My July and August in film
My June in film
I bought my film camera (Canon AE-1) back in 2015. I stopped using film for many reasons, but I thought to bring it out of retirement this summer.
God's kindness through a reunion
I am overwhelmed by the kindness of God. Last week, people from the East and West Coasts flew in for our Austin church's 15th anniversary and reunion. These people knew me when I first came to our Austin church in college. So seeing their faces transported me back to my 18-year-old self, and I remembered the many joys and low points of my college days. Indeed fun times and many dumb and dumber moments that I oddly get excited to share about when I'm with them. And also a reminder of my cringe-worthy, reckless, and lost times. I was all over the place with my emotions, desires, and purpose. Just a typical college student.
So being with my friends and mentors from my college years and early 20s made it more apparent to me how God is so good! I'm thankful God graciously led me to Him through these people, His church. He provided the loving protection through those relationships that I desperately needed. I didn't fully appreciate those relationships back then, but now I treasure them.
Looking back at last weekend, I am grateful for the love and sacrifice many returnees from this past weekend have poured into the soil I stand on today. I witnessed many salvations, including miraculous ones like my own. And I saw those same lives transformed because of Jesus year after year. It was a heartwarming reminder of God's faithfulness to me and the rest of the church. When I’m in the valleys, I hope my heart will resurface the glowing memory of our church's 15th-year reunion weekend when I feasted on God's love, patience, and kindness through those relationships.
“And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?””
Doing hard things together
This past Saturday, my seven friends and I climbed dangerous heights, dragged our feet across rugged terrain, and submerged ourselves in mud to complete the Spartan Beast, a 21K distance with 31 obstacles that tested our stamina, strength, and grit.
These are not my work or gym friends. These are my sisters in Christ. I get to do life with these people daily and serve alongside them in college ministry. So signing up to do the Spartan was another crazy idea with them!
I thought about my barriers for signing up, like how I tore my ACL over a decade ago, so my left leg is unreliable and gives me more issues as time passes. I was right about my weakness. My achy knees were in pain at the 4-mile mark, and I felt the long-awaited charley horse climbing up some rope. I looked to my left and right. My friends were either experiencing a cramp or were on the verge of getting one. We were all feeling pain and only a third into the race.
Beaten up by the afternoon heat and the distance on rough terrain took a toll on us. It was challenging as we approached each series of obstacles we had to complete together. At the halfway point, the luster and excitement evaded. Relying on our strength vanished. And as we came yet to another barren hilly terrain and awaited the next obstacle, I could not help but think about the parallelism of our Christian walk.
This is the experience of following Christ. And in my earlier years as a Christian and the constant temptation of today is to ride the waves of emotional highs, relying on my youthfulness to bounce back after any difficulty or suffering. Especially in my early 20s, which only lasted so far until I hit other valleys as I faced ego-devastating moments, the reality of my weaknesses, and circumstances in life that left me in pain and anguish.
Going through the Spartan reminded me of my frailty and weakness in life. I am sure of this. I would have thrown in the towel on the fourth mile when I experienced that charley horse. If not there, I would have thrown in the towel when I persistently experienced the charley horse on my calves, feet, and hands. Yet through the difficulty and suffering, I experienced joy despite my body and mind shouting to give up.
There was no way I could have finished the Spartan on my own. And no way I could run even a more worthy and glorious race than the one Christ has set me on to walk alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ. The seven friends carried me, told me to step on them to complete the obstacle, and the sweet fellowship of going through all of the physical beatings on that course together through the arduous nature. And during all of it, I was surrounded by good conversations, stories, and words of encouragement.
6.5 hours later, my seven friends and I finished the race and received our medals with great joy. And by God's grace, I would love to say the exact words of Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7 for the ultimate race,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
I'm not a writer
I am not a writer. I create and craft videos. Not sentences.
What's the dilemma?
I want to update people in my life about what's going on. I may give off that I'm a hermit. Thankfully, that's inaccurate when I think about my life, but accurate in the social media context. I intentionally avoid jumping back on Instagram or installing every trendy hip app. I've proudly become a hermit in the digital realm.
I discovered this old-school solution. I'll write. When it makes sense, I'll add photos as well. I'll share my reflections and thoughts about life's adventures in the ordinary while highlighting the joyous mountains and finding the silver lining in the valleys.