Yesterday I took the high-speed rail down to Tainan to visit one of my best friends. I came in with expectations to do what I do best: eat. My aunt had taken great pains to let me know just how good the food is in Tainan, how she wanted to retire there when she got old enough, etcetc.
However, I was looking forward to finally being with a fellow brother and good friend for some time! No worries about tiptoeing around topics of conversation, no "filters" to put up, just some plain old fashioned hanging out. And so we did a mixture of the two-eat, hang out. And I thoroughly enjoyed the ease with which I can live-even as a guest in a family that is not quite typical. I was so relieved to wake up without any alarms this morning (after a night of rather vivid dreams), to spend time lounging around, talking to our dear friend Philip via Skype for...2 hours, singing/playing worship songs, sharing thoughts and reflections, and leisurely doing some household chores (aka moving in and setting up a big-screen TV). It was a refreshing return to the responsibilities and activities of normal everyday life. I do understand the irony that I would trade the absolute leisure and concerns of a vacation for the burdens of daily life, but it was rather refreshing.
Then a very nice dinner at a five star hotel, and watching a World Cup match to round off the day. I couldn't have felt more comfortable, and in entering a house where bible verses are hung on the wall, wooden crosses lounge in the corners, and a bible lies prominently on the living room table-my heart is filled with joy and peace.
I am reminded of John Stott's prayer: In a world that is hungry, I thank God for good food. In a world that is lonely, I thank God for good friends. In a world that is growing ever darker, I thank God for the light of Christ.
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