Pre-Mid-Sem Break

It’s mid-semester break this week! I was originally planning to study, work on assignments, and catch up on material, but I don’t know how much time I will actually spend doing uni-related things. This past week, I got to hang out with Vivienne and her boyfriend, Wesley, once accidentally and once on purpose. I was walking home from the city Wednesday evening and decided to check out the Treasury Brisbane Arcadia set up for the Brisbane Festival, a three-week long “collection of art and entertainment.” (brisbanefestival.com) The Treasury is “festival central” with live music, food stalls, art installations, and a magnificent view of the river. Since it was dinnertime, there were a lot of people in line to get food, and I noticed someone who looked like Wes (I had only met him once before). The green cast on his right hand confirmed his identity, and I said hi. Turned out he was with Viv, and I ended up third-wheeling their dinner haha. But they’re both really great people, and it wasn't awkward for me to be around them 😃.

Accidental Run-in

The three of us also went on a park run Saturday at Rocks Riverside Park! Even though we finished running by 7.30am, the heat and humidity made me hot and sweaty. If this is spring, I can’t imagine how hot summer will be. Afterwards, we had breakfast in the park, and since Wes was having a BBQ later with the youth group, we stayed to help him man tables while we chatted and played Citadels. This is probably my first close encounter with a couple in a mature relationship, and it was really amusing watching them interact and hearing their stories. I want to come back for their wedding! (Still TBD. He hasn't proposed yet haha)

On Thursday, Aunty Jenny took me and Jackie to the Gold Coast AGAIN, this time to spend a night at the Palazzo Versace. Palazzo Versace is a SUPER fancy hotel with room service twice a day, a bath tub with spa installations, and in-room drinks. I was spoiled (as I’ve been this entire trip) with an experience I could never afford myself. While we were getting ready for bed, Aunty Jenny started one of her lectures (they’re actually really interesting and helpful) about missed opportunity. She’s been pretty frustrated about the last-minute planning on our family’s part and went off about how amazing my mum’s Australia visit could be if she had just told her earlier when she was coming. She “really, really wants to spoil [my] mother” and has been waiting thirty years for her to visit. But because how the timing worked out, Aunty Jenny is going to be gone one of the three weeks my mom is here and won’t be able to show her around. She said that there are so many amazing places (with great deals) that she could have showed my mom but won’t be happening, and while my mom won’t know what she’s missing out on, it breaks my aunt's heart that she won’t able to give my mom the best possible experience. To her, this was a missed opportunity.

It made me think about our Heavenly Father and His plans for His children (my Aunty isn’t God, but for the sake of this analogy…). God has amazing plans for each of His children (see Jeremiah 29:11), but I’m sure part of the plan involves us making a conscious decision/many decisions to say “Yes” to Him and follow His plan. So many times we wait until it’s convenient for us to make ourselves available to Him, but by that time it may be too late. I don’t know how predestination and free will actually work, but there seemed to be a parallel between the my aunt's experience and our spiritual walk. While the new life we live is already so amazing, we’ll never know what we’ve missed in God’s plan if we wait, hold back, or don’t surrender all to Him. I don’t know if God wants to spoil us, but I do know that we’d never, ever be able to afford to live God’s way if it wasn’t for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Moral of the story? Say “Yes” to Aunty Jenny! But also, don’t wait to give my all to God. Who knows what amazing, out-of-my-mind experience I could be missing with my Heavenly Father?

Jackie and I went to SeaWorld on Friday, and it’s been so long since I’ve seen animals! We saw penguins, polar bear cub + mum, dolphins, sea lions, fish, sharks, and sting rays. The penguin chicks are so cute and fluffy! Except the stuffed animal version is probably more huggable. We also watched some of the shows where the animals performed, and I was kind of overwhelmed by the dolphin show. It was amazing how high the dolphins jumped out of the water and how coordinated they were. Perhaps it was that; their ability to swim fast and jump high showed me that there are things in the world I can never do, no matter how hard I try. But SeaWorld also reminded me of all the things I had been missing out: admiring God’s amazing creation, hanging out with Jackie, and feeling thrill on roller coasters. I feel like experienced another dimension of life (whatever that means).