Smiling on what God has given you

     Yesterday I had a great talk with Mr. Joon Han who I am meeting about once a month to get some wisdom. Joon is a father of 3 and founded Better San Diego, he was also on staff with InterVarsity in San Diego back in the day when Asian American staffers were few and spread out. A couple things stick out about Joon, he has extremely long hair like a Japanese Samurai and he does say some pretty audacious things that others would not. I think that is what makes him a good minister of the gospel even though he is not in full time ministry... both the hair and his words. 

      What Joon and I talked about ran pretty deep, all of which can't be written. One of the things that stuck out to me was about not living in the past. This might seem straight forward, but when you are really aware of your past circumstances and experiences every piece of that history really is inside of you. It makes you simply who you are today. We use Bobby Clinton in InterVarsity as a staple of leadership, you lead out of who you are and who you are becoming. Joon also has an uncanny ability to put things into perspective saying things like "if you wake up in the morning about 30,000 other people will have died and you have seen another day" If you have experienced any loss like I have you know that there is significant weight to that statement. We can't live in the past because it does not have any more good for us. We would have wasted years of our lives asking why and holding onto bitterness. 

I guess what I learned from Joon and just observing how he treats his family is that Joon is trying to live for what he has now. To become a better husband and father despite what hardships he had to face before stepping into such a role. This is why I need to really smile on what God has given me. I thought about one story that Joon told me of a guy who was in charge of pastoral counseling at Fuller and how he had a limp hand and open sore on his foot. How this man loved to play golf but could not because of his physical condition. And how Joon asked him if he ever asked God the why question. The man's reply was that he could not live always asking and what good would it do now. 

I know this is cliche but it is true. 

The past is history, the future is a mystery and the present is a gift. 

I'm going to try to play golf this weekend with friends, not to mock the other man but to really enjoy life and what God has given me.