Now that my parents are in Hong Kong, I (a) can be a somewhat normal single and (b) have some time to reflect on life.
These last few months have been busy. I started going to school part time to see if I want to go into business. I already have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. As the name implies, this is how I got through with engineering school. Ha, just kidding. 5 years at NC State + 2 years just living in Raleigh was the most fun I had in my life, but also very challenging as a new Christian and a student, then working various jobs to make ends meet.
I've been going to Chinese language school for almost 3 years. I have learned a lot of reading and writing but my speaking of Mandarin is still lacking. I can understand most of what the teacher is saying now but I don't always (concentrate to) converse back. (And to those who don't know, I speak Cantonese which is another dialect of Chinese. Mandarin is the main dialect of China.)
Then, my mom got bad news in Feb. from her cancer doctor that there is nothing more they can do to treat her for cancer. In Feb., she has gotten progressingly more tired to the point where she can't really do anything around the house. Juggling accounting class, chinese class, 40 hours of work each week, doing homework, going to the gym as much as I can, and cooking some of the meals, left me feeling almost like a robot. I felt very relieved and thankful that my dad stopped work the last week and a half in Feb. to look after Mom (and cook dinner at night). :) That still leaves the house somewhat messy by the time they left but I sort of took care of that in the last few days I've been home.
After my parents left for Hong Kong, I was still somewhat busy, first, visiting my brother in Virginia, and then I staying at my cousin's for a week. My cousin is married with two boys, and my aunt lives with them, so they have a full house. Everyday, they eat around 7pm, so after work, it's a marathon to go to the gym and then get to their house by 7pm to eat. Eating time is fun... My cousin and her husband are constantly disciplining their boys on table manners. If they are good at dinner, they get a star sticker! Each! After dinner can be fun. A few nights we played Pictionary.
With all that said... I look back on these last 3 years with my parents and my life here in Charlotte and just think how much more I have learned as a person and as a Christian. (It's not often that I speak more openly about my spiritual experiences and life, so bear with me.) It's definitely a sacrifice to live with my parents (or for them to live with me). I never really understood sacrifice until these last few months... This verse may sum up a lot of what I've learned:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." ~Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)~
God has definitely transformed me into a new person. Even though the main content of this verse was geared towards those with sexual sins (I think...), this verse can be applied to our daily lives as Christians. I want to say it wasn't easy but by God's enduring grace, to learn God's sacrifice has been a process for me. There were a lot of myself that I had to give up: personal freedom as a single, the way I think from "American" to "Chinese" to understand my parents, finances, my time... I mean, you can probably think of a lot of things.
It was definitely a discipline process. Looking at how my cousin and her husband discipline their kids, every night, it's the same thing... Put both arms on the table, no elbows on the table, sit on your bottom, ask if anybody wants more before serving yourself (we eat family style), etc. Eat one thing at a time, eat all your food before dessert. Being on their schedule, seeing how they function, made me think about the last 3 years, how God was constantly disciplining on sacrifice, as I mentioned before. I've learned to focus on the more important things in life: God, my parents and brother, my extended family, my job, education. Well, I go on Facebook to update my status, to see if anybody has Superpoked me or send me a message. Myspace, maybe once every few days. I do want to confess those things.
Now that my parents are way out of town, and out of the country, I'm back to being very single. I mean, I don't even know what to do with myself. I miss my parents dearly, though, and I can't wait for them to come home.
