FLIPPING THROUGH

FLIPPING THROUGH

last night, i happened across an old prayer journal from 1999 and reading it over, i realized how jaded i’d become since coming to university. my prayers in OAC were full of thanksgiving to God. the smallest things would evoke streams of praise. and now, i look over my prayers and they’re so full of heaviness and dreariness. unless something big happens, i hardly take the time to thank God. i’d like to think that i’ve progressed deeper and closer to the heart of God over these years, but looking back, i’m tempted to say that i think i was closer then. i was more of a child.

anyway, as promised, here’s another blog. this one’s from Thailand.

::GUCCHI SHOES AND ROLAX WATCHES::

At this year’s Christmas Sunday service, Pastor Herman spoke about imitation products that don’t live up to their promises. He talked about Gucchi’s and Rolax’s and how they appear to be the real thing but like much of what we chase after in life, they let us down. I appreciated the analogy at the time, but I did not know that extent to which I would live it in Phuket (an Island in Thailand).

Yesterday, my parents went out for a walk and my mom decided to get a pair of cheap sandals for the equivalent of $10 CDN (ironically, they were Gucci’s). While we knew they were imitations, we were nevertheless surprised when one of the straps broke within two hours of her wearing them. That was only the first of the imitation experiences.

At our hotel’s New Year Gala last night, one of the first performances was by a drag queen (!) – an imitation woman. And apparently, lip synching while doing MTV/Las Vegas show girl type movements constitutes standard dinner entertainment – imitation singers. Tonight, at dinner, my dad decided to order steak with baked potato. What arrived was a piece of tendon and fat ridden meat with a boiled potato – an imitation western meal. (We learned that when travelling, one should stick to local foods). The band that played live music during dinner did somewhat sorry renditions of music from the 70s, 80s and 90s – imitation cultural refinement. On top of all this, escort services here are more than common – imitation love.

After thinking about it, I realized that the only real things I know for certain are real are the things created by the hands of God: the sun, the sand, the ocean, the fruits and the flowers. These are all good and beautiful things. These things are real. And I’m so thankful they are not imitations.