the heartbeat of our mission, the spring from which our service overflows

as a candle is consumed by the passion of the flame, spilling light unsparingly throughout a darkened room

as a kid aspiring to climb the monkey bar that brings you up above your little kiddy world, you reach out for that bar when daddy's not looking and begin the most arduous journey in your life. by midway, the lactic acid builds up and you just want to give up, but you can't possibly let go... the fall will be painfully hard. so you hang on for dear life and pray hard that your sweaty palms stay dry. your left hand slips, perspiration trickles down your forehead and the saltiness stings your eye.. oh why oh why did you ever decide to embark on this formidable expedition? your right hand's slipping and it's absolutely impossible to lift the left. you brace for a hard bump and shut your eyes tight as your little finger slides off the grip. but you feel nothing after a second and you open your eyes and look around.. it's the same world you saw while hanging onto the bars. and then you look down and see daddy's face looking up at you. he's caught you and waits patiently for you to recover and accomplish your first journey across that monkey bar... and that's how i got through this week.
the world doesn't revolve you alone.. so it never crashes. every downtime for me is a time where i receive the greatest encouragement and learn to hold true friends to my heart. lam sent me Jer29:11 at the unimaginably timely moment and it really gave great comfort. it has the power to reach the heart of that person you love and have prayed for many times. so don’t give up in your witness. be consistent in your daily walk.

my heart didn't shatter when you uttered that phrase. instead, i had this firm belief that you'd take a stand. maybe not today, not in time to come. maybe next year? or even the year after? what i do know, is that results aren't instantaneous. i know the answer to the peace i felt. and i wonder how it'll turn out.. really. since then, little forms of encouragement and assurance has come my way.. and it's amazing how it edifies me.

let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-
for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.