I mean, I guess it should come as no surprise to me that on the day that I'm most in the Scriptures, I get the most done in terms of school. I had 3 Japanese classes today because I'm observing the level above my current one, I just finished studying said Japanese (kanji, grammar, vocab, the whole shebang) for 3 hours, I LIVE in Japan...that's a lot of Japanese in one day. And I don't think I could have handled all that without having some words of truth and wisdom to start my morning off and stick in my subconscious (we'll see if I retained any of it on Friday when I have to take both the level 3 and the level 4 test if I want to move up, which I do because I know I CAN). Here are some interesting things that came to mind as I was reading:
- At Kiyomizudera (the temple) the other day, my Japanese friends suggested that we try participating in a Buddhist (Shinto? I should know which one!) ritual of tossing in some yen and making a bow (there was probably more to it than that, but I wasn't really paying attention). Instinctively, perhaps, I declined "for religious reasons". And I thought it would be horrendously awkward for a while (I tend to dwell on those sorts of things, like being under-dressed for the opening ceremony...still kicking myself?), but soon enough we were on our way chatting and laughing again. Seems pretty banal, right? Well, think what you will, but it occurs to me that even when I'm not conscious of God's presence, the Holy Spirit dwells in me and protects me always; as much as I'm getting to like it here, I'm still not totally comfortable, but then I remember that I've only been here like 10 days and I don't even have a finalized class schedule yet because they just started this week...slow down, right? Anyway, I think it's cool that I can be in Japan and almost seeing what it's like to be Japanese without God letting me forget his truth.
- Another thing about the Kyoto trip: at one of the shrines (maybe you saw the pictures of FB), an acquaintance and I poured some water over our hands that was supposed to "make us beautiful". I couldn't tell you why I thought that was okay and not the prayer ritual, but maybe it's something about the nature of superstition--for me anyway, I kind of just do it sometimes without really believing. Like wishing on 11:11--now I pretty much just pray at that time if I notice, because it's kind of the same thing only with better results, right? Anyway, I realized yesterday that I was complimented on my dress, etc. by several people on Saturday, and when I met my host parents on Sunday, the first thing my mother (Okaasan/お母さん) said was "かわいいですね", which basically means "how cute/pretty!" Their neighbor also said something to the same effect when I met her that night, and that wasn't the last I heard of it. So after pondering the order of those occurrences, I wonder if maybe, along with all the insecurities of being in a new place (and one in which you're bound to be damp and smelly by the end of the day), I was also in need of some "physical" affirmation, and God was like 'hey, I know you know you don't need some stinkin' Buddhist/Shinto water to make you beautiful, but here's a gift to remind you how awesome everything I created is, including you!' So that was a highlight I guess.
- For your consideration, 1 Corinthians 14:10-12 says, "Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you...try to excel in those [gifts of the Spirit] that build up the church." I suppose Paul was talking about the tongues of "angels", so to speak, but I can read it a little differently here in Japan, I think. Maybe you can too.
- James 1:27 is another good reminder I received today: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
- Psalm 142:7 is of David, and reads, "Set me free...that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me." How perfect, that I would read this when I had JUST been given some quiet time completely to myself (an empty house) to sing a little worship, which I realized I had been missing. Also, "the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me"...that, I think is a GREAT comfort.
See y'all on the flipside.
P.S. Forgot to mention the real reason for the name of this post, ha. It also rained a TON yesterday and the weather changes faster than any place I've lived in. Like, within minutes. There was something else...I'll have to edit this again later.
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