Elias with some of the "regulars" that come every day. Believe me, we know them all now. 😀
Thursday, January 14, 2021
China: Embrace Wintering...
Elias with some of the "regulars" that come every day. Believe me, we know them all now. 😀
Thursday, January 7, 2021
2021: Year of ...
It has now been about ten years of my life I have lived away from America. In my travels, I have been humbled when talking with people all over the world about the freedoms and advantages I have been gifted. While living and working in United Nations refugee camps, I saw anguish, but also immense hope. Every day I observed yearning faces who daydreamed of a better life. All they wanted was to live without fear of being killed by civil unrest or another country's power trying to dominate them. Domestic and foreign terror is all they had ever known. Others desperately want our freedoms that we should hold dear.
We have all begun a new year with expectant hope and the desire to shake off the clutches of COVID in whatever ways it has controlled our lives. I like the idea presented to me a few years ago by a friend. She told me of her family's resolution to choose a word that would fill in a desire they had for that year--to become someone different by thinking, reading, and learning about that specific word. We have chosen peace, light, charity, and a few others. Sometimes each member chooses a word, and other times, we have all worked for the same outcome.
As I live in China, a new year will begin on February 12--an ushering in of the Year of the Ox. Here in China, oxes are appearing everywhere in windows and stores. Very soon everyone will remember the attributes of the ox, and try to emulate them. The ox is known for its diligence, persistence, steadiness, and honesty. It is a faithful friend and contributes greatly to society. The ox is always glad to help out in any way when someone is in a predicament. That sounds like a positive description to me of what many Chinese people will be thinking and trying to emulate this year.
What will your word be for 2021?
Some pictures of oxes I saw this summer in Yangshou, China Indeed, they are loved and revered here.
Monday, December 28, 2020
Meet my Minika!
Some days we forget to look around us,
Some days we can't see the joy that surrounds us,
So caught up inside ourselves,
We take when we should give. --Josh Groban from the song, Thankful
Sometimes, more often than we could realize, I believe God intersects people for us in our daily, ordinary lives. Often, we do not understand it until some time has passed for God to prove His point. And then again, sometimes, the same person keeps returning into our lives (like my husband, but that is another story), to teach, mentor, serve and love us. Because I have now lived many seasons, I am beginning to see the tapestry that is being crafted by The Master Weaver. Minika often says we are "sisters from different mothers."
Almost seven years ago, I met Minika in Doha, Qatar where we were living at the time. She is originally from Nigeria, but went to England as a young mother and later went to school there and received her Master's degree in Civil Engineering. When I met her, she had been working very successfully as an engineer for eight years in Doha. She was widely known for her attentive eye for detail (something she attributes to her tailoring skills as a teenager). It was not uncommon for her to climb high ladders and planks to investigate the construction quality of the buildings she was responsible for. And if you know Minika, she was never afraid to tell someone how to do it better. 😀
When I met her the first time, I immediately loved her. She has a very loud laugh like me, and I was entranced by her stories growing up in Nigeria. Once when she was six, her family was escaping from a civil war in the jungles, and she remembers also being close to a lion as they ran. I could listen to her for hours telling her stories of starting a Saturday School for the children of the area to help them (and her own children) to gain good test scores to enter private high schools. Or, she would relate to me stories of being a single mom to three bright, rambunctious boys. Sometimes she faced outright prejudice with a school or neighbor, but she successfully helped navigate her sons' careers and lives. As my eighteen-year-old son with autism matter of factly states, "No one messes with Minika."
In these pandemic times, I hope we can see the long parade of people who have marched before and with us in this life. For all of us, the line is long of others who have supported us when we needed it. I have learned a simple truth: some of these beloved people who have locked arms and embraced us later come to encircle our loved ones. When we cannot be there, people come to fill in our gaps--compensating for our absence. It happens more often than I think we see or understand. Indeed, there are angels on earth all around us. Thanks for swooping in, Minika! We love you!
Friday, December 18, 2020
Finding the Bright Star in us at Christmas 2020
There shall a new star arise, such as one as ye have never seen. -- Helaman 14:5
Every child is fascinated with stars. Their light punctuates our sky. Indeed, astronomy is the oldest science and has been used to navigate the world since time began. But ah, during Christmas time, stars have a special meaning: we remember the wisemen who followed them to the Christ child, the shepherds who stood under their canopy while angel choirs sang to them in pastures, and likely Joseph who as a refugee father looked to the night sky to escape Bethlehem for Egypt. Without stars, it would be hard to imagine the first Christmas story.
This year, for the first time in 800 years Saturn and Jupiter are merging together on the same elliptical plane. We have been viewing over here in China. with just our eyes (no telescope is needed) the conjunction in space of Saturn and Jupiter. Each night they become a little closer --merging like a glistening megastar. On December 21 it will seem like they will overlap. It is stunning to watch them every night getting closer together--our nightly ritual. My daughter says she is having an outdoor "star party" in Utah, USA. And I will be doing the same here over here in China.
Perhaps these two planets seemingly joining together is a message for us--that the world needs to unitedly come together too. To find these two merging planets every night has made me look up and discover the sky this holiday season. I am a child again. Every night can hold unexpectant light-filled radiance. Also, we too can become new arising stars ourselves. But we can also interlink with others to be even brighter--just like these two planets.
The night skies remind me of slaves, sailors, explorers who absolutely depended on them to navigate across oceans and wildernesses. Stars brought them to freedom and new promised lands. And then when they were through journeying, they would bring them home again. Stars remind us we are not alone and to gather more hope. They direct and guide us to where we need to be.
So wherever you are in the world, go out and view the heavens. Catch some stardust and surprise yourself by being even brighter than you could have ever imagined.
Love these stars that are hung in many parts of Europe. We made these when my kids were little. Here is a tutorialWhat would the Christmas story be without stars?
Sunday, November 29, 2020
The Perfect Fit and Tailor Made For You...
Another friend who showed me the inner workings of the fabric world in Doha.
Can't forget the bright red peacock feathers woven together... I refrained. 😀
Sunday, November 1, 2020
On Human Touch and How to Make Words Shine....
In the hospital after the surgery, and Sarah who came to see me (in the head scarf). |
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Opening new doors in uncertain times, and. a lesson from Grandpa...
My two daughters at a colorful door in Greece. |
The Alhambra in Spain |