With so many people flying I will assume that most readers of this column will be familiar with the symptoms of jet lag. Essentially your body clock is out of sync with where you are at present and so you get hungry and sleepy at all the wrong times. (Of course this is not a problem for those who are hungry and sleepy all the time but not all of us are hot wired that way.) And I am having a bad case of jet lag.
Why jet lag? Well its the price of three weeks spent visiting Vancouver, Seattle, Victoria, Banff, and Toronto. Its the price for some incredible memories.
Here are a few:
*A new friend aged 92 (who is more energetic and sharper than many 60 year olds I know) says: “Don’t wait 10 years before you come again. At my age…”
*Someone I had the privilege to mentor 20 years ago, now a father of two and a church elder, spontaneously decides to sing two songs for us as we were about to leave his place — “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and “Jesus Loves Me.”
*Spent some time with a soul friend whom I had first met in seminary twenty years ago. He gives us the precious gift of two Amtrak (train) tickets, Seattle-Vancouver. We get on board on a cold fall morning. He waits in the station waving goodbye till the train pulls away.
*An old friend and mentor who helped me finish both my masters thesis and my doctoral project springs for a wedding gift — two nights in a posh hotel overlooking the harbour.
*Had dinner with him and his wife, also an old friend and encourager, where we tasted all sorts of local beers, night before a Sunday where I was down to preach. I was never so spirit filled. Luther would have approved.
*Met an old prof who did so much to nurture me when I was in seminary. I had been waiting twenty years to thank him. Two decades. Wonder if I will see him again this side of heaven.
*Had supper at a joint that sold breakfast 24/7 with a couple, good friends who had migrated from Malaysia. For awhile we created a small island of home. It was hard to say good night.
*Met two grand nieces for the first time. We connected straight away. They blessed us with good bye hugs. When will I see them again?
*Visited the grave of my uncle. He was still alive last time I visited. Now he is with God. But I remember his lifetime of faithful humble service. It was a cool morning. We took pictures.
*His wife, my aunt, also wondered when we would meet again. She is 90.
*Reconnected with a cousin, their son. He too is an only son. We are the “brother we never had” to each other. We talked like two excited teenagers as he took us around.
The above represents but a small sample of the many people moments we had on our trip. We also met very old and dear friends of Bernice (wife) from Singapore, now living in North America. So many precious celebrations of friends and family, snapshots stored in our memory cards and in our hearts.
Of course the trip had many other good things as well. It was good to be confronted afresh with the beauty and the grandeur of creation — from the snow capped mountains and the iced up lakes of the Rockies, to the thundering power of Niagara falls, and always the brilliant melancholic Fall colours. It was also a privilege to be allowed to minister at various churches during my Sundays there.
But what stands out as I look back on the three weeks away are the people moments. No wonder the jet lag is bad this time round. There are parts of my heart still trying to make their way back from Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
One good thing about heaven — no more good byes. The price of love this side of heaven is the pain of goodbyes. So we look forward to that day, encouraged by the words of the apostle Paul:
“We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” [1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 TNIV]
Saw a book at one of the airport book stores that trumpeted the critical place of friends and friendship for happiness at work. Indeed having good friends at work may lead to “higher worker satisfaction and productivity” but I shudder each time friendship is reduced to some utilitarian function.
Friends know that friends are enjoyed for their own sakes. If having friends does lead to happier, healthier lives it just means that humankind are relational beings and that we are at our best when we are positively connected to significant others.
But we don’t go around making friends so that we can enrich our lives. Like I said, friends are enjoyed for their own sakes. And I have really feasted at the table of friendship these last three weeks.
So good bye my friends. I hope to see you soon. In the meantime we embrace family and friends we missed while we were away.
It’s good to be home.
Your brother,
Soo-Inn Tan