Time Wasted

** The following post written on Feb 28 2009 at 4:18PM**

Dear all,

Thank you for all the loving feedbacks in response to my first entry! I was warmly surprised by how many people actually spent the time to read through my lengthy writing—I thought only my parents would take the time and stick through it! It is no wonder that you came into my mind when I first created the mailing list :)

Yesterday, I got a little irritated during my 2.5 hr Arts Appreciation class. It not only was long (we actually went over time and stayed 7 minutes longer), it used the time so wastefully that I literally had to wait around for at least 1hr 20min doing nothing after a short lecture during the first hour of the class! The class was split into two groups for viewing printings at the school’s museum. Since my instructor always liked to form groups according to students’ last names, it wasn’t a surprise when I learned that I ended up in group two—the last group—yet again. I wasn’t able to use the waiting time wisely because of the vague instructions that my instructor gave us.

Not completely happy with how my time was spent, I went home and continued complaining little thoughts to myself (and my mom, who got a call for a first-hand experience). However, when I looked up at my “special” wall—a wall with a few Bible verses that have once touched me so deeply when I was doing my quiet times— I wish I have reacted differently and done better. The verse said:

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others
Philippians 2:4

Ah! What a powerful sentence that I wish I've followed! So I was thinking...

DO IT if a decision is--
good for the others around me
good for the group that’ll be influenced by my decision, and
good for the leader who’s leading the group.
(I specifically left “if a decision is good for me” out because I don’t think I would ever forget to consider that.)

DON'T DO IT if the decision--
seems to only benefit me
seems to hurt others around me
seems to bring down a group
seems to discourage the leader

I can’t even begin imagining how crowded hell would be by now if Christ only thought of himself when he was on this earth. Rather than choosing the easier way out, he made the harder decision to go on that cross for OUR sins. I believe that my instructor had thought out the lesson plan carefully beforehand and chose the best way she could come up with to present the printing examples for the class to see. Rather than complaning next time, I want to be supportive and just bring along my iPod and study for my T252 (a theory class that requires massive memorization on music for each exam :) so time can be used wisely. Plus, I would hate it if students in my mom's class talk snap about her (I know they won't because she's an excellent teacher:).

I remembered when I first wrote down the verse (along with 2:3) as a reminder to myself when my Chinese small group (Timothy) encountered some hardships last semester. It is amazing how a verse like this can be easily forgotten during the time when I needed it the most. It just shows how important it is to have quiet times daily—not weekly, monthly, or... annually.

I hope everyone is well:) Please pray especially for the sick ones (Dawn, Vivian, You-Wei, Amy, Yu-Chia, and others that I don't know are sick). Don't forget quiet times!

Continue walking down the narrow path for that ultimate goal in life.

Love,
Anna