The weather is beautiful (not hot and humid by Manila standards...) - a mid-20s temperature, nice breeze and little humidity. In other words, the perfect Canadian summer day (in 'winter' in Manila). People here are wearing sweaters, but somehow our Canadian blood just doesn't need that yet!
Traffic between Christmas and New Year's was amazing - fewer cars, buses, and jeepneys made travel a whole lot easier! Unfortunately, the lack of traffic meant that the traffic cops had very little to do other than pull over white drivers and try and charge them with something. You can ask Jeff about that sometime....
As for the fireworks and other celebrations, wow! By 4pm the noise of the city was crazy... booms almost continuously though it was a mix of firecrackers, fireworks and guns being shot into the air in celebration. Jeff heard on the radio by that time of day there were already 250ish reported cases of gun shot injuries from people shooting into the air (and forgetting that bullets need to end up somewhere thanks to gravity). The warnings in the paper for people NOT to light firecrackers and fireworks while holding them in their hands were graphic, yet somehow this still happened....numerous reports of injuries including fingers and whole hands being blown off.
We spent a normal Wolfe New Year's Eve, stayed inside and watched it all from the 37th floor. We could not count the number of places we could see with fireworks around the city - when we tried to count, we usually got up to 35 or so, and then lost count. This went on from dusk (6pm) until after midnight, and just built louder and louder as the evening progressed. At midnight, it was like the city was being bombed (WW II all over again...but a history lesson is for another day...did you know that Manila was the most bombed place anywhere during WW II???). At midnight, the fireworks were lit from the top of the shopping mall right outside our building...enjoy just a small portion of that:
Best we have ever experienced!
So now, 2011 is here. Have you taken your moments to reflect on 2010? Those who know me well will know that I have spent a bit of time on that reflection, especially in light of the unique year it was. What did God reveal to you in 2010? Be honest....I am sure there were good things, and there were not-good things. Every year has some of both...and I believe we can learn from both. I have many many many things that God revealed to me during 2010...a year when life seemed to be stuck in pause...unable to go back and struggling to go forward. (too many lessons to list here -there may be a book yet-my life on pause)
One of my biggest revelations of the learnings this year came to me Nov 30th - I was reading 2 Cor 4:1-5:10 and was struck by the first verse - we serve through His mercy, so should not lose heart. Oh, did I lose heart many times in 2010 (did you?). Then what really struck me was v 7-9 - we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us...we are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. I lost count of the number of times I was perplexed and though not driven to despair, definitely was not overjoyed and optimistic! I spent much of the year easily cracked and broken, shattered at times emotionally and spiritually.
My mind then turned to other passages that talk about God as the potter of my fragile clay jars: Romans 9:21 - the potter has the right over the clay to make what He wants; Isaiah 64:8 - we are clay, the LORD is the potter and we are the work of your hand; and Jeremiah 18:1-6 - can not I do as the potter...break you down and reshape you? Ouch.... of course my creator, the potter, had the right to break me down, but wow, that was tough. Upon further reflection and deeper honesty, I discovered a list of things that were broken away from me, shattered from my life before Manila, had to be ripped out of my being so that God could remold me. It is extensive, but needless to say it involved things like staying where it is comfortable, fearing reaching across all boundaries, not being in control (very tough for me), holding back from things that are hard, not wanting to ask too many questions or appear like I do not know (ouch...yes, a pride sort of thing), and so much more.
So 2010 was the breaking down - of all I knew, was comfortable in and built my confidence around. So many parts of me that upon reflection seemed to get in the way of people seeing God's power at work as they just saw me working and serving. A tough year, at times a lonely year, yet one that I obviously needed. Now the rebuilding is beginning and we will see what 2011 brings. The passage that started all of this imagery of my 2010 states "we walk by faith, not by sight" (5:7) and that will my 2011 I pray. That as God remolds me, I patiently allow Him to do that as I walk by faith. A treasured gift this season is this figurine, the Angel of Patience. She now sits in our home where I will always see her....and I will be reminded to have more patience in 2011 as God remolds me.
So what did God chip away from you in 2010, and how is He remolding you in 2011? Would love to chat with you about it....
Love you all (that did not change in 2010, other than become deeper and deeper as we missed you)
Linda
Hello my friends. Linda, I finally finished reading "Just Like Us." I really enjoyed the section from World War II on, what I call contemporary history, because it is familiar to me. The early section was tough sledding. I told Sarah yesterday, "Don't let your mother talk you into reading that book until after graduation!" She and I had quite a nice talk before church. I can tell that she enjoyed her visit, but I am also sure that she would not prefer to live in Manilla.
ReplyDeleteI just read your email to Dorothy as well as your New Years eve description and your reflections on 2010. My 2010 was not as traumatic as yours, until Septemer 2 when I became 80 years old. I am still having difficulty with that. I have always thought that anyone who was 80 was really old, but I don't feel really old. And Dorothy will be 80 on February 11 - but she is not old, either. I'm only 26 until I look in the mirror, but then, mirrors are notoriously unreliable. (cf Bill's sermon from yesterday) I asked Sue how I was going to add a zero to 26 now that I have entered a new decade, and she said, "Easy. Use a decimal." So I am now 26.0 years old. But I still have a problem with my real age. Help!
I was interested in your verse from 2 Cor. 4. I found it back in 1995 when I spent three months between St. Mary's and University hospitals and had 9 surgeries. I shared it with one of the Chaplains (I think at St. Mary's) and was surprised that she had not remembered reading it. I still use it - frequently.
Dorothy's favourite Scripture passage is the Isaiah one about the potter and the clay, and Bill preached on that topic yesterday, so she was happy about that. We have a pitcher that we watched being made in a pottery in England some years ago, and then bought to bring home. She treasures it greatly.
2010 was great for us medically. In September Dorothy went to St. Mary's for surgery that was to tell whether she had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and it turned out that she had nothing wrong - there had been an Xray error. In November I was discharged from the experimental program at University Hospital to deal with chlosterol-plugged carotid arteries. One is totally plugged and can not be unplugged,and the others were developing plaque. The program was to see what could be done medically instead of surgically. The doctor found that my two remaining carotids "are three years younger now than when you (I) entered the program two years ago." Can't beat that for good news.
As for what God has chipped away, I can't really tell. Just when I think I have learned something, I discover I'm still going the old way. I place my trust in Him and have faith that He will keep me safe.
Enjoy your conference for Asian pastors. You are certainly having experiences that few Canadian pastors can match.
We both send love,
Jim