i had the day off in lieu of all the dance pracs that are going on...
woke up really really late - about 11am. for me, that's really really late, cos normally my body can't sleep past 9am. (which is useful when i had exams and lectures and stuff liddat in my school days) feel really rested =)
enjoyed a few hours of solitude and reflection. something i haven't had time or will to do for a while, cos i tend to be a workaholic - in the sense that i dun like 'hanging' or ill-done projects. i like to finish what i am doing and to finish it well.
anyways... i felt led to read 1 corinthians 13 again. something i think most people know - the famous chapter on love.
* * *
love is patient, love is kind.
it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud
it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
love never fails.
* * *
i feel that this time as i read it, God was really causing me to ask myself - do i love in that way? and showing me how self-centered my 'love' often is... most of what i learnt is kinda personal, so shan't share here... but i think it was a really refreshing yet humbling time for me =)
also did a bible study on lot's wife (Gen 18:26-19:16). and what really struck me is that the study helped me see her as a real person. a woman who
- was hospitable enough such that her husband knew he could invite people - strangers! - home anytime
- was probably terrified when she heard her husband telling the men that he would give his daughters in exchange for the strangers' safety
- had put a lot of time and effort and energy into building her home and making a life in her town, and found it a shock to be suddenly told to leave all that had become familiar behind
there's probably a lot more i learnt, but these are some of the main things i learnt abt her. and i was really impressed that here is a woman who probably was of great character and a good wife. and yet... for one mistake... she was turned into a pillar of salt.
it does seem somewhat unfair. but i guess God wanted to make His point so clear - don't look back!
don't regret. don't live with so many "what-ifs". don't tell God you trust Him and then live as though your past was not within His control as well. He has already assured us that we are secure in Him because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and that He will work all things for good.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus... Only let us live up to what we have already attained." - Paul (Phil 3:13, 14, 16)
