon is the only one to have gotten hitched in the meantime. Although both Kay and I were respectively in serious relationships since then, we are both single again. While romance and relationships were occasional topics of discussion, it was especially the topic of heaven that intrigued us the most. We’d spent hours contemplating what it would be like, the things we’d do and see, and the fun we’re going to have. All three of us believe in a post-resurrection heaven, with physical, albeit glorified, bodies. Whenever I think of Sharon or Kay, I tend to think back to those times and our cheerful meditations.
I am glad you had a good time talking with your friends today. I went and sat with Victor and Angelina in another room for a while. I used to work with Victor in Incheon. He's a good person to know.
ReplyDeleteI want to go to Heaven. This world isn't my home. I say that my real citizenship is there. Let's do what we can to hasten that day, make sure that we are there, and bring many others with us. Among all the things we do on Earth, those are the most important.