The first shall be last ...

... literally :) Yesterday, I was very blessed to get a seat on the train! My ticket said, Car 1, Seat 32, but when the train arrived, it was pulling in the opposite direction so Car 1 was last. I was so relieved that there were still seats on the train!! Otherwise, I might have been standing for the long ride back to school. God is good! :)

This week is midterm week for me. Last night was a sleepless night as I finished up my paper that was due today. We'll see how it goes ... I have another paper due this Wednesday and then a calligraphy test next week. I drank so much tea today in class to try and keep myself awake ... but to no avail! My eyelids kept dropping on me involuntarily. One minute I was looking at the teacher, and the next second, I was prying my eyes open trying to figure out what was being discussed at the moment. You know you're tired when you can fall asleep standing up or while you're sitting up trying to actively participate in a lecture. Someday, I will be able to tell these stories to my kids when they complain to me about being tired ... "You haven't been tired until you've _______" (Fill in the blank)

Anyhow, other than that, I'm doing well. It has been awesome to have the Bracken's back in Taiwan. I have certainly missed them!! The four of us had a great time this weekend, despite the busyness that surrounded each moment. They are a wealth of cultural and Chinese language information. Even though I've lived with Chinese before and have close friends who come from a Taiwanese/Chinese background, there are still days that I am baffled or equally frustrated with cultural nuances. Its another part of the growing and learning process ... it continues for a lifetime. ^_^

I'm getting ready to buy a few books in Chinese ... I need to start doing some light, casual reading to improve my ability to understand Chinese literature. It's one thing to be able to recognize and read a character, and it's another to be able to understand the meaning. As they say in my native language, "慢慢來." "Slow slow come," in direct translation, but the meaning is that things take time. Sis. Bracken reminded me of a great Chinese idiom the other night, "不怕慢，只怕站." "Don't be afraid of going slow, be afraid of stopping."

Such a poignant phrase for life at this moment. Language, patience, knowledge, character development ... all these things come slowly, but the important thing is that you don't give up! Lately, I feel like the Lord has been reminding me that He can only really be strong when I am weak. Back to the story of Gideon that was so fitting at the beginning of this journey, the Lord had to weed out his army down to a number low enough so that God could get the glory for their victory against the host of Midian. There are things I feel I'm not ready for ... but it doesn't matter how I feel. What matters is that I follow God's leading. His strength is made perfect through my weakness. There is such a strength that comes just from communicating that to Him in prayer. It's a relief to know that Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me! And that's enough ... 祂的恩典够我用.