*For the benefit of people who can't read Chinese, 学无止境 literally means 'learning has no boundaries'.
Sometimes you just have to do some things -even if you don't feel like it- to learn valuable lessons.
Truth to be told, I always had no intention of going to the cell group outing today. It was raining earlier, then the Sun came up in its full glory - rays, heat and all. I had deadlines, a messy state of mind that looked worse than my room when I was a bum and lack of sleep owing to wonderful dreams. Simple put, I was in no mood to play and fool around.
But out of all those dark clouds, a solitary beam of light shone through and a voice was heard. A voice so tiny that if you dismissed it immediately, it would have fled and like the fleeting magical moment of a sunset, endured only a short while.
"Go. You promised."
This one was something that Voice in Head had no part in. Amazingly, despite the minuscule nature when compared to the immense blobs of negativity, it resounded loudly in my head like a gong in a large hall devoid of everything but its walls.
I obeyed and went.
And what a time I had.
Without imagining how this whole day would have been made more fruitful by playing while time dwindled away, the fellowshipping itself completely revitalised me.
Lesson #1: Sometimes you REALLY do need to take a rest to walk a longer distance, even if your pursuers are hot on your heels.
The major crick in my Joy mechanism was the fact that I fell hard. From a double bike. Two lessons:
Lesson #2: There are some things you have to experience to give yourself a kick in the behind about doing them, like LEARNING HOW TO RIDE A BIKE EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN YOUR 20s.
Lesson #3: Don't ever, EVER, take your eyes off the road. Not when you're the other driver in the seat.
So you see? Priceless advice even when you get into trouble.
But wait, there's more. When I was injured the last few times, all I did was laugh it off and hardly anyone cared after the token 'Are you all right?' phrase. It was so common during my badminton days that it came off as just another nondescript remark, another four words that marked the greatest length of a conversation I had with most people.
This time was a little different. The 'token' phrase now took a whole new different meaning when my cell group members went the extra mile to help me get bandages, antiseptic and whatever they could get their hands on to staunch the free flow of blood from my knee and elbow (Oooh...What a waste. Could have donated more to Red Cross). And during that time all I did was maintain the biggest smile I could despite the knowledge that it was going to hurt like mad afterwards.
Lesson #5: When you keep thinking no one cares, not even in a dire situation, they (or the King) just LOVES to prove you wrong...Not that it's a bad thing.
Lesson #6: A bright smile and happy heart a day keeps the blues and pain away. (Well, for the pain, at least it was a relatively longer time than I expected it to be.)
Lesson #7: Experiences like this told me how little I knew about things I should have learned before, how foolish I was in judging others and how stupid I had been in doubting my King.
Sometimes we just need reminders like this that despite it all, despite all the crap you had endured and have to endure in the future, there's always a bright spot in that darkness. In silence, you find solitude, not isolation. In chaos, you find innovation, not insanity.
In trials, you face a sharpening of your spirit, a molding of your personality, a strengthening of your beliefs, not anger, anguish or despair.
At least, that is what we should strive to achieve, even if we keep failing to do so.
I'm still somewhat desperate, of course, but somehow I think things will turn out fine. Even the seemingly hopeless (according to Man) vision that was promised (according to my King) to me.
And to all my cell group members who made my day a wonderful one, thank you.
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