We are all beautiful

Today, I join a prayer meeting hosted by Hot Culture, a Christian group attended by some HK artists.

The prayer meeting is impressive, and refreshing to me, who need to take rest before God at the times of adversity.

My days are hectic nowadays, taking care of sick parents, even though I am on annual leave. I wake up early at 8am in the morning, making breakfast for parents, and I easily lost temper because I have to get everything done fast and quick, and I am easily irritated when my father suffering from Alzhimer can't even get dressed up properly.

I can spare some time reading the bible after the breakfast session, but in the afternoon, I have to prepare for dinner.

The lost of temper and the house work mean I do not have a peaceful mind, and I am depriving myself of quiet time to talk to God – even though I have read the bible.

And the prayer meeting today at least let me put my mind at rest, and focus on God.

The prayer meeting is not actually a meeting at all, but a place where there is worshippers singing. We are not praying in a group for a specific set of items, but we are praying individually, reflecting our relationship with God.

The whole prayer meeting is divided into several sections, in which each section is assigned a specific theme – ReCreation, RePent, ReLease, ReVoke, RePlace, ReVision. There is no sequencing order of which section to go first and last. You can choose out of your spontaneous thoughts.

I particularly like ReVision. I was given a set of seven-piece puzzle, and was asked to resemble five shapes and patterns using the puzzle. I only managed to resemble two patterns, and the remaining three patterns were too difficult to me.

And the main message behind the little exercise is that sometimes we admire some people because they have some gifts from God, and in my case, I admire people who have got leadership skills and musical talents.

But if you got yourself more involved in the exercise, you will realize that God makes you out of his own wish and he has his purpose for you. You can use your seven-piece puzzle to make patterns you like – a unique pattern, a unique pattern. Someone may dislike your pattern, but you appreciate it because it is your creation and it represents you. Someone may dislike you, but God appreciates you. No one is perfect, and especially in the eyes of human, we can always find out the wrong side of other people. But we are all the creation of God, and in the eyes of him, he loves us and we are beautiful.

And then I went to ReLease – a section dedicated to let us forgive other people. I am always frustrated by my elder brother and father, for I think they are selfish and have no sense of responsibility. They are all like patterns assembled by seven-piece puzzle, and from my perspective, they are not perfect at all. I certainly believe that I am full of defects from their perspectives. They are also God's creation and God will certainly find them beautiful. Why can't I accept them?

When I was wrapping up my encounter with God over the past decade, there were of course ups and downs. I only jotted down two downs – unhappy at work and unhappy at brother/ father, while I got more ups, namely baptism, the three years spent in Beijing, and God telling me that he has never abandoned me at this difficult times.

The three years in Beijing is no doubt and inevitably one of God's gift to me out of my expectation. I wanted to live a different life three years ago, and I moved to Beijing. I had never imagined that God would bless me in such a way during those years. I got one of my dreams, becoming a reporter working on China beat, realized and I got a vibrant Christian fellowship whose members are eager to support each other. I had never expected church life on the mainland, where religious freedom is improving but still not fully respected, would be so fruitful. The experience of having my brothers and sisters showing up and offering a helping hand is still kinda surreal. I will share my Beijing experience with you guys in later articles (probably I will open a new section dedicated to Beijing).

One Bible verse was sent to me. It is from Luke 18:27, “But he said, Things which are not possible with man are possible with God.” Yes, life is sometimes dull and difficult, but God is watching us and will make things possible.