Something
unexpected happened when I attended my friend Jick’s wedding on Saturday. We
had been eagerly anticipating this day since I first arrived in Thailand two
years ago. Jick and Top had already been dating for six years. They knew they
wanted to get married, but were waiting on timing to allow for it to become a
reality.
Jick was my
first Thai friend in Chiang Mai. She was willing to ask me the hard questions
and serve as a cultural bridge into the Thai community. Jick has worked for Youth
for Christ Asia Pacific as the office administrator and the personal assistant
to the Area Director for eight years. She is detailed, articulate, and
hard-working. Many nights I would drive by the office and see the lights still
on as Jick finished some project. I would stop to chide her to head home and
find Top working side-by-side with her.
Top works as
a designer for Our Daily Bread in Chiang Mai. He is creative, understanding,
and loves board games. Jick and Top are a perfect compliment to one another. So
I was overjoyed to find out they had finally set a date and that they would be
getting married at a time when I could attend the wedding.
My trip back
to the States and our time visiting the EMBARK 3 girls in Korea was planned
around
What I had
not expected on this day was to be served so extravagantly. Living as a
foreigner in another country, I don’t expect people to cater to me. I recognize
that if I want to be able to communicate, I need to learn Thai rather than my
neighbors learning English. I am a guest and it is my responsibility to move
toward the culture I am living in.
There were
only five native English speakers at the wedding on Saturday. I anticipated
there would be a lot about the service I would not understand. Instead, Jick
and Top had arranged for a translator for us. The five of us received headsets
and were able to listen to the ceremony translated into English. I was so moved
by this act of generosity so we could more fully participate in their day.
I sat down
to lunch at the reception, knowing it would be a risk to eat the food. I am
very allergic to MSG and most of the food prepared in Thailand contains MSG. I
get violently ill, so I had planned to eat carefully or refrain from eating
much at the reception. Instead, a friend came up behind me to let me know Jick
had arranged a special meal for me that would be ready shortly. In just a few
minutes, mounds of food arrived at my seat that had been especially prepared
for me. I was overwhelmed.
This was
Jick and Top’s special day. The day was about the commitment they had made to
one another before God and before those of us who had the privilege of being
witnesses to this day. They lived out this commitment to love, not just to one
another, but to their guests as well.
1 John 4:7-12, “Dear friends,
let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves
is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know
God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and
only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is
real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a
sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we
surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each
other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”
Jick and Top had every reason to think
about themselves on their wedding day. Instead, they were a clear example of
their love for God and how that is expressed to one another and to their
guests. God’s love was brought to full expression in them as they thought to generously
serve their friends and family. It was an honor to be a witness to and
recipient of that kind of love.
Wow what a beautiful story of friendship and love. I feel so blessed to know you Kristi and get to brush up against your life of service! Praying for Jick and Top and rejoicing with you in their display of God's love.
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