The LORD is near to the brokenhearted.....

so from the last post, after chatting with people and thinking over it for a while, here is what i concluded with the whole situation:

as for the first choice, picking that would reveal one's lacking in self-control. though its not a bad thing to have such passion and love for puppies, letting it overtake our regular routines, or even overtake our priority, which is supposed to be Christ, is technically sin because we are letting something else taking over God's place in our lives, minds, and hearts.

and with the second choice, picking that would rise the question of whether you have true passion and love for the puppies in the first place. if it is something that one can easily disregard, was that passion sincere in the first place, truly from the heart? in a way, i think that choosing this option is the same as denying the fact that you have the passion and love for the puppies.

so, its a trick question!! ahahahah, just kidding... =P

but i think its something interesting to think over. sometimes i know i would be caught in situations where i think that there are only 2 options to solve the problems, but if we can take a step back and look at the bigger pictures, we can discover that there are a lot more ways to solve problems, a lot more perspectives to look at the problems, a lot more things that are bigger than the current problems. thanks to many people, i realized that i have limited myself with little options and forgot that our God is big and able to do great things.

another thing is that i realized i have been holding onto many things that might have been getting more of my attention than God, where most of them are not essentially bad in the first place. slowly i have been learning to let go of these things, and it is a life-long process. in high school (i think it was the very first time i experienced what it means to let go of things in my life for God), i stopped my identity as a cheerleading for God; while choosing major and attempting to audition for the school of music, i gave up the idea of majoring in piano for God; now as i realized that i only have 2 more months in the states before i head to HK, i'm stepping out of my comfort zones of surrounding by people that i've known for many years, friends who understands me well, family that is always by my side and supporting me. but i think i'm really excited for a new environment, and i think its about time for a change. i'm not saying all these to justify or show how much i have given up for God, but exactly the opposite!! I have gained so much more from God because of them, and if i can choose again, i would do the same thing again.

something that i came across today as i was reading the reason for God by timothy keller:

"...[Christ is] in a relationship of absolute intimacy and love. But at the end of his life he was cut off from the Father.

There may be no greater inner agony than the loss of a relationship we desperately want. If a mild acquaintance turn on you, condemns and criticizes you, and says she never wants to see you again, it is painful. If someone you're dating does the same thing, it is qualitatively more painful. But if your spouse does this to you , or if one of your parents does this to you when you're still a child, the psychological damage is infinitely worse.

We cannot fathom, however, what it would be like to lose not just spousal love or parental love that has lasted several years, but the infinite love of the Father that Jesus had from all eternity. Jesus's sufferings would have been eternally unbearable..."

i just experienced the loss of a pretty important relationship today. i felt the agony, felt the frustration, the pain, the disappointment, but God is with me the whole time, reminding me that there is nothing more important than the relationship i have with Him. even more important, He reminded me of God's grace and love, of how much Christ had gone through in Calvary in order to bring forth salvation for us, the physical sufferings, and an even deeper suffering, the spiritual separation from God the Father. it just makes me realized that sometimes our feelings, emotions, are not that important compare to the kingdom of God, the will and plan of God, the honor and glory of God. its just something that i'm really grateful about, that i knew i have been taking it for granted. what are you grateful about today?