As the crow flies, Soo Inn and I are now over 12,000 kilometres away from home in Singapore. This morning, as I was powdering my nose (literally) in front of the mirror, my thoughts wandered to a conversation I had had with some friends here in Vancouver.
This isn’t our first time here, but it’s been a while since our last trip, so, much has changed. It’s been a balm for my soul to meet up with dear friends from Singapore who are now resident in Vancouver. I had said to our friends that I felt comforted and secure, somehow, just knowing that they’re here. It isn’t as if we’re next-door neighbours; they’re about a half-hour’s drive away. But knowing that they’re within hollering distance and are a regular A–Z (remember the street maps of old?) for pointing us in the right direction, I can rest secure each night.
But our time here has been filled with friendships that have bloomed in the fertile
soil of a community of God’s people. Some new friends have been pure gifts from the Lord. We have been enfolded in the Regent College fraternity, from professors to spanking new students. For me, the introvert who prefers to blend in with the wallpaper, I had to hit the road running. Just a few days after we arrived, we were invited to be part of a dinner for the faculty in this new Fall Semester. Much to my surprise, it was a wonderful way to make the acquaintance of so many of these very kind and gracious people. I have been reminded repeatedly of Michael W. Smith’s song, Friends, [1] and the chorus that goes:
And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends
In the intervening time since then, we have enjoyed the hospitality of new friends, reacquainted ourselves with long-time “comrades in crime” (don’t take me literally), including a dear couple from Seattle, and been recipients of a deep love from the Father, through His beautiful creation that is Vancouver in the fall. We came prepared with waterproof parkas, umbrellas of various sizes, and even waterproofing sprays for our shoes. After all, my favourite online “friend” had informed me that:
Typical Fall Rainfall Totals by Month
- September: ~53 mm to 84 mm (early month is drier, with autumn rains intensifying toward late September)
- October: ~115 mm to 124 mm (marking the true start of the wet umbrella season)
- November: ~188 mm (typically the wettest or one of the wettest months of the entire year)
But we have been blessed with unseasonably sunny days—it’s on record that “as of October 18, Vancouver has accumulated just 9.5 mm of rainfall, only 8 percent of its monthly average of 123.9 mm”. [2] This has allowed us a front-row seat to the majesty of His creations—nothing like the muted colours of the steel-and-glass towers in the city. The greens, yellows, and reds of the maple trees; the towering green spires of the pines and firs; the scintillating golds of the birch trees when the wind whips through the leaves; and the tiny, bright red holly berries peeking out from the foliage make me so grateful for the generosity of a God who is majestic, yet who also graciously sees to the tiniest details.
He has shown us His grace through our friends here, both old and new, and He’s shown us His grace through the creation we see around us. I sometimes feel that we have been shortchanged in the tropics—no seasons to mark the passage of time and to know God’s rhythm of life (and pesky mozzies and creepy crawlies, to boot). But then, even as I apply more layers of moisturizing cream to stave off the itchy, scaly, dry patches on my skin, I remember the humidity back home with some longing.
So, I concede that it is not for me to question how God decides on what He does and how He does it, because in Ecclesiastes 3:9–14, we are told:
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. (Emphases mine.)
It is all of Grace. Amen.
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[1] The song “Friends” is written by Michael W. Smith and his wife, Deborah D. Smith; published by Meadowgreen Music Company; administered by Capitol CMG Publishing (Capitol CMG Genesis).
[2] https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weather/forecasts/vancouver-and-victoria-on-track-for-driest-october-on-record.