I'm still in the recovery mode. I've been back in the US for a little over three days but it takes awhile to get your legs back. I am still waking up disoriented. I never believed in jet lag until it happened to me. As soon as I land in Vietnam, I hit the ground running but the reverse has never been true. To make it tougher, we started in-service yesterday so no rest for the weary. I'll be back to normal in a few days, Lord willing. I choose when to come home so there is no one to blame but the guy I see in the mirror.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was a two day excursion to see the Cu Chi Tunnels, part of the history of the Vietnam war. After the tunnels, the seventeen of us drove four hours away to one of the best beaches in Vietnam at Vung Tau. It was amazingly affordable by US standards but out of the reach of the kids in our group. On day two, we made the five minute drive from our hotel to the Christ The King of Vung Tau statue. Built in the 1970s by the Catholic Church and modeled after the Jesus monument in Brazil, this statue sits atop a very steep hill. The climb to the top of the mountain is difficult- many tourists fell along the wayside! Ascending the hill, one passes a number of beautiful statues and carvings like Jesus with the Samaritan woman, the twelve apostles, Moses and the Ten Commandments, etc. When we reached the statue at the top of the mountain, five of us (My, Dat, Minh, Thuy, me) decided to take the stairs, all 133, to the top. The problem is that there is two way traffic and the staircase is three feet or wide or less and it was crowded! Not for the claustrophobic! Plus, you could see straight down a hundred feet in the stairwell. When we crawled outside at the top, it was so windy I felt unsafe. Going down was worse than coming up because I had the fear of falling down the stairwell! My' was so tired at the end she collapsed on one of the pillars but she's eleven and one tough girl!
Almost everyone making the climb to the top of the hill had some sort of photographic device. No wonder- it's a memorable occasion! What I found fascinating was how many of those on the mountain were taking selfies, the art of shooting your own portrait which has become a mark of the younger and not so young generations. Even more fascinating was how many focused their profile with Jesus posed over their shoulder. Me in front, Jesus somewhere in the distance. Jesus is in the picture but I'm the center of attention. He's in the cast but my name is on the marquee. I'm the lead singer but I'll let Him handle the backup vocals.
Part of that was tongue in cheek or maybe most of it. But I think it does somewhat reflect our culture to a uncomfortable degree. Easy for me to rail- I can't take pictures with my phone! The scriptures from the beginning preach putting the Lord above all. What was it Jesus said? "Follow me." That's pretty hard to do when we want to be out in front. John the Baptist, when speaking of the Savior, told the crowds that, "He must become greater and I must become less." John never had to deal with Facebook or Twitter but he did deal with the issue of who has to come first if we want to please God. And it wasn't him. And it isn't me. Jesus told Peter to, "Get behind me, Satan!" I'm not Satan but I'm not the best at having my spiritual life in the correct order at all times, either. It's just like that old hymn we used to sing:
"All Of Self(ie) And None Of Thee."
Maybe we need to put it back in the order of worship as a reminder.
Applicable quote of the day:
“A good selfie is when you successfully capture the feeling of that very moment!”
Anamika Mishra
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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