Well I've certainly put off writing this blog for as long as possible....
There is something about putting your life on black and white, which seems to make some particulars all too real... (REAL: actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed)....yikes!!
You have to revisit past times, memories, events and of course emotions.... I imagine it as having to sort through a bowl of 'Tom Yang Goong' (a SERIOUSLY fiery Thai seafood soup) .... Although it burns without mercy, it's still pleasurable (life in general). Luckily you can order a serving of rice on the side to cool your mouth down every now and then (those revivifying moments). So wonderful is the moment when you get to a raw piece of ginger, it's so tasty it stings (the exciting moment when I enjoy a chocolate). And then..... a mushroom raises it unsavoury head which was subdued by the piece of ginger (when all sorts of 'REAL' things happen). Next up is the galangal root, tasty at first, but after some chewing turns into "hairy cardboard" (moments when I laugh and then the laughing turns into crying)....
You get the point, It's a delicate process.....
I thought you might like to know what this "life" soup looks like. All comparisons aside, this is one of the most famous Thai dishes. It's truly delicious but it burns so badly that after finishing a bowl of Tom Yang Goong, I promise myself to never eat it again..... until the next day... haha!! The next day I've already forgotten how badly the soup burned, and all I seem to remember is the distinctive aroma and the full-flavoured "yummyness". It's so similar to REALITY isn't it.... Our difficult times are somewhat lessened in memory when we experience good times, and of course vice versa. While the most part of the month of August was a bit too "mushroomy" for my taste, it remains completely overshadowed by the most joyous arrival of many many gingery moments... In this case not chocolate, but the arrival of my parents (who brought chocolates with them)!!
Oh my.... It is really impossible to describe what it meant for me and Johan to have them here... All of a sudden our burden became so light, and even the most simplest of tasks, like washing the dishes or taking a bus, were enormously enjoyable because we shared it with someone special!! I've never had so much fun in my life, regardless of whether we were out and about or stayed in for a lazy day....
And what a privilege to not only have loving and supportive parents, but parents who dearly love the Lord and seek His will for their lives. Having communion (the sharing or exchangeing of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level) and fellowship with them was so refreshing. Our Creator designed us to be a communal and social people. And only after my parents' arrival did we realize how hungry we were for fellowship, especially with people that speak our language, both literally and figuratively.
We really enjoyed each others company and spent hours drinking coffee, talking, laughing, playing cards, learning new crafts etc... It sort of felt like all our worries were washed away and we had a little piece of heaven right here in our humble abode! Not only were we enormously blessed with their presence, but also with many many "blessings" from South-Africa. Out of their baggage allowance of 60kg, a whooping 50kg was all just for us... That's crazy, right!!! Just look at it all......
It's very special to receive pretty much anything from S.A..... But it was super special to have received so many of our favourite things which we miss a lot, but haven't spoken of to anyone.... Isn't it amazing how God knows the unspoken desires of our hearts and let them come into fulfilment... even if it is something as simple as Lyle's Golden Syrup? Okay okay there is nothing "simple" about that syrup but you get the point....
Thank you so much to everyone who lovingly put together little treasure chests for us to go crazy over like little children... hehe!! And a very special thanks to my parents who came all the way from S.A to support and love us!!
I regret to inform you all that by the time I wrote this, our 'stash' has already been greatly diminished..... Despite Johan's attempts to 'ration' the chocolate.... I mean, seriously.... who does that?
I had my 30th birthday on the 4th of September, which was actually the main reason my parents came.... We visited Ayutthaya, (a city to the North, Thailand's old capital) with some friends from church and we had so much fun. We visited many landmarks of which the biggest surprise to me was....... wait for it....... meeting Asian elephants!! Oh I know you think it's no big deal, but it was for me, they are by far the most remarkable animals (in my opinion), and I've always dreamed of being able to hug one.... yes I know you can't really hug a 3 to 5 thousand kg animal, but they sure can hug you..... just look at them!!! Aren't they amazing????
Ohhhh happy happy happy.....!!!
Here's some of the other landmarks, but nothing as exciting as a big fat elephant hug!!
Two of the girls from church simply fell in love with my mother and couldn't stop hugging her, holding her hand and saying: ''friend, friend''..... Which is very unusual for Thai people, since they aren't really big on physical touch- at least not as much as Western people, and a bit cautious of foreigners.
Their love for my mother has also meant a remarkable change in their relationship towards me and Johan after my parents had left. Previously they haven't really been bothered with our presence, although they were always polite and friendly. But it's absolutely amazing to experience their change in attitude towards us, just last evening they told me that they love us and consider us to be friends. Now it seems that whenever we are together, they don't really want us to leave. Isn't God amazing in the way He is able to change situations, especially by using 'tactics' that we would never even have considered? We simply stand in awe of Him......
How can you tell that the whole church is at your house for the birthday party..... Well all the shoes by the entryway of coarse.... hahaha!!
We were quite surprised by how much my parents enjoyed the Thai food, and if I must say, the food does taste so much better when you share it with family.... strange, but true!! Johan cooked all the famous Thai dishes from Thai green curry to Tom Yum Goong for them at home, but we couldn't not let them experience real sidewalk style restaurants which make up a very important part of the Thai culture!!
A truly Thai experience...
With all these wonderfully gingery moments you might wonder why on earth would I try to put off writing this blog for as long as possible.....? Well the simple 'mushroomy' reality is... my parents had to go back home some time right.....? Well I do humbly admit that it was quite a blow for us, especially the first week after they left, we bemoaned their absence, without any desire to do anything, go anywhere or speak to anyone... And seeing them off at the airport wasn't nearly as hard as coming back to the empty and quiet house...
Oh my goodness, even now as I'm writing this, my heart skips a beat... yikes!!
To everyone reading this, that does not stay far away from their parents, or children.... It is a privilege to get to see your family often!! Don't miss out on opportunities to get together- forget about how tired you are or how urgently you really need to do something for yourself.... Enjoy each other as much as possible, as often as possible!!!!!
Love & blessings
There is something about putting your life on black and white, which seems to make some particulars all too real... (REAL: actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed)....yikes!!
You have to revisit past times, memories, events and of course emotions.... I imagine it as having to sort through a bowl of 'Tom Yang Goong' (a SERIOUSLY fiery Thai seafood soup) .... Although it burns without mercy, it's still pleasurable (life in general). Luckily you can order a serving of rice on the side to cool your mouth down every now and then (those revivifying moments). So wonderful is the moment when you get to a raw piece of ginger, it's so tasty it stings (the exciting moment when I enjoy a chocolate). And then..... a mushroom raises it unsavoury head which was subdued by the piece of ginger (when all sorts of 'REAL' things happen). Next up is the galangal root, tasty at first, but after some chewing turns into "hairy cardboard" (moments when I laugh and then the laughing turns into crying)....
You get the point, It's a delicate process.....
I thought you might like to know what this "life" soup looks like. All comparisons aside, this is one of the most famous Thai dishes. It's truly delicious but it burns so badly that after finishing a bowl of Tom Yang Goong, I promise myself to never eat it again..... until the next day... haha!! The next day I've already forgotten how badly the soup burned, and all I seem to remember is the distinctive aroma and the full-flavoured "yummyness". It's so similar to REALITY isn't it.... Our difficult times are somewhat lessened in memory when we experience good times, and of course vice versa. While the most part of the month of August was a bit too "mushroomy" for my taste, it remains completely overshadowed by the most joyous arrival of many many gingery moments... In this case not chocolate, but the arrival of my parents (who brought chocolates with them)!!
Oh my.... It is really impossible to describe what it meant for me and Johan to have them here... All of a sudden our burden became so light, and even the most simplest of tasks, like washing the dishes or taking a bus, were enormously enjoyable because we shared it with someone special!! I've never had so much fun in my life, regardless of whether we were out and about or stayed in for a lazy day....
And what a privilege to not only have loving and supportive parents, but parents who dearly love the Lord and seek His will for their lives. Having communion (the sharing or exchangeing of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level) and fellowship with them was so refreshing. Our Creator designed us to be a communal and social people. And only after my parents' arrival did we realize how hungry we were for fellowship, especially with people that speak our language, both literally and figuratively.
We really enjoyed each others company and spent hours drinking coffee, talking, laughing, playing cards, learning new crafts etc... It sort of felt like all our worries were washed away and we had a little piece of heaven right here in our humble abode! Not only were we enormously blessed with their presence, but also with many many "blessings" from South-Africa. Out of their baggage allowance of 60kg, a whooping 50kg was all just for us... That's crazy, right!!! Just look at it all......
Thank you so much to everyone who lovingly put together little treasure chests for us to go crazy over like little children... hehe!! And a very special thanks to my parents who came all the way from S.A to support and love us!!
I regret to inform you all that by the time I wrote this, our 'stash' has already been greatly diminished..... Despite Johan's attempts to 'ration' the chocolate.... I mean, seriously.... who does that?
I had my 30th birthday on the 4th of September, which was actually the main reason my parents came.... We visited Ayutthaya, (a city to the North, Thailand's old capital) with some friends from church and we had so much fun. We visited many landmarks of which the biggest surprise to me was....... wait for it....... meeting Asian elephants!! Oh I know you think it's no big deal, but it was for me, they are by far the most remarkable animals (in my opinion), and I've always dreamed of being able to hug one.... yes I know you can't really hug a 3 to 5 thousand kg animal, but they sure can hug you..... just look at them!!! Aren't they amazing????
Ohhhh happy happy happy.....!!!
Here's some of the other landmarks, but nothing as exciting as a big fat elephant hug!!
Two of the girls from church simply fell in love with my mother and couldn't stop hugging her, holding her hand and saying: ''friend, friend''..... Which is very unusual for Thai people, since they aren't really big on physical touch- at least not as much as Western people, and a bit cautious of foreigners.
Their love for my mother has also meant a remarkable change in their relationship towards me and Johan after my parents had left. Previously they haven't really been bothered with our presence, although they were always polite and friendly. But it's absolutely amazing to experience their change in attitude towards us, just last evening they told me that they love us and consider us to be friends. Now it seems that whenever we are together, they don't really want us to leave. Isn't God amazing in the way He is able to change situations, especially by using 'tactics' that we would never even have considered? We simply stand in awe of Him......
How can you tell that the whole church is at your house for the birthday party..... Well all the shoes by the entryway of coarse.... hahaha!!
We were quite surprised by how much my parents enjoyed the Thai food, and if I must say, the food does taste so much better when you share it with family.... strange, but true!! Johan cooked all the famous Thai dishes from Thai green curry to Tom Yum Goong for them at home, but we couldn't not let them experience real sidewalk style restaurants which make up a very important part of the Thai culture!!
With all these wonderfully gingery moments you might wonder why on earth would I try to put off writing this blog for as long as possible.....? Well the simple 'mushroomy' reality is... my parents had to go back home some time right.....? Well I do humbly admit that it was quite a blow for us, especially the first week after they left, we bemoaned their absence, without any desire to do anything, go anywhere or speak to anyone... And seeing them off at the airport wasn't nearly as hard as coming back to the empty and quiet house...
Oh my goodness, even now as I'm writing this, my heart skips a beat... yikes!!
To everyone reading this, that does not stay far away from their parents, or children.... It is a privilege to get to see your family often!! Don't miss out on opportunities to get together- forget about how tired you are or how urgently you really need to do something for yourself.... Enjoy each other as much as possible, as often as possible!!!!!
Love & blessings
Jy laat my tjank! Mis almal daar. Julle is 'n insperasie. 1kor.3:14
ReplyDeleteThanx Eben, blessings bro
ReplyDelete