On a recent trip to China, I realized for the first time that I actually felt at home there. I enjoyed walking anonymously in the streets, just observing the ordinary men, women and children as they went about their daily activities.
I even imagined that sometime in the retirement future, we could possibly rent a place for a whole month and just live the ordinary day to day life there. We could also find our way to the outskirts of the city, in order to enjoy some of the countryside scenery, which can be breathtakingly beautiful. Some Chinese nature paintings do capture the sight quite well - an old man standing on a hill looking at the distant mountains, the ball of sun at dawn peering through. In many places, there may also be music floating in the background, either the voice of melancholic singing, or the melodious sound of the flute or accordion coming from a street corner and wafting in the air.
And then the people... though they may be strangers, when I close my eyes and ponder further, I realize that we are truly of the same flesh and blood, no different from all of them physically, and with a long shared history.
Last month, I felt our connectedness to them quite strongly. And yesterday, Chinese New Year's day, I again experienced this same feeling of inner connectedness.
I couldn't help but close my eyes and pray to our dearest Lord, that He truly bless and take care of all who are within this circle of connectedness.
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