Here in Thailand, it is the full moon of the third lunar month of the year 2568 BE (Buddhist Era). Thailand counts years beginning from the generally accepted date of the death of Gautama Buddha. In contrast, in Australia, we count years beginning from the generally accepted date of the birth of our Lord Jesus.
Today is a public holiday in Thailand. It is the Buddhist ‘Makha Bucha Day.’ This day commemorates a spontaneous meeting of the Buddha with 1,250 monks, all of whom were believed to have been ‘enlightened’. Under the light of the full moon of the third lunar month some 45 years before the Buddhist Era (BE) began, far off in North India, it is believed that Gautama Buddha gave an important teaching summarising the core principles of Buddhism.
These days, Makha Bucha Day is a nationwide holiday in Thailand. It is illegal to sell alcohol today, and those that do may be punished with up to six years imprisonment and/or a hefty fine. Buddhism condemns the use of intoxicants, including alcohol. Some tourists will not be happy, but this is not their country, so tough luck.
Today I wandered around the grounds of three temples. Well, strictly speaking, I wandered around the grounds of one, the carpark of another, and stood in the driveway of a third. Crowds of people did all they could to earn merit.
Screenshot
They made offerings of flowers and money. They purchased caged animals in order to set them free. They paid money to draw sticks and ascertain their fortune by correlating the numbers with explanatory information. They burnt candles. They followed chanting monks around holy sites. They even ‘mailed letters’ in the names of loved ones to earn merit for them.
Where are Christ’s people today? For there are followers of Jesus living here in Thailand. I do not expect them to be at the temples earning merit on this auspicious day. Instead, I imagine them in their homes and communities, reflecting the hope and confidence we have in Jesus to their family and friends.
Tonight I offer to God a prayer for my Thai sisters and brothers, wherever they may be. Perhaps you could join me as you look at the pictures of these people, whom God loves, striving to be ‘good enough’.
May Christ’s followers in Thailand share by word and example the certain hope they have for ultimate enlightenment through Jesus, the Light of the World.
May Christ’s followers in Thailand share the liberating truth that Jesus has dealt with suffering once and for all on the cross, earning ‘merit’ for us that we can never deserve.
May Christ’s followers in Thailand brightly reflect the light of Jesus to all around them, just like the full, round moon tonight is reflecting the light of the sun.
Lord Jesus, Light of the World, may your glory be reflected through your people in this beautiful nation.
When red roses feature in particular contexts, I imagine them to be God’s special touch. Today was no exception.
It’s day one of my ‘study retreat’ week here in Thailand. Having a gloriously empty week between meetings, my plan is to work hard each day.
Not all day every day. Only half of each day. I am also looking forward to catching up with friends and soaking up the atmosphere of Chiang Mai.
This morning, I plugged through college reading and note-taking. Then I went out for a haircut (a fraction of the cost of an Australian haircut), after which I intended to spend time in a favourite garden cafe to draft this blog post.
Hair which is freshly washed, conditioned and cut
Expectations foiled
Except that the garden gate was shut. It turns out that said favourite garden cafe is closed on Mondays.
My brow furrowed, my lips pursed and my fists clenched. As I stomped down the winding alley, I confessed (yet again) to hanging on to my own expectations and plans. In this case, it was about something as senseless as time in a particular cafe.
Surprise
Turning the corner, my attention was caught by a very cute little cafe FULL of red roses. Real roses decorated tables. Artificial roses hung from the ceiling. And what’s more, they had salty chips (crisps) on display on the front counter. I’m a sucker for salty chips.
In I went, thanking God that his ways are higher than mine. Ha … such a lofty thought over something as mundane as roses, coffee and chips. As it turned out, the chips were for display only and not for sale.
Sitting by a window, with the gentle chatter of young women enjoying a birthday celebration in the background, I enjoyed an iced coffee, sans chips.
And I penned the following thoughts about discipline.
You can just see the reflections of my T-shirt in the window. What a lovely place to sip and contemplate.
Academic discipline
Discipline is an admirable trait that I need to work on.
In the early stages of the Doctor of Ministry course (which I’m almost halfway through), we had subjects to complete. They came with built-in deadlines, clear expectations, and I flourished. But now I am on my own.
I need to ‘get over’ my bad habit of procrastinating. If I can’t, it will effectively mean the end to my dreams of contributing to God’s kingdom work through ‘thinking well’ and writing up said ‘good thoughts’.
I could bow out at this point and the Australian University of Theology (which was a college until a few weeks ago!) would give me a Master of Professional Ministry in recognition of having completed all the coursework.
However, I don’t intend to do that. I most definitely will NOT do that. I am determined to succeed. But determination needs to be translated into action.
Those chips, drinks and bread are not for sale. They’re just for decoration.
Help needed
So I paid a psychologist to help me.
She is a very good psychologist, and a devout Christian. I imagined that she would address my doubts and insecurities regarding my ability to succeed in academic ventures. Perhaps she would teach me ‘mindfulness’ techniques that would help. (She is the author of one of my favourite books: ‘Christ-Centred Mindfulness’.)
Do you know what she advised me to practise?
Discipline.
Specifically, discipline regarding focus on my academic work for 20 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, for the duration of my study. And beyond if I am to continue making a contribution to the missions community in my area of interest.
“Distraction is just an urge and it will pass if you don’t indulge it,” she explained. “Ride the urge.”
Right.
To be fair, she also helped me to think through whether this academic journey is important to me and why. And she gave me some good tips on overcoming procrastination, including its likely root cause of perfectionism.
Success in academia is important to me because I long to ‘make a difference’ in an area of Christian mission work that has been relatively ‘unfruitful’ up to this point. On top of that, I believe this academic journey to be a divine ‘call’. It is a call which is as real as the ‘call’ to cross-cultural work was when I was young.
I always thought that I would grow to be a little old lady in Asia, but was disappointed in that expectation for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, it appears that God has work for me to do yet, albeit from my passport country. I delight in that realisation.
These girls were celebrating a birthday. Shortly after photographing this scene, the staff emerged from the curtained door at the left of the picture with a birthday cake, lit with candles. We all sang to the birthday girl. No wonder the birthday girl’s friend was ready with her camera.
Discipline
These past few days, the theme of ‘discipline’ keeps coming up. As I prepared for our weekly BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) class this week on Revelation 12, themes included that of living for Jesus and resisting temptation. At the international church I attended yesterday, a Ghanaian preacher encouraged us from Colossians 3 to put off our ‘fleshly ways’ and live for God.
Basically, I need to just practise discipline regarding my college work. That is the particular application of all God has been bringing to my attention these past few days. I need to focus on academic work for blocks of time today, and tomorrow, and the next day. I need to repeat the pattern over and over, including once I’m back home in the busyness of everyday life (excluding a weekly day of rest).
In thinking about these matters in the rose-y cafe, I decided to try an acrostic, like some of the Hebrew writers did in the Psalms. I wrote the word ‘Discipline’ in a vertical line on the paper, then wrote sentences starting with each successive letter of the word ‘discipline’.
An acrostic
Distractions, you are temporary … I will ‘ride the urge’
Inviolable are the blocks of time I have dedicated to study
Silence the internal critic
Creativity in academia is crammed within culturally specified structures with which I am becoming familiar
Immersion in the data generates useful insights and takes a lot of time
Practise a little each day, rather than panic periodically
Let go of high expectations and just start somewhere
I commit to this practice
No excuses – push on
Effort will be rewarded if I just persevere
Drafting this blog post
Putting it into practice
Friends, it would be helpful if you could ask me from time to time how I am going regarding practising discipline in the area of academic pursuits. Ask me, please, if I am spending 20 hours a week on it. I’m easily distracted.
Today’s rose-y contemplations on day one of this study retreat encouraged me no end.
Thank you, Sovereign One, for ordering my steps in matters big and small. Help me, please, to live well for you.
