Now and then, you will notice a noble but also a vanishing
Korean cultural trait where young people give up their seats in a bus or a subway
for the elderly. But today, as I entered
the subway at Wangsimni station to go to Samseong station, the courtesy was
offered to me by a young man. Thinking there might be an old person behind me, I turned my head to see. But there was no one around. It took a few more seconds to realize that
the young man was giving up his seat for me.
Tried to refuse him politely but as he stood, he was already busy in his
mobile phone.
I took the seat, but the nagging question, “do I really look
that old?”, began to bother me throughout the ride until I exited at
Seolleung. From Seolleung to Samseong, I
did not want to take the train anymore as it was only one stop ahead. So, I decided to walk those silky streets
between the skyscrapers. The air was
cold, but I had a warm jacket on and thus could take my time to think as I
walked…and think I started.
I had often walked these streets from 1998 to 2015. A major part of my productive years were spent
here; ministry had taken a new leap. My
son grew up here and got his education from elementary to university, and now is
beginning to find his career as well. My wife and I could have easily settled in
this silky town for the rest of our lives.
But, by the end of 2015 the still small voice of God in our
hearts had grown much louder, demanding us to return to our nations for the
purpose only he knew. My wife was born
in Manipur, the eastern most state of India and I was born in the far west part
of Nepal. Our upbringings, languages,
cultures and lifestyles couldn’t be more different from each other. But God by his sovereign grace blended our
lives as one. My wife taught me to speak
in English while she took on learning the Nepalese on her own; now she feels
much at home preaching in it.
In 2015, the Lord led us to settle in Guwahati, relatively a
small city in India in the state of Assam.
Assam is more or less between Manipur and Nepal; a mutual compromise you
might say. Life in Seoul and Guwahati
couldn’t be more different. From the comfort
of one of the most advanced cities in the world to a relatively forgotten town;
the noise, the dust, the smell, the chaos, not to mention the power cuts and
lack of connectivity.
Yet, our hearts find great purpose, peace and meaning in
Guwahati than walking these wonderful streets of Seoul and riding the
cleanest subway in the world. God has
done a wonderful work in and through our lives in Guwahati even as we responded
to his still small voice in our hearts.
Today, it is no longer the still small voice in the heart; it has become
the loudest (GPS) navigation telling us which way to turn. Learning to depend on this voice has brought
us amazing rest in our souls and peace in our minds.
Even if that young man thought of me to be an old man, I don’t
mind because I am on a journey and someday, this journey on earth is going to
come to an end. When it does, I will see
my Lord face to face who will also offer me a seat to sit beside him!!
By the time I finished thinking such thoughts, my station
had come.
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