A Walk in the Rain

Once again that time has arrived. This morning, I pulled out my suitcases again with the intention of beginning the packing process. 

After taking a deep breath and rolling up my sleeves, I decided to forget about packing and go for a walk in the rain.  

Equipped with an umbrella and flip flops, I went for a short romp around my neighborhood savoring the refreshing rain the feel of splashing through puddles.  In the process, I also tried the savor my last week in the Korea.  

Unconsciously, I ended up at one of my favorite places to savor one of my favorite smells, sights, and tastes and reflect on life.  

Ahhhh….the beauty of  procrastination

Snack Time

Old and New

One of the things I love about Seoul is the intermingling of old and new.  The stunning six hundred year old palaces stand surrounded by shiny new skyscrapers. 

 A stately old city gate is an out of place island in the midst of a bustling of sea of traffic. 

The intricate wooden carvings captured in picture form by the newest innovative technology.  Old and new dwell side by side.  In the heart of the city, the past intertwines with the present and the future. 

 

For me Seoul illustrates the role of the past in shaping my future. My beautiful and sometimes painful memories of the past are surrounded by the new life God has erected around the remnants of the old.  My life is moving forward, advancing into the future.  I am moving on and expanding in new directions and new lands, but the memories of the past still dwell nearby.  Occasionally, I find my mind wandering back to the past and recreating images from my past life before everything changed one February evening in 2008. I visit the old the grounds for a few minutes every now and again, but then I know I need to step back into the reality of bustling city of everyday life. 




Over the last couple of weeks, I have actually taken the time to visit the old palaces, both literally and figuratively.  Enough time has passed that I can look back and celebrate the beauty of the old without idolizing it.

 
 I can take a few minutes to wandering around the grounds, but God also gives me the strength to turn and face the uncertainty of the present and the future and walk away from the safety of the old palace walls into real life.  Having time to walk through the palaces has been a bit difficult but also beautiful and healing. 

Korean Princess

Thanks to an amazing gift from one of my Korean friends, I now have a sweet Korean princess wearing a beautiful Hanbok.

Falling More in Love

Today, I went on my first hike in Korea, and I fell a little more in love with Korea and her people.  About 5 subway stops away from our apartment is an area called Dobongsan.  Every time we take the subway to church, we have to stop at the Dobongsan station and transfer to another subway line.  Every time, I look at the mountain and say, "Someday, I'm going to hike to the top."  Well, today was the day.

View from the subway platform

Once Abigail left for school, I caught the subway and started my adventure.   One thing I love about Koreans is the fact that most of them seem to have an outfit for everything.  Hiking is no exception. Almost every Korean I encountered was completely outfitted in brightly colored outdoor gear looking like he or she just stepped out of a catalog.  Gore-tex pants, long sleeve polypropylene shirts,  topped with colorful North Face shirts, vests, or rain jackets.  Most outfits also included a hat or visor and a pair of gloves.  Most feet were clad with name brand hiking boots, and the hikers carried day packs and hiking poles.  I am pretty sure I even saw a guy carrying an ice axe, which seemed highly out of place on a 75 degree spring day probably at least 500 miles away from the nearest ice and snow.  Even better, many couples wore matching outfits.  I hate taking pictures of random strangers and posting them, but I just couldn't keep myself from snapping a quick pic to illustrate the amazing hiking outfits.

If for some reason a hiker is not thoroughly equipped with name brand gear, a plethora, and I mean plethora, of shops line the streets from the subway to the park entrance about a 1/3 of a mile away allowing hikers to pick up gear to ensure they meet the fashion standard.

If an unfortunate hiker does not have the money for real name brand gear like The North Face, they can always pick up gear at The Red Face or The Normal Face shops along the way.

Throughout the hike, I internally giggled at the amazing Korean hiking outfits.  However, I am sure that the Koreans were also internally giggling at the out of place, fat, foreign lady, huffing and puffing her way up the mountain clad in five year old falling apart tennis shoes, a ratty t-shirt, and capri length sweatpants straight from Wal-mart.  Oh, cultural differences...

Anyway, after an incredibly helpful park ranger armed me with a map and described the best route to get to the top of one of the peaks, I set off on my little hike.

The beginning of my hike meandered past beautiful streams and small waterfalls and made me feel as if I was taking walk in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee.

However, the four Buddhist temples and the random lanterns I encountered along the way definitely made me realize that I was not in Tennessee anymore.

Not too far into my hike, I decided that perhaps the Korean hiking outfits were a bit more practical than they originally appeared. 

After spending the final 1.5km of the hike climbing stairs, scrambling up piles of rocks, and clinging to cables and railings to pull myself up granite rock surfaces to reach the summit, I was willing to admit that I was envious of the spry 65+ year old adjumas (old ladies) and adoshis (older men) passing me like I was standing standing still and their hiking poles. However, the view from the top was worth every step. 

"

All in all, the day reminded me that...

• I am in love with Korea and the kind and helpful Korean people. I will miss this place.
• I love to hike, and I need to try to make more time to do the things I love
• Culture and traditions are not always right or wrong, they are often just different
• I am no longer the 21 year girl who is used to hiking 10 miles a day. I am now an out of shape 33 year old momma who is going to be sore tomorrow
• Psalms 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
• Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Coffee Cup Reminder

Today, I had a bit of time to relax and grab a bite to eat at a new to me little coffee shop.  As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed the saying near the bottom of the cup. 

 

The saying is typical of the somewhat cheesy sayings that adorn Korean stationary, but for some reason it struck me.  Lately, I have been contemplating my hate for saying goodbyes, my tendency to hold people at arms length so that it does not hurt as much to say goodbye. (Hopefully, a blog post on the topic will be appearing soon).  Anyway, the coffee cup helped me realize that by loving people well, you are able to really enjoy them during the time they are in your life no matter how long or short that time may be.

Loving people may lead to heartache and pain  but it also can lead to joy and make your heart smile.

The Plant Killer's Offspring

After several years of silence, I am sure most of my faithful blog readers gave up hope that I would ever blog again.  However, if you have a really, really, really, really good memory, you might remember that I once wrote a post entitled "My Black Thumb" lamenting the fact that people often give plants at funerals. Unfortunately, plants and I do not get along well.  In fact, I think within two or three months, I have killed almost every plant that has been unfortunate enough to receive my care (or lack thereof).

Exhibit A

When we moved to Korea in January, we moved into the apartment of one of the staff members, who was taking a six month sabbatical in the states. As she showed me around the apartment, she asked me to care for her two plants...Yikes, not my forte.  I thought it was in her best interest to know my history before entrusting her babies to my care, so I made a full confession and admitted my previous life as a notorious plant killer. Despite my honesty, she still left them in my care.  I am proud to say that after four and a half months, and with only three weeks to go, both plants have survived and do not look worse for the wear.  Although, I would be lying if I did not admit that on a few occasions they looked a little yellow and wilted from lack of water or sunlight. However, they still made it. 

Fortunately, I do not think that my tenderhearted daughter inherited my black thumb.  A few weeks ago, she planted some flower seeds in a small pot as part of a kids club. She took the little pot home, and has been diligently watching her growing plants. One day, she accidentally knocked over the pot, and she broke out in tears over her little plant.  Mom to the rescue....I was able to quickly scoop up the poor thing, and we were able to replant the young sprout.  

I often catch her out on the porch moving her plant around to ensure it gets enough sunlight, and sometimes she even sings to it. This morning, I ventured out to the porch to hang some laundry on the drying rack, and this is what I found. 

My little sweetheart found a stool, placed it in front of the porch window, and opened the blinds just wide enough for the stool to be exposed to full sunlight.  Then she proceeded to find her plastic teapot, fill it with water and place it next to her plant.  She told me that the teapot was the perfect way for her to give her little plant just enough water when it was thirsty.

Perhaps, there is hope for the Plant Killer's Offspring after all.  Maybe someday, she will have a flourishing garden, or at least be able to care for a plant for more than six months.  We can only hope...

Playing with my camera settings

Blowing Dandelions

Blowing dandelions is one of my favorite things to do during the spring and summer.  There is something magical about taking a deep breath and scattering seeds attached white fluff.  Who knows where the wind will take them, or what will become of them.  Despite being reprimanded by my farmer parents who know the dangers of spreading weeds, I still occasionally cannot resist the temptation to scatter the seeds in the wind.  In fact, I have even taught my daughter the simple joy of blowing dandelions.

The other day, I babysat a cute little three-year old boy.  We took a romp through our neighborhood filled with twenty-story apartment buildings. In the midst of our urban surroundings, we discovered some fluffy white dandelions, and I couldn't resist teaching him the joy of blowing dandelion seeds.

The simple joy of blowing dandelions makes me think of passages from Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17, and Matthew 13 and makes me consider what kind of soil the seeds will fall upon.

Jeremiah 17
 ⁵ This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶ That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
    in a salt land where no one lives.

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

Matthew 13
¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”


It also makes me hope that you are able to take a few minutes to enjoy the simple things in God's creation like blowing dandelions and hunting for ants.