Dear Friends

Dear Friends,

I always like to begin emails, because I get to write that: ‘Dear Friends’. And when I see those words typing themselves out, it makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I do think that good friendships are one of God’s sweetest gifts to us.

Firstly, thank you again for praying for my neck. The pain is entirely gone, and I’m very happy to be able to be about daily life, with no worries. Or at least with no worries of that sort.

The weather has grown cooler. I wear a sweater out of doors, and watch as little indications of winter creep slowly over the city. Leaves will be turning color soon, and then they will die and fall. And winter will be here. I fitted foam liner into the cracks between my windows and their respective sills, this afternoon, to keep the draft out. And tomorrow I’ll do the same for my door. That will make things a bit cozier.

Two weeks ago, and while the weather was still hot, a few friends and I traveled just north of Seoul. The area we went to was beautiful, and within a few hours I was completely relaxed, as all the busyness and stress of life dissipated. We drove up a mountain and found a waterfall. It poured over into a beautiful, deep, green-blue pool, and after exploring the area for a bit, I kicked off my shoes and jumped in. Because there’s always so much on my mind, I’m not usually spontaneous or carefree around even those people who know me well, so I think that I startled my friends a bit. But I laughed at back at them, and I wasn’t long before we were all in the water. It was absolutely freezing, but so invigorating! And the mountains and the sky and the quiet naturalness of it all were so peaceful, that I felt more refreshed and relaxed when I got home late that evening than I have in a very long while.

I gave a twenty minute presentation to my class, yesterday. I chose juggling as my topic, and enjoyed prepping for it. It went very well, and my teacher liked my presentation methods well enough to hold them up to the other students as an example of how they should prepare their own in the future. I was very happy.
I’ve often wondered what place pride in a well done job ought to take. Now I think I know, but it will be difficult to explain. I sent a text to a friend, after my presentation was finished,
‘Yay. My teacher liked my presentation! I’m happy!!’
He replied, ‘Good job! Be proud!’
That make me cock my head a bit, because it hadn’t occurred to me that I might be so. I was pleased as a child that I had done a good job. I was happy about it with the same happiness I have that I’m able to write well. Or the same pleasure that comes when I receive a letter in the mail, or when the sky clears and the earth warms for the first time every spring. It’s not gratitude, exactly – unless that word once meant what it now no longer does. It’s simply exultation of heart over a good thing. When I study the work of a artist, I’m filled with admiration. When I think of my presentation, a similar feeling comes over me. Not at my own abilities. I worked hard to do a good job, but that is in no way remarkable. Anyone might have done as much... and perhaps it is exactly that which brings me pleasure. It is beautiful to me that God created in each man the capacity for excellence. When I aspire to, and manage to touch, that goal, my heart thrills. When I stop to consciously consider it, I know that I am not deluded into supposing that the work was my own. The wonder is born of seeing the image of an excellent God stamped on my soul, and that displaying itself in my work. I can take no more personal credit for such a reality, than I can for the fact that my eyes are blue. But that makes me no less pleased with the reality of what is. And, while I cannot be proud either of the drive toward success or of the ability to succeed (neither of which I have created), nor can I think myself ‘humble’ for refusing to take credit for Another’s work. I can simply watch with awe and applaud, grateful to be permitted to look on, and giddy at the thought that He has chosen my heart for His canvas.

I’ve been fighting a cold for these last few days, and that leaves me very tired. We have midterms next week, and the thought of that makes me even more tired. But since I realized what I wrote above, I’ve had a great deal more enthusiasm for my school work. I do my best, not simply because I must, but because it is one way in which I can resemble Christ.

Thank you all for your emails and prayers. Loneliness is very real over here, in a broad and all encompassing way. It is good to continue to be connected with you.

With love,
Elisabeth