“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians
5:16—NIV)
On a Friday
afternoon after finishing my work, I was leaving the church using our new
elevator. Right before opening the door going outside, I suddenly wanted to
recall the old building structure around the current entrance doors and the
elevator. I walked around the fire doors and looked around the stairs going to
the kitchen area. I tried harder to picture the old doors and stairs before the
construction of this entrance area. Oh… it has only been a year or less, but I
couldn’t recall our old building entrance that well!
A few days
after Easter Sunday, Miah and I became US citizens after attending the oath
ceremony. Miah and I celebrated this memorable moment of our lives with many
church families. Throughout our 20 years in the US, we have had so many
memories. After all the happy—as well as challenging times—we would like to
express our heart-felt appreciation to all the people who have supported and
prayed for us. We are now ready to open a new chapter of our lives here as
citizens of this great country.
At this
important moment, I recalled the time when I returned to church about 25 years
ago after several years of wandering out of Christian life. Not long after
then, I experienced an unexplainable moment when my sin was forgiven by the
love of Jesus and found extreme happiness and relief in my heart. (That
happened around the time I met Miah, who was God’s best gift for me!) Becoming
a US citizen was such an exciting event for me, but becoming a citizen of God’s
kingdom was an even more amazing experience!!
Now, I will
live as a citizen of this great country by honoring its core values. I will
keep looking for opportunities to share and contribute my time and efforts to
building a healthy and strong community. Also, I want to keep living as a
citizen of God’s kingdom as well and pray for wisdom for the rest of my life as
God guides me.