Sunday, March 26, 2006

Thank God for the Promise of Spring!

Walking today on the way to Dongdaemun I saw something so surprising it took my breath away. Big waxy white petals were bursting out of buds on a magnolia tree. After such a long, cold, brutal Korean winter, my eyes were shocked to see such color! I've always loved spring in Korea and I'm happy that God's given me a second chance to fall in love with Korea again after I've said goodbye.

I know that spring is supposed to be the season of renewal and Easter but I've always wondered: Why is Christmas celebrated in the winter instead of the spring? Watching my pregnant co-worker get bigger and bigger over the past 5 months, it seems to me the faith it takes to carry a child all the way from conception to labor is somewhat similar to what a gardener must have waiting for tulip bulbs she has planted to sprout and bloom in April. Or what a farmer must have, literally betting his farm on the unseen crop.

It's this beautiful faith humans have in God's promise of spring that never fails to inspire me time after time. It's the irrational hope that better times are right around the corner. It's the untiring patience a parent/teacher has for the child whose "paint is not yet dry." It's the neverending search for the light of dawn in the very darkest depths of the night. It's the tremendous struggle to get up just one more time after we fall yet again. It's the painful longing for a Messiah over the centuries. It's the amazing belief that love really does conquer all.

Recently I sat/slept through BH Productions' Waiting for Godot peformed to celebrate the centenary Samuel Beckett's birth. The play hit a little too close to home for this playgoer. Here we have two adult men (acting like an old married couple) who are daily waiting for God or someone god-like to come through and make sense of their lives. Does any of this sound familiar? And to add even more misery to the depressing dish set before me, the only relief Beckett suggests comes from sleep or suicide!

Fortunately for my boyfriend and I, the agonizing wait is (somewhat) over. Our Spring has finally arrived in the form of word from Canada. I'm happy to announce that our application for permanent residency has been approved! They felt so strongly about our case that our interview requirement was waived. While we still have to pass medical and security clearances, the favorable forecast is that we will be allowed to live and work in Toronto sometime in the next 3-6 months. Even though this is a much longer wait than we had anticipated, we are still grateful to God, the Canadian officials, and the amazing support of our family and friends!

Thank God for the promise of Spring!

6 comments:

wwwavvve said...

Congratulations Dan & Antaek! Welcome to Canada. I'm glad that things have finally been sorted out. I'm definitely enjoying the fresh clean air in Vancouver. Good luck my friends. Thank God for hope!

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Anonymous said...

Oh Dan! I'm so excited! Your wait is almost over. I hope your move is smooth and your new home is warm & welcoming... I also hope this means I might actually get to see you again some day. :) We'll see!
lena

Anonymous said...

That is so awesome! I'm so happy for you. So, I guess I need to set aside some vacation days.

Jill

Anonymous said...

I, too, am so excited that you have gotten the greenlight on the next chapter of your life. The dreaded waiting is over. I can't wait to visit you in Toronto. I know you will still be so far away, but somehow being on the same continent makes you feel like you are just next door. You deserve this good news and hopefully the wait will be closer to 3 months instead of 6 months.

Spring truly is a blessing after long, cold (and for me, super wet) winter. Having flowers bloom in the yard really helps lift the spirit.

Abogado David said...

Since "awsome" and "excited" are already used up, I guess I should say something different. And not just the regular cliches, such as "great" and "happy" and "thrilled." Dan, I am so AMBIVALENT that you're coming back to this continent. I'm NONCHALANT that I can finally call you while driving without having to go throught the agony of dialing a calling card and then your international number while trying to merge onto I-35! I am super UNMOVED about getting to roadtrip with you across the country to go schlep your stuff up to Toronto! (THIS TIME, TELL EVERYONE ELSE OFF AND JUST TAKE ME!!!) Forgive my MALAISE over that one. I'm INDIFFERENT that we might actually get to meet Antek. It will definitely be TOLERABLE to be part of your life again, and to have you be part of mine. I'm RESIGNED to having my big brother and best friend back again. Thank (INSERT ANY NOUN HERE DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY AN AGNOSTIC OR UNIVERSALIST UNITARIAN). :) Love you, man.