The day that Tiff watches/listens to an entire basketball game from start to finish... twice... is also a strange day indeed.
I've had two very strange days the past couple days. I thought that I should blog it.
OK... I don't know if this is just going to join the ranks as "just another post about Jeremy Lin"... but it's not just going to be about Jeremy. It's going to be a culmination of things I've been thinking about for the past two months... that culminated in me having a bit of time to write right NOW... with the J Lin stuff pushing it over the edge.
Jeremy Lin... you're like a bright shiny star... juxtaposed against the dark night sky... even I can't help but stop, notice, and admire.
So I recently turned 30. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it prior... and I had tried to write but... nothing was coming out so I didn't want to force it. I was also experiencing writer's block and doctoral-student block at the highest intensity I have experienced thus far... over one year into my program. I was also training to be an ICU nurse... adjusting to flipping my sleep schedule completely 180... AND to top it off, I had gained like 5% body mass in 1 month and I'm pretty sure it was all fat. I think I was pretty stressed. And distraught. Mostly over the weight... but also over the doc-block.
And then I started reading/listening about some guy... who really really encouraged me. Sometimes stuff just comes on the radio... and I find it somewhat amazing that God chose to remind me of this particular guy at this particular time in my life. And I am constantly amazed at how God uses pre-set Bible reading plans in such a time-perfect way to speak truth or to encourage me with such perfect precision aligning with the experiences of my life. So this guy... one of my absolute, top ten...shoot maybe top five favorite SuperJews... Joseph. I saw this shirt in a movie and loved it. I now own it. Actually it was a gift but I would have bought it for myself anyway if a friend hadn't had such a quick internet finger. It's hanging on my wall... and sometimes I'll wear it while writing papers because I imagine that it will infer some SuperJew awesomeness into my life. Yes it's hanging there amidst the purple... amidst the 3D flowers and pastel-colored leaf stickers... sort of next to the wall of diplomas and my pictures of me and Anderson. Kinda funky, but if you know me at all, I think you'd understand why it has earned a place there. Have I ever posted about my favorite SuperJews? Well... I talk and write about them all the time even if this is the first you've heard of my SuperJew shirt.
Joseph. What an amazing guy. What I admire about Joseph... is his character, his perseverance... and his amazing managerial skills. This guy... hated by his 10 brothers... thrown into a pit, sold into slavery in a foreign land... still found a way to live and work in a manner pleasing to the world... while holding himself to a standard that none of his brothers did... maybe not even his father did... but he remembered the God of his fathers and lived his life to its maximum potential every step of the way... being probably the lone Hebrew wherever he went. And he also found himself in some pretty sucky situations. Enslaved... wrongfully accused... imprisoned... and yet... every step of the way he rose to the occasion and made the best of his training.
Whatever I am going through right now... is both opportunity and training ground. I have opportunities to learn, opportunities to serve, opportunities to grow... to spur others to grow... and I'm pretty darn sure that it is just another step in the journey to bring me to another level of opportunity further down the line. Each step necessary for the next step... each step preparing me in a new and different way for the next one. I see this in my own life... I saw this in Joseph's life... and I also am beginning to see it in J Lin's life... not that it was never there before... I just didn't really pay attention to his life too much before now.
Joseph did his best. He worked to a standard of excellence... even at the humble position he found himself in Egypt. You guys realize that this guy went from favored son... exempted from tending the flocks... recipient of best clothes... daddy's favorite son... to second class citizen pretty much in one day? Spoiled boy with the soft hands and crazy dreams... could have just sat and pouted... done his work with bitterness and resentment like the kid of that father who shot like 8 rounds into her laptop... but he didn't. He made the best of his managerial training and learned how to run a household.
And he didn't just run a household like any other guy runs a household. I'm pretty sure if I were there to observe him... I would have observed God-given skill and artistry in his work.
I've noticed this before... when reading about the tabernacle... when reading about how God instructed Solomon to build His temple... I noticed that skilled men... skilled artists... were endowed with wisdom. It takes wisdom to know what is pleasing to the eye... pleasing to the ear. If you've ever looked at a version of something... let's say... fake Hello Kitty... and all the components of Hello Kitty are there... but there's just something off... something that looks funny... they're just minute details... proportions... coloring maybe... shapes... I dunno. Very subtle differences that make all the difference. You can also tell the difference in the quality of some items... how you can tell that someone designed some things in one way... that there was thought, foresight and depth of experience built into the craftsmanship of some items... versus other items who were copied without taking into account the details that make one item superior to another. So... I'm pretty sure that there is genius behind all things beautiful... all things quality... and the most beautiful, the most quality genius... comes from God. God-given skill and God-given wisdom goes into the excellent. I'm pretty sure there was something different about the way Joseph managed Potiphar's household. Even if the methods were identical to another guy's... this kid had a heart behind the hands... a heart that sought to please and obey God... and the heart is what matters more than the actions... even tho the actions are all the world sees. God sees the heart. You can mess up massively... but if you messed up with the right heart... between you and God... you're OK. You can succeed massively... but if you succeed with the wrong heart... you and God... eh... He's not happy. Not to say that He won't love you... because He always does and He always will.
Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. (Ex. 28:3)
Anyway... so I'm guessing that Joseph must have done things with such genius precision that Potiphar noticed. And Pottie must have also noticed that even more than skill... Jo had the character to back it... and the character must have been so... exceptional that he would have entrusted his entire household over to his slave. All Pottie had to care about was eating and drinking... Jo took care of the rest. Can you imagine? Trusting someone so much to leave your brain in bed... and just walking around all happy-go-lucky and free to come and go... eat whatever you want...?!? Have you EVER trusted anyone so much? Have you ever found anyone with whom you felt you COULD trust that much? And this wasn't some Ivy League graduate... this was some dusty young kid who came off a wagon... I somehow imagine it being a little bit like... a combination of Chinatown shopping stall put onto a wagon of slaves. I'm sure they would have just taken the multi-colored cloak right off his back and hung it up next to him to sell... if he had still had it with him.
Oh and did I mention that Joseph didn't just have superb natural managerial skill... that he was HOT? LOL.
Anyway... so he's just doing his work, minding his own business... and Pottie's wife starts to come on to him. Something about Jo... he's got something appealing for everybody. Beauty and brains. How bout that? And! And he's got character. He was wrongfully accused and imprisoned for NOT sleeping with her. I'm sure he must have wondered if he would have been sitting "pretty" at Pottie's table instead of in a dirty, stinky dungeon with dirty, stinky people if only he had given in to her. But... even if he had thought it... he still picked himself up and probably put some dirty, stinky clothes on cuz I doubt they would have sent him away with the clothes that Pottie's wife grabbed off him... and went right back to doing what he was doing... so much to the point that he was running the joint again... hahaha... the joint. Sometimes I wish I could listen to myself talk about this stuff... I think I would make myself laugh. And I just noticed that at both his milestones... he must have entered into them naked. And I'm also guessing... that someone who knows how to manage other things well... probably knew how to take care of his own body well... so even naked, I'm pretty sure he looked pretty good. And I guess that's how you truly know your own character... when you've been stripped of everything... you find out what's truly important to you. If your clothes are what you valued most and you're stripped of them, you find yourself... empty. It was all you had to live for, wasn't it? But if after you've been stripped... you kinda just brush yourself off and figure that another day... another set of clothes... a new set of things to do...you reveal that your true worth had nothing to do with the externals... but with the internal... the imperishable... something that the world cannot take away from you... kinda like in 1 Peter...
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Pet. 3:3-4)
Anyway... another thing that amazes me about Jo... was that because he had worked hard on a daily basis... as his own personal standard... because he had done so well in his day-to-day life... which again, is how we are called to live... because each day has enough trouble of its own... that he was not only working as to the Lord... being approved by men... that he was consistent and could be counted on with that consistency... but that... he was ready. At any given moment... some strange turn of events could transpire which open up a door or a window of opportunity... and if you weren't living or running as if you were going to win the race before... you're not gonna be ready to step up and rise to the occasion when you are called to.
One day... you're just walking along the prison... I'm guessing it might not have been dirty and stinky anymore if Jo had anything to do with it... twirling your beard in one hand... pondering how you could improve prison processes and increase efficiency on such a low budget... when some guy in a red shirt and a phaser says, "come with me, cupcake"... and you walk into a room like in Tron where your clothes are just cut off of you... your beard shaved... and you get some fancy clothes put on you by a team of professionals in a white unitard with platform heels... (sorry I'm mixing movie images here... I have no images of Egypt to relate to)... and you're called upon to do what none of the professionals who do this for a LIVING could do... and actually no one on earth could have done because interpretation of dreams come from God alone... and then next thing you know you're running the joint again... but this time it's no small time Pottie house... or the "big house"... you're running the country... to the point where Pharaoh can leave his brain on his nightstand and entrust his entire country and the future of the known world... into the hands of this kid you just plucked out of prison a few hours ago. And at that point... Joseph was 30 years old.
It is no coincidence that God reminded me about Jo right before I was going to turn 30. I felt that it was perfect timing... perfect choice of reading... to minister to my heart and show me how I need to be working... that even if I have crappy circumstances (which I don't)... that I still need to be like Jo and do my work... even if no one sees... to build up my character and consistency... so that whenever I am, IF ever I am, called to the spotlight... I'm ready and waiting to fulfill God's intended purpose in my life... whatever that may be. I'm sure that Jo would have been VERY happy to just be let out of prison... but God intended for him to save the world as he knew it... to reunite and save his family... to put a temporary end to the sojourning of Israel and his kiddos... and give them the land of Goshen... to prepare them for the great deliverance when it's MoMo's turn to fulfill his intended purpose. God has plans. Great plans. We might just be a tiny part in the grand scheme of things... but whenever we step up and say, "here I am, send me"... or even in Jo's case... he didn't ask to be sent but was taken by force... to make the most out of his situations... to take the opportunities and get trained for the next step... that we can play our part and experience all the goodness that He intended. Jo said it right when he told his brothers, "y'all meant it for evil, but God meant it for good".
I wonder if that's what we'd get to say... if for some reason God allowed Satan to plant that cancer into Anderson's cells... that both Anderson and I would stand hand in hand one day and say to Satan, "YOU meant it for evil... YOU thought that it was going to destroy us... but God meant it for good."
At 30... I'm guessing that it must have crossed his mind... that THIS is why he was sold into slavery and brought to Egypt... THIS is why he got to practice running Pottie's household... THIS is why he had to go to prison... to meet up with the Baker and the Cupbearer at that particular time... so that he would be ready now to prepare for the worst famine imaginable. So now he's running the country... how much better could it get? Well it was about to get a whole lot better in 7 years... he was going to get to see his brothers again... to see Ben... to see his father... and provide for them. So I might be 30 right now and I thought that my 20's were pretty darn good... but if God is consistent... and He always is... it's only gonna keep getting better and better. He has shown His faithfulness to His people... SuperJews and regulars alike... now Jew and Gentile alike... across all of history... all time... so why wouldn't he also be faithful to me... the 30-year-old American-Chinese nurse in California? Did you know that I am the only Tiffany Chen, RN in the state of California? Yep, I just checked. I am STILL the only TChenRN in California. I'm sure there are loads of Tiffany Chens. Heck, there were at least 5 Tiffany Ng's in California... how many more Chens would there be? And how is it that I am the only Tiffany Chen who was called to be a nurse? Maybe there were some, but they got married and changed their last names. Who knows. Right now... it's just me.
Ok so I guess this isn't as much a post about J Lin. J's story reminds me of Jo's. I don't know you, Jeremy Lin... and I may never know you this side of eternity... but thank you... for living your life in a manner that someone so far away could see your character, admire it... and be inspired to live my life similarly. I'm not going to go to Harvard... Lord willing I'll be DONE with school after this one. I'm NOT going to play in the NBA... I'm an entire foot shorter than you and have next to no basketball skills... but I can relate to you and your journey. The details are different, but the way you say that you were meant to be a basketball player... that God caused a whole mess of things which were out of your control... which step by step led you to where you're at... I see it in your life... I see it in mine and I am encouraged. You were meant to be a basketball player. I was meant to be a nurse. You are doing what you can in your mission field... and I am doing what I can in mine.
Do you not see the genius of God in that as well? What better way to reach people with the love of Christ than to send them to areas that they are uniquely prepared to infiltrate? God doesn't create cookie cutter Christians. We don't need to wear uniforms for someone to recognize us. We have the fruit of the Spirit... we have peace that surpasses understanding... we have wisdom beyond our years and even beyond human capabilities sometimes... ok and I say "we"... I don't necessarily mean "me". But when I heard the announcers talk about J Lin... his court vision... his composure... his confidence on the court... his unselfishness... his humility... his joy and love of the game... the way at halftime, he said that he recognized that he was making mistakes and he was going to go look at films... and the lady said, "right NOW?" and he said, "yeah, right now"... in the middle of the game! His work ethic is amazing! Mistakes aren't something to get down about... it just brings to light areas of weakness and allows you to work on them to improve on it... even right NOW... when it counts. Right NOW counts... not just tomorrow... not just the day after... right now in the middle of the game... it matters how I see things and it matters what I do in response. I don't know if I'm correct but I see a lot of genuine sincerity in J Lin... a humility... and a simplicity... that stands out in the NBA like a shiny star against a black sky... especially next to Kobe. I don't know what the future holds... I hope that J Lin will only keep getting better and better... but right NOW it makes me happy to see that his "work" is approved by men... that even people who may never profess Christ... can look at his life and see glimmers of God's glory. That is amazing to me. That is encouraging to me. I'm happy for you, J Lin. I doubt you'll ever read this, but if you do, I hope it's at least a fraction as encouraging to you as it is to me.
And this post is called Jo-J because of Joseph and J Lin... but also because it sounds like OJ and I was just thinking about how much I love OJ earlier today. Best I've ever had was Amish breakfast in Philly. I keep searching for life-changing OJ in California but... no success. I've had life-changing oranges tho. I wonder if life-changing oranges would make life-changing OJ. I guess it never made it there since I ate them first. Anyway. Maybe I'll get to eat some more life-changing oranges this year. We'll see. :) Thanks for reading my thoughts... I best get back to doing my homework in a manner that will be approved by men... or in my case... women... for grades...
<3,
Tiff
