Sarah was one of the first people I connected with before I came to Korea. I had researched online communities centered around Korea in an effort to form intentional friendships that I could foster when I arrived on Korean soil. We zoomed called, I “attended” her church on my couch in Kentucky and exchanged messages so by the time we actually met, we were invested. Besides our faith, we had a few things in common; we are both American, both come from smaller towns in our respective states, both teach. We talked about favorite authors, songs, etc. Sarah came to Korea to teach English and ended up finding her husband and together they operate an English academy.
When my daughter and I arrived the first year, Sarah met us the next day and accompanied us to church. She made sure I understood subway instructions when I was on my own, and arranged for some of her friends to spend the day with me when she had to work. From that, I have met several other women who have also become dear friends. Sarah was intentional about including me in her world, as she is others in her town in Korea. She has made her life there one of sowing and I am forever grateful for our paths crossing. Her sowing into me has caused my roots to spread in Korea.
Today we gathered in her town of Misa, a 45 minute subway ride from where I am staying. One of the women would be having a birthday soon and Sarah had set out a table of Raspberry cake roll with dried rose petals surrounding it. We sang together, read the Bible together, laughed together. Four women, two Korean, two American, our lives finding their way to each other by a grace drop right in our laps, spending a lovely Friday afternoon thinking about all there is to celebrate.
Our morning ended and Eun Yun and I headed to a late lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Sarah and I had been there last year on my last evening in Seoul, one of my favorite memories. It had been raining and I snapped an almost magical picture over my shoulder, a sense of joy and sadness swirled around each other that night at the ending of my stay. Today, though, was sunny and mild. I gave Eun Yun the job of choosing what we ordered and it came to us in typical swift Korean efficiency and presentation that looked like it should be framed and in a museum. Just this side of too pretty to eat.
I walked through town later that day and thought about the beauty of living artfully and paying attention to detail. It paints a picture, I wager, that splashes color and casts light where the shadows grow. It gives permission for joy to live when it doesn’t make sense. It thinks about raspberry cake rolls, bright little stickers on notes and bringing extra to picnics to share. It’s being willing to make the first move to extend a hand without agenda.
It’s knowing how to paint the world with your life. <3