lonely

Well, I was not embarrassed at my doctor's appointment today. Unfortunately, that means the doctor heard an irregularity in my heart beat. She didn't seem terribly worried, but wanted me to get another test. That wasn't available today, so I'll have to get to it in a few days.

I told Mr. that my warranty must have run out a little early; I seem to be falling apart all of a sudden, and I haven't hit forty yet. I'm trying not to be bummed by this new development.

He picked me up at the dr.'s office and we went and had pho—our comfort food these days. And did I mention had been raining for hours and the roads were all flooded, and we were both soaked up to the knees from riding our motorbike through splashing water? Oh well. Nothing a steaming bowl of pho couldn't fix.

Tonight we had supper with an unusual couple. We really don't know them well, but as part of my "elder" duties at our church (did I ever mention that I was an elder??) I was given their names to follow up with for pastoral care. So I contacted them and they were happy to meet Mr. and me this evening.

He is a national, she is a Korean. I really wasn't sure what language we would speak. We met at a Korean restaurant (yum!) and we started out speaking the national language (since neither Mr. nor I speak Korean). But they soon switched to English—and they were both better at it than we expected.

I left the evening with two main thoughts.

First of all, I am a big whiner. They are facing HUGE challenges, not only being in a cross-cultural marriage, but also trying to do ministry on their own. They don't seem to have much of a support system around them. Their stress levels are so high and, granted, they could make some different choices which would make things easier, but they don't because of personal convictions. Which aren't mine—but that's OK. Anyway, many of my worries and concerns seemed rather petty by the end of the evening.

And secondly, it makes me sad how lonely people are. They were just thrilled that someone reached out to them and made the time to have a meal with them. They both indicated that they don't have many close friends, or anyone to just talk to. It kind of makes me ache inside to see people who feel so alone.