Tinted Windows

I see a lot of tinted windows on cars in Korea. Tinted windows are cool when you are inside of the car but it isn't as fun if you are on the outside and can not see in. Sometimes I feel like my students are tinted windows. I'm the one on the outside looking at a black wall of glass wondering, "Who is in there looking at me?" I wonder, "What are they doing in there? Or, "What are they thinking?" "How do they feel?" The blackness that I see has nothing to do with them. It is my inability to speak and understand their language. It is very special when the windows to their hearts are rolled down and for a moment or two I'm invited to peer inside and see who is inside. Today was one of those days.

God is working on the campus of KNU. The music team of English chapel met today for prayer and sharing. They invited me to join them. A girl who is fluent in Korean and English translated for me. These students shared their hearts with each other. They were honest with their struggles. Their struggles are the same as most college students. They are searching to know God more. They want to know what God will have for them after their senior year. They are exhausted and come to worship empty. They cry for parents who do not know Jesus. They are trying to juggle too many commitments and worried about how to do it all. They are asking questions about God's call on their lives. They love Jesus. It isn't like Korean culture, from what I've experienced, to be so open with or infront of professors. Not only did I get to see "who is looking out at me" but they were not held back by what they saw. They trusted me with their hearts. I walked away so grateful and humbled. The tinted windows came down and I saw the real people inside of those Korean frames. Thanks Be To GOd!