June, 2008

I participated in Habitat for Humanity last weekend with some friends and single adults from our church’s Focus community.

We were sodding (a.k.a. putting sheets of grass onto a new lawn). Sounds easy, right?
ha ha haaa…..

So what ’sodding’ really means is:
1) Walk through a mud pit and pick out all the brick, clay, wood, rock debris that was left by the old demolished house.
2) Shovel dirt throughout the whole lawn.
3) Rake and spread the top soil evenly.
4) Lay sheets of grass in lines across the lawn.
And for extra bonus fun, pick a hot, humid, sunny June day.

Bottom line: it was hard work! By the end, though, I felt like I was on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It was incredible seeing the transformation of the house from the beginning to the end.

As I was thinking back to the day, I realized that there were some life illustrations that came out of the day. Here are a few:

#1: Shake off the muck if you want to move
Before we laid the grass, we had to clear out brick, wood, clay, and rocks from the lawn. We had to trek through wet mud and clay to pick up the pieces. Every step I took, more mud/clay stuck to my shoes, and after 3 steps, I basically couldn’t pick up my feet because the muck was so heavy. Unless I shook off the excess muck that was weighing me down, I wasn’t going to get anywhere.

#2: Cover-up is only a temporary fix
As nasty as it was to clear out the muck, it was the most important part. If we just laid the top soil and grass on top of the
brick/wood/clay/rocks, the grass would not be able to take root, and it would die quickly. We couldn’t just cover up the junk with the grass; we had to clean the yard out so that healthy grass could grow.

#3: Help Helps
My friend and coworker Sarah and I were working on one side of the lawn by ourselves for half of the morning. It was taking forever and there was no end in sight - until we reached the back lawn, where there was an army of other people to work together with. Things went about ten times faster from that point on.

#4: If dirt and discomfort is inevitable, embrace it
When we started laying the grass, I realized the dirt and grass from the sheets lands all over you. At one point, Sarah looked at me and said, ‘You’re not dirty enough,’ at which point I hugged the sheet and smeared grass and dirt on my face. I have to say, it was a lot more fun when I accepted the discomfort of the task and embraced it (literally)!

#5: It’s all worth it in the end

I remember back in middle and high school, I was a floater. I mingled with the intellectual nerds of the school paper, spent hours a week with the lacrosse jocks, was loosely affiliated with the ‘cool’ kids through a childhood friend, and found refuge at my parent’s church with other Korean American teenagers. I came to college wondering if I would ever find true friends who would know me (the good, the bad, and the ugly), accept me, and last beyond college.

I thank God because He provided more than I asked. Pardon my nostalgia, but I wanted to share about one friend in particular.

My first encounter with Rachel was freshman year, when my older sister invited her to our apartment for dinner. I remember thinking, “She’s one of those goody-two-shoe Christian girls that my sister is reaching out to.” I didn’t stick around for that dinner.

The next couple years we saw each other from afar at various church gatherings. Then, junior year we both started serving as small group leaders, and were put together as accountability partners. And the rest is history.

We continued as accountability partners for the next 6 years, and then lived together as roommates for a year. Over that time, we went through highs, lows, and really-really lows. I experienced true vulnerability as I confessed (for the first time to a friend) insecurities about my self image, family, future, and relationships, and listened to her open up her life to me as well.

We struggled through college graduation, job-searching, life-purpose-searching. We became partners at work as we tried to start a school together. I blind-carbon-copied (bcc’ed) her when I emailed that boy that I liked so that she could monitor for excessive smileys and subliminal messages.

We’ve dreamed, kayaked, prayed, hot-tubbed, made late-night trips to kinkos, traveled abroad to Canada for dim sum together.

And as she leaves to take part in a church plant in Austin, Texas, I’m thankful because I’m certain that God has brought us together as sisters in Christ, friends and partners in Kingdom work - not only in the past, but wherever He takes us in the future.

And it all started with a simple prayer, back at the beginning of college: “God, please provide a true friend who will walk with me for the length of this journey.”

A couple of weeks ago, my son chose to go see Prince Caspian for his birthday. As we were walking into the movie theater, I noticed a very long line outside, then inside the theater. As I was wondering what movie the line was for, I noticed that every single person waiting in line was a female. What was the reason for the gathering of all these women? It was to watch, Sex And The City!

Although I haven’t seen the movie yet, I have viewed a couple of SATC episodes on television. (And with anything we view, we should understand what we watch with a biblical worldview, rather than a secular worldview.) I can’t say for certain why each of the women were in line to watch the movie, but I can see how one aspect of the movie can be a draw for women.

The friendships that the four SATC women share is pretty special. You see the commitment, love and fun they share together in spite of what each one of them goes through.

I think as we get older, whether single or married, friendships we have with other women are so important. Many things will come up in our lives, whether the struggles of singlehood, broken relationships with the opposite sex, the pains of a divorce, a miscarriage, and the list goes on. In the midst of all these things, we see how friendships are a gift to us to support us through those moments.

I hope we can evaluate the friendships we have with other sisters to see if they are Christ-centered and edifying. Our friendships should be filled with listening, encouraging, admonishing and praying for one another. I know I’m thankful for the friends in my life!

This past Saturday, the women of HMCC of Chicago decided to capitalize on the beautiful weather and ride our bikes along the lake front. Having been “land-locked” in Ann Arbor for many years, I’m still unaccustomed to seeing a large body of water on a regular basis.

Lake Michigan is no Indian Ocean, but it is still a very beautiful backdrop to the city of Chicago. We had a wonderful time getting out, getting active and look forward to more opportunities to enjoy nature. I think it’s safe to say that all the women and the friends that we invited had a superb time fellowshipping across life-stages.

After our bike ride we decided to treat ourselves to some delicious bubble tea when we got back to Evanston. It was a good time!