Saturday morning around 11:00 I was getting ready to head out to go to the gym and swim. I didn’t really have any set plans for the weekend. School has kept me so busy during the week that my only goal was to catch up on rest and exercise. My body has been feeling restless since I haven’t been able to keep a consistent workout routine. So that was my mini goal for the weekend! But, boy did my plans change!
My friend, Gabriella, who I was planning on getting together with in the evening for Bible study called me up and asked me if I was up for an adventure. She has a friend who invited her along to go to Busan with her while she was going to visit her dad and we'd stay the night through Sunday, go to church in the morning, and then explore parts of the city. I only had to rearrange my church plans for Sunday in order to go so it actually worked out! They picked me up around 12:30 and we were off to Busan! During the drive, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Gabriella’s friend was telling us how God really prepared everything perfect in advance for it to be possible for us to go. The car that we were driving in had just been repaired and furnished the day before, just in time to be used for this trip. She was originally going to take a bus. Since she had the car, she was planning on taking the road trip with her daughter so she prepared snacks which included chocolate covered almonds, cherries, mixed nuts, and drinks (which are all my favorite road trip snacks!). The morning of the trip, her daughter ended up not being able to go. So she had all these preparations made but no one to go with. As a result, she was compelled to invite Gabriella and I to go along. She kept saying that she believed that God had been preparing this trip for us. It was in his will that we would go and he would be with us on this trip. The fact that her daughter couldn't go and that we could take her place. Everything happens for a reason. I thought it was pretty amazing how everything came together last minute and we were off for an adventure! The drive was supposed to only take 2 1/2 hours by car, but 5 hours went by after getting lost and I was starting to second guess whether I should have just stayed in Daejeon. We were driving around for hours and hours and I started to wonder if this was really God’s will. Was he really with us? Although, I knew there must have been a reason for me to be there. Her friend finally dropped us off at a cafe where we waited for her to meet with her pastor friend from the area. Gabriella treated me to Sulbing (Korean ice cream) and we began our Bible study. It began to get intense with the topics we covered ranging from Noah’s flood to the origin of the universe, and then to the spiritual world and demons. Her friend came back before we could even scratch the service of all these topics, but it created a foundation for future Bible lessons. We headed out to dinner from there. Her friend said we would be going to a sashimi place. The crazy thing is that recently I've been having this strange craving for sashimi and was thinking about how much I wished I could find people to enjoy it with. It seems like few people truly enjoy eating raw fish! She took us to this beautiful fancy Japanese restaurant with a private room. They served the food so elegantly and it was like a sashimi banquet. It was laid out on a platter so artistically and when I tried it, it was the freshest I’ve ever tasted! While we were dining, the pastor friend asked me if I ever receive revelations from God. I had never been directly asked that question before but it was the perfect time to share what God has just been teaching me. I told her that when I was a child, I always viewed God as my heavenly father who was here to guide, protect, and comfort me. However, since I’ve been in Korea, God has been transforming my relationship with him into something much more intimate. He has been showing me how much he deeply loves me like a bridegroom loves his bride. I am one of the 10 virgins awaiting my bridegroom’s return! He’s been filling me up with so much of his perfect love that I have stopped desiring or searching for love else ware. I used to seek love through relationships with guys, but I’ve begun to realize that I have all the love I could ever need through my savior. He loves me unconditionally unlike any man ever has and I feel more than satisfied and content with that. My relationship with Jesus has become a beautiful romance between a bride and her groom. I will never feel lonely again. I realized that the sashimi prepared for us was more than just a meal; it was like a wedding banquet. God knew my little desire, and he gave me the best of the best! I saved him a seat next to me at the head of the table and couldn’t help but sit there in awe at the banquet he prepared for me. Not only that but Gabriella’s friend, who I had just met, told me that she felt God was leading her to go to this place and pay for my meal. She wanted me to know it was a gift from God. When she was praying, she felt the Holy Spirit leading her to bless me with this meal. I truly feel like the most loved bride there could ever be! Afterwards, we were trying to figure out where we would stay the night. Originally, we were going to stay at a guest house but we got lost again on the way because the city is so huge and the roads are confusing. After driving around for 2 more hours, she prayed and asked God where we should stay. We ended up at a jjimjilbang. Only costing us $12, it was the best option since it was a sauna where we could wash and it was a place where we could sleep overnight. It was 11:00pm and I was exhausted. I wanted to just go straight to bed. I honestly was worn out and a little grumpy from spending so much time in the car all day. I had wished I could have gone to the gym to do some kind of physical activity. Although, I felt much better after I had washed up in the sauna. It was actually a spiritual experience! I not only washed my body and removed all the dirt and oils, but I felt like I was cleansing my mind of the negative thoughts as well. I felt renewed when I came out. It was 12:30 am, we were inside the jjimjilbang looking for a place on the floor to spread our blanket and lay down. It was so packed with people sleeping all over in the big open room that there seemed to be no quiet space. We were about to take a spot on the middle of the floor next to all these people, but then I saw a sign that said fitness center. I was curious and just wanted to take a peak to see what it looked like. We went in and it was dark but I saw it was very clean with all new equipment and had a view overlooking the ocean. A receptionist waved at us and pointed to some mats on the floor and told us we could sleep there. It was quiet and empty with no people! At that point, I was just about ready to drop from exhaustion so I was more than content with that! I thought about the whole situation of ending up in a gym to sleep and found it hysterically funny. I was complaining to God in my mind about how I missed out on going to the gym, and God gave me a bed right inside the gym. I woke up early next morning and was able to do a workout without even having to leave my bed! It couldn’t have been more convenient! It’s amazing that how even in the smallest details, God’s knows the desires of our heart and provides. The jjimjilbang felt in a strange way like a honeymoon with Jesus. The whole experience was spiritually renewing for me. A jjimjilbang is a place where you clean yourself from head to toe, scrub away all the dead skin, and remove the toxins from your body through the heat in the sauna. I thought about how I had my wedding banquet the night before, and then he cleansed and purified my body at the jjimjilbang. He cleansed me the night before so that I would be ready to meet him on Sunday morning in his temple. That morning we were planning on going to a big church in Busan. Before church, we went to a café and something crazy happened! Gabriella’s friend was wearing a special necklace that was given to her as a gift from the pastor and there was a girl at that café who had the same necklace given to her by that pastor. There was another girl with her and they were both visiting Busan to go to the same church that we were about to go to and then they were going to do some sightseeing around Busan. What are the odds! This had to be God! They said that after the church service, one of their friends in the church has a car and could give us all a little tour around the city to see some of the best places. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly! I didn’t know anything about this church, but then I found out that this church was a branch of an incredible Korean pastor/teacher/evangelist who I’ve come to learn about through my new friends here. All the Bible studies we have been doing have been messages that they learned from this pastor. This was my first opportunity going to a church that was preaching a direct message from that pastor. It was a beautiful message about how we can show God’s love to people through our daily lives. Our lives should be a reflection of the love we receive from God. If we meet the needs of people in their daily lives, they will feel God’s love through us, which is the best way to evangelize. After the service, the church served us lunch and then we went off to explore! I had been to Busan once before and there was this one nature park that had a trail around the coast at the southern-most tip of the city. I thought about how I would like to go there again but I would also like to see new parts of the area as well. Her friends ended up taking us to that very same place, but instead of walking on the trail, we took a ferry tour around to see the views from off the shore! I got my wish after all! I went to the same place but was able to experience something new at the same time! To add to that, the weather was absolutely impeccable! There was supposed to be heavy winds and big waves, but instead, it was warm and sunny with a light breeze and few waves. I looked out at the ocean and felt the presence of God. The Lord made the waters peaceful that day for us. The girls later took us to the market and we walked around until we found a place to eat for dinner. One of the girls said she was so happy to have met us that she wanted to pay for our meal. I couldn’t believe that once again, someone was paying for me! I’ve been trying so hard to save money and tracking my financial expenses to the exact dollar so that I can pay off my student loans as quickly as possible. The small ways in which people have blessed me financially through the time I’ve been in Korea have been adding up and I’ve been able to save way more than I normally would have been able to. I am confident that God will help me reach my goal of paying off my loans in a year! I will finally be debt free! It was around 5:00 pm when we left Busan to go back to Daejeon. On the way home, we were reflecting on all the little details of how God worked everything out for good on our trip. I learned so much from her example. Gabriella’s friend who invited us along with her on the trip to Busan has such a heart for the Lord and prays to him continuously throughout the day. Every small decision, every move, every direction, she is always asking God’s will first. I thought about how if my thoughts were always continuously thinking about God, I would never fall into temptation, stumble, feel alone or directionless, feel burdened and weak, feel sad or angry, or any negative emotion. There would be no room for the devil to enter because God’s protective shield around me would be so strong that the devil would have no way to even sneak between the cracks. I want to be so focused on God that there is no opportunity for distraction. I know it’s very difficult to do, but now that I’ve seen someone else do it and how much joy comes from living life in this way, I am so encouraged to strive for the same thing! I will never stray away from God’s will for my life if my thoughts are continuously focused on him. He will bless me abundantly for it and will remove all my worries and burdens. I will be an unstoppable bullet going full speed ahead. My hope is that everyone I touch will feel and experience the same love I receive from Jesus. I hope I can be a beautiful example of God’s love! Thank you Jesus for making me your bride! Thank you for this wonderful honeymoon where I could experience your love so intimately! I can’t wait for your return where I will be able to spend the rest of my life with you. Your love is so perfect and it’s the only thing that satisfies. It’s like a raging fire inside of me and fills me with more joy than anything in this world. I am longing for your return. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! You have forgiven me of all my sins and blotted them out from your sight. Your love has cleansed me and made me pure and white. I am perfect in your eyes. Help me to renew my love for you daily and deliver me from the devil's lies. Evil destroys but your love conquers all and bring the greatest joy. You alone have the power, the glory, and the honor forever and ever! I give my whole life and heart and soul to you, and I will always sing praises of our love. Thank you, My Beloved. I am yours forever, Amen!
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