Welcome to the Midwest. Welcome to a place of four seasons. Welcome to flowers being uprooted in preparation for the snow to come, to being knocked over by a gust of wind, and to having your breath taken away by the color of trees. I know that trees do change colors in California, but here it seems that the color changing is more extreme. There’s a tree right outside my dorm and the other day I realized that it contained leaves of 5 colors! Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Purple. This thing is a rainbow and I am so lucky to get to walk past it every day on my way to class. Leaves blanket the ground all around it providing a the finishing touches to a canvas of green. This tree has been God’s constant reminder for me to slow down in life. Each day the leaves slowly change and often times I would hurry past it thinking that it would still be there the next day for me to admire. However, after a few days of this I’ve realized that the beauty will not always last. The leaves are falling, the green is changing to yellow, the yellow to purple, and then a journey to the ground. This is a present for the season.
Some diversity, however, lasts beyond the season. There are the differences in our lives that will always be there and yet this tree has reminded me of the fact that diversity leads to beauty….
I’m picking up on this post close to a month later currently in the warmer town of Cupertino, Ca. I’ve been back home for 6 days now and already conquered the tasks of seeing friends, attended my grandmother’s funeral, organized my grandmother’s belongings, visited my good ole’ subway, devoured a pizookie, delivered a dozen donuts, and ran errands for my mom. To continue off where my old post left off however…
Diversity leads to beauty. My interactions with one friend here has definitely taught me this lesson because though she is a girl from the wonderful cornfields of the midwest and I am a suburbanite from the bustling silicon valley, I have learned that our differences just help to paint for me the beauty of the body of Christ. Her cute hair styles and coordinated outfits first led me to see her as shallow, but in the wee hours of the morning I know of how she goes to the fischer chapel to spend time with God, of how she will think about something that bothers her all day wondering what exactly Jesus would do in the situation. I know another girl who’s from the East Coast who has taught me about the perseverance and strength that she has learned from her mother –a mother that has had to lead her family through more than I’d ever imagine having to deal with. She has taught me about what it means to put the Lord as your strength. Another person has revealed to me patience. another endurance. another faithfulness. I’m realizing that each part of the body of Christ truly has a specific role and that often times our experiences allow us to get a glimpse of God that is intended for only us because we’re the only ones who have experienced our lives in the way that we have. I’m so grateful that each person placed in my path has allowed my knowledge of God to grow a teeny bit bigger.
