| mama's girl 12.04.02 |
| I just finished answering some questions about the parent/child relationship in regards to the World Christian journey, in preparation for the World Christian Conference in February. My mum and I will be on a panel to discuss the parent/child relationship, and I�m super excited about it! I hate to speak in front of people but I would love to share with others about how God has blessed me with my parents. It�s not just something that has developed from the Brazil trip, but something that started long ago as a child growing up in a Christian household, and then over the past years as God laid on my heart the burden to serve Him in a more committed way. The questions I had to answer dealt with the joys and difficulties of the parent/child relationship in the context of the World Christian journey, advice to people who are having difficulties in this relationship, etc. It was interesting reading my mum�s answers and then answering them myself from the child�s perspective, too. As I answered the questions, it became visible that the World Christian journey not only began when I was praying about going on a longer missions trip, but it began long ago when my parents raised us with exposure to the needy, to the needs and ministries of missionaries, and to the love of God. I�m so glad that they did this, and I know that because of this, I was able to adopt that burden as my own when I developed my own personal relationship with Christ. There are many joys but also difficulties in having such supportive parents, not only in terms of the World Christian journey, but just in life. My parents have always supported us in everything that we did. In my opinion, I had different interests that were not common among the circle of the children of my parents� friends. (Fortunately I wasn't a bad student and took piano lessons or else they would have really thrown me out of the Chinese race.) Aside from piano (which I was/am horrible at), I also was involved in cheerleading and the dance company in high school. In my later years, I enjoyed capoeira, journalism, dancing, kickboxing. Through it all, my parents would be like �WHAT are you doing now?!� But they were always curious and supportive and although my mom was a little scared for me when I boasted of my battle wounds from capoeira, once they saw me doing it, they saw how much I loved it, and were even more supportive. That has been the trend all these years. They see the passion that I have for certain things and although they may be concerned, they share the joys that I have. They never pushed anything on me or pushed me away from anything either. If I wanted to pursue a career and head straight to the top of the corporate ladder, they would have supported me. If I wanted to forsake life in civilization and enter the world of the Indigenous Brazilian tribes, they would have supported me. So when I expressed the idea of possibly quitting my job and going overseas for a time, of course they joined me in prayer and wanted me to follow where God led, but they also provided the normal parental advice. �How will you keep your place in the Bay Area?� �What will you do about your job?� �What about car payments?� I also remember when I almost pursued something too quickly and encountered a lot of doubt and concern from my parents. At the time, I thought they didn�t understand and that I had figured it all out. But I�m so glad I backed up a little bit, prayed more, and realized that this was not the opportunity that God was leading me toward. Thank goodness because soon after, this opportunity with Sepal came up, and it has been such an incredible experience. One thing that I know is important in the parent/child relationship is to keep the parents informed. It all starts with a close relationship so it isn�t weird when you spring something major on them. It is important to keep them informed of what is on your heart, what you are learning in your life, all the tiny steps that are leading you in your journey. I admit, it is kind of weird sometimes to say, �Hey mom and dad, guess what I learned in Sunday School today.� It�s even weird for me to do that with certain friends! But when I do find friends that I can do that with, oh, it feels so good. And I know my parents appreciate hearing about it too. When the trip to Brazil was confirmed, one of my parents� friends gave our family a book about Brazil last Christmas. This was neat because then they could see where I�d be spending half a year. And a sidenote while we�re talking about �the more you know,� today at lunch, my friends were talking about American stereotypes of Brazil�the Amazon, Indians, etc. One friend joked, �Melody, you probably learned to use a bow and arrow before coming here, right?� I laughed and then realized, �Hey I did!!� Although it was four years ago, I DID take a semester of archery at SFSU during my senior year, so I told him that and we thought that was a riot. I was horrible at it, so it wouldn�t have helped me here anyway. Anyway, the more information that people have, the more comfortable they will be. Although both of my parents were at peace with my decision to come here, there were still those concerns. My mom: �You�re quitting your job??� My dad: �Who said you could move back home?� (he was kidding�I think.) My mom especially had a lot of peace after meeting people out of the blue who had been to Brazil or knew people serving in Brazil, and I was sooo thankful that she had these opportunities. It made her even more excited about my trip and gave her greater peace about letting me go and releasing me into God�s hands entirely. And for all that, I just need to say, Gra�as a Deus�thank God for my parents. |
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