Joyful, Joyful

[laniekayaleese]

I had just gotten off of my bicycle in the biting cold, and finally come to the right perspective. I thought to myself, "Casey, listen; think. What has God done for you? "You just had dinner with a Miho, Kotone, and Kim -- names you associated, for the first time, with a foreigner living in Tokyo. And Hideki, whom was your first association with Japanese college life. Isn't all of this far and abundantly beyond even your own dreams or expectations?" It was. It is. I took off my shoes in the genkan and reminded myself of the incredible dream that I was privileged to live. That I could study a language I had looked at misty-eyed as a child. That I could live among these fascinating people. And even just today, of how I rode my bike three minutes to watched the sun set over Mount Fuji and a panorama of Tokyo. It hit me like it hadn't for a while: I can do that. That is awesome. I believed firmly in my heart in that moment, "No matter what you worry about, no matter how hard you strive and stress, your life is amazing. You have everything for happiness - so just be content in it." And I decided - for the first time, genuinely - that I would be, if I wasn't already, I'd stop pitying myself and I would. Then my father had a message waiting for me on Skype. Two clients had come in today, out of the blue, and handed him 5,000 dollars. Enough for the downpayment on the apartment. I know some people may think of the clients and the mail and the timing of the revelation/epiphany as all coincidence, but that is untrue. I was lining myself up with letting go, of doing what God wants of me rather than focusing on myself. And just as He promises, when I trust in Him, all of my paths will be made straight. The amazing thing is knowing that I would've been content going along with the new path, of having to still deal with the problems if the clients hadn't come.  But God decided to show his love to me by making all things work out. He is such a wonderful God; and it is at times like these that I cannot help but adore Him.

Miho, Kotone, and Kim(iko) are all characters from Piro's Megatokyo. This webcomic was my first real exposure to any story of day-to-day life in Japan, as opposed to magical-girl manga.