Come on weather man give us a forecast snowy white
Can't you hear the prayers of every childlike heart tonight
Rockies are callin', Denver snow fallin'
Somebody said it's four feet deep,
but it doesn't matter
Give me the laughter,
I'm gonna choose to keep
Another tentder Tennessee Christmas,
the only Christmas for me
Where the love circles around us like the gifts around our tree
Well I know there's more snow up in Colorado
than my roof will ever see
But a tender Tennessee Christmas is the only Christmas for me
-Lyric by Amy Grant and Gary Chapman-
The above lyrics, of one of my fave Christmas songs, has been sung for years without me knowing how the situation really is in Tennessee until today, on 2018 Christmas day. The night before Christmas, called Christmas eve, I was in the trip back from California and found almost all stores closed earlier. I even hardly found a grocery store to buy food for supper.
Couple of weeks before, at the earliest week of December, Christmas Parade held in the downtown of Savannah, the small city where I have been living for 5 months. Decorated cars and beautiful people marching and passing the centre of the town giving the multitude certain gifts, showing us how Christmas life in the country really is.
Picture of the students and staff at the HHA Year End Concert 2018 |
If I looked back, this "dream comes true" seems to be prepared years before. My dad, with all skill he had taught me, music and English, has lead me to have a dream, that one day I will visit an English speaking country to study and improve my hobby, especially in music and writing. It looked like the dream almost come true ten years ago, when I was being selected to win a scholarship to study abroad. I passed all the requirements, but never been awarded. For a decade I had been trying to encourage myself, that my time has not come yet.
My husband and I visited Universal Studio, CA in 2015 |
Three years ago, my husband and I had a privilege to visit US for a very short time, to experiencing the US independence day. We used this time to visiting some families and friends in several states. I was thinking that my time has over (I had a dream to study in the US since my father had really recommended his children to studying in an English speaking country) so we were discussing to send our lovely daughter to study in a chosen school. A year later my daughter came. And, see, what happened next, I was called to do a music ministry in this beautiful and lovely campus. At the same time, I have the opportunity to improve my hobby in writing, composing, traveling, cooking, teaching and performing music. What a privilege to carry. I am so grateful. Moreover, I am surrounded by adorable students, fabulous neighbors and generous friends. I love the housing, the garden and the circumstances. The local people are so kind that where ever I go, I was offered smiles and 'hello'. My live is fulfilled with love.
However living in the US is not that easy as we see in pictures. Sometimes someone has to carry a heavy load of work or even has to stay apart from the loved ones. However, when we do things with all our heart, we would find joy and happiness, the things we truly search in life.
HHA Christmas Party at December 15, 2018 |
Merry Christmas, families and friends around the globe. May the joy of Christmas be yours.
Savannah 2018
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