by Terry Gee

"In a culture that doesn't like to acknowledge loss or talk about the impact, it's difficult to grieve."[1] – H. Norman Wright

"Should I be over this by now?"

"Am I supposed to focus on the bright side of things?"

"What do I do with my sadness?"

When the harsh reality of loss comes upon us we are faced with the painful visitation of grief. It comes unwelcome and we are thrust into it without time to prepare. In the fallenness of our world, it is a given that we will encounter grief, but we are faced with the choice of how we will respond. 

Engaging with Grief

Some of us may not have been taught how to grieve. And even if we have, the pervading sense towards it may be that is it something to be resisted or at least experienced to the least degree possible.

But is resisting this unwelcome visitor truly the best for us? Or do we do ourselves harm as we suppress it and disengage with our grief?

H. Norman Wright, a Christian trauma and grief therapist writes:  

"Whenever there is a loss, there will be grief. But some do not grieve or mourn. Some make a choice not to express all the feelings inside so their grief is accumulated. Saving it won't lessen its pain. It will only intensify it. Silence covers wounds before the cleansing has occurred. The result will be an emotional infection."[2]

Engaging with our grief then becomes a matter of health for our hearts. In the midst of a very painful and sorrowful time, with many losing loved ones, will we choose to walk the path of grief? Or will we keep it at an arm’s length and focus only on the positives? If so, how bad will it have to get before we will feel released to grieve?  

On the Path of Grief

For those who are already on this path of grief, or for those who know someone who has lost someone, here are some suggestions that may be helpful as you walk through it. 

Continue reading here

[1] H. Norman Wright, Experiencing Grief (Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2004), 1.

[2] Wright, 14.

by Victor Chen

The reason why New Year’s resolutions often fail is that they fail to address the deeper issues of the heart. Outward behavior cannot be sustained if change isn’t happening below the surface. 

We want to put the Lord first in all things, but find ourselves constantly putting other things ahead of Him.

What can we do?

One way to address internal issues of the heart is to replace one action tied to a desire with another action tied to our desire for the Lord. It would be like a treasure swap. 

For instance, many of us derive comfort from eating and would like to change that. The next time we desire comfort and reach for food, try reaching for the Lord in prayer, meditating on a verse and allowing Him to be our nourishment. 

Another example is how we try to escape from the rigors of life by vegging on the couch and binge-watching. We are concerned about our screen time intake. The next time we want to escape, try escaping to spend time with God by journaling, writing out your prayers or sketching out the beauties of His creation outdoors.

Finally, we often start our day checking in on messages, emails and social media. We’re concerned why we’re frazzled and overwhelmed all the time. The next time we roll out of bed, try reaching for God’s Word and start the morning reading a Psalm as a prayer to begin your day with the Lord. 

As Christians in the world, we are constantly caught in a battle of desires — what we want versus what the Lord wants. It is good to resolve to desire the Lord first in all things. 

How we go about that means swapping the lesser treasure for the greatest.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)

by Andy Pearce

When the stay-at-home order began in March, our weekly Conversational English class for Caltech international postdoctoral scholars and spouses switched to Zoom and has continued on Zoom. We miss face-to-face interaction, but teaching idioms using PowerPoint and videos on a shared screen has been effective and fun, and splitting up into Zoom breakout groups for discussions has also worked very well. Another blessing is that the class has actually grown in number. Our most recent class had 13 internationals, the highest number since 2018. The use of Zoom allows us to include class members who moved. The 13 joined from four continents (including North America). Two joined from China, one from Brazil, and one from Australia (a Japanese). Our 4:30 pm start time works well for China (16 hours ahead) and Australia (19 hours ahead).

Speaking of time zones, Zoom created an opportunity for me to teach a Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class in Singapore virtually. I have visited Singapore six times in order to encourage and disciple former international students and love the city/country. When I heard that Singapore would be in a strict lockdown beginning in March, I did a Google search and found that a Perspectives class was underway. I emailed the coordinator and volunteered to teach a lesson by Zoom if there was a need. I had a reply almost immediately and an offer to teach Lesson 8 (Pioneers of the World Christian Movement) in Singapore on Zoom. Due to the 16-hour time difference, I taught from 10 pm to 1 am Pacific time.

My interaction with the class in Singapore gave rise to another Zoom opportunity. Several class members lamented that they would not be able to take an upcoming trip to India due to COVID-19. So I told them that they should put on masks and visit Little India in Singapore. That gave me the idea of leading masked and safe-distanced trips to our Little India (Artesia). Before traveling to India (or Little India), it is helpful to have extensive preparation, so I created three two-hour Zoom sessions that cover India’s history, cultures, religions, food, and communities. So far more than 30 individuals in SoCal have completed the preparation, and I have led one tour so far. As soon outdoor dining resumes, I will lead another tour.

I am grateful for the new doors God has opened to be involved in His kingdom work in the midst of a global pandemic.

by Elliott Snuggs

March 9, 2020. That was my last flight this year for Asian Access. Of course, I didn’t know that when I boarded in Chennai, India for the long flight back. It was a good trip, despite the already looming threat of COVID-19. I had been in Chennai for our marketplace leader orientation. Our faculty was from Japan. It seems like ages ago, but perhaps you remember the cruise ship that docked in Tokyo and ended up being a COVID-19 breeding ground. Because of that, India barred entry from Japan. We had to use Zoom to do the session. Who knew that would become the global norm!

We quickly began to realize at Asian Access that this was more than a minor disruption. I read an article entitled “Leading beyond the Blizzard”. It proposed that COVID-19 was a “blizzard,” but what is coming is like a “little ice age.” And the ensuing question became, are we thinking just about the blizzard, or are we thinking about the new reality beyond the blizzard?

As we began to reflect, I saw this as God’s way of creating a divine pause to perform a divine reset. It was as if He was saying, it is time to recalibrate yourself to Me. And when you do that, I can do something wonderful (Isaiah 29:14). I believe God wants to use this time to recalibrate us for what He wants to do. I believe he is setting the stage for a new worldwide harvest. But first, He needed us to get off the treadmill and seek Him.

So, that is what we are trying to do at Asian Access. We were already working on our five-year, long-range plan. It is amazing how much of it lined up with the realities of a post-pandemic world. We also began to rethink our vision, mission and foundations as a movement. This is our recalibrating coming out of the divine reset.

Thank you Evergreen SGV for standing with us in prayer. God is on the move and we are excited about the future.

by Victor Chen

Nobody could have imagined a Christmas like this.

Being apart from extended family and friends feels cold and lonely. Having to stay with immediate family can be a difficult thing. 

We can feel bitter against the government for the order that brought us here.

There is ethnic tension and political distrust. 

There is fear and despair over the future.

Where are you, Lord?

Nobody could have imagined a Christmas like this.

Yet here it is, right in the Bible.

A Roman government order goes out that everybody be registered.

An unwed couple with child has to travel nearly 100 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. 

There are no family and friends for them to stay with. Scandal surrounds their family situation. 

This unwed, expecting couple probably felt lonely, unwanted and cold.

And it was here that Christ the Lord came — to a lonely, unwanted, scandalous family situation amidst ethnic tension and political distrust between the Jewish and Romans.

So if you can identify with anything that was just described this Christmas, rejoice. 

Rejoice, because the Lord came on Christmas for people just like you.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. - John 1:9–13 (ESV)