Satisfaction and happiness

Recently China Central TV made a street survey to "regular people" with a question: Are you happy? The answers were extraordinary. Actually, I have not seen this program and have not heard the answers, except those answers which happened to be extraordinary.

For example, one 20ish student (male), who was queuing to buy a train ticket, was asked by the reporter: What do you want the most? He answered: a girl friend. Reporter: what is the worst thing you have faced so far? Answer: while talking to you, so many people have bypassed me in the queue.

If you didn't get the fun of above reply, don't worry. It's much more fun in Chinese language, haha.

Anyhow, all those extraordinary answers, but the question is actually really simple and valid. Are you happy?

In China, people have a difficulty to define happiness! Perhaps it is same in many other parts of the world. What does it mean to be happy?

Reflecting on our recent life here, contentment and satisfaction come to my mind. Reflecting on the past many years of life, continuous contentment and satisfaction have been a significant "trademark". I could define my happiness in this way: being content and satisfied. This definition rises above the changes in life situations, working environments, living locations, or any other life situations. Proudly, I think this is in line with the Biblical definition of happiness: Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth (Paul's 1st Letter to Timothy, Chapter 6, verse 6. New Living Translation).

Elaborating the thought: why happiness requires both contentment and true godliness? This would come back to the question of the definition of happiness. Relativism argues that everyone can be happy in their own way; truth argues that there is one essential factor to enable happiness, without which there will not be true happiness. Relativism argues further that how can anyone define what is true for another; truth argues that horizontally nobody can define happiness for another, but vertically God has already defined it.

Ah the wonders of our post-modern society and world. Perhaps below picture illustrates the idea of relativism. :)

Another aspect to happiness: "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Paul's Letter to Philippians, Chapter 4, Verses 6-7. New Living Translation)

Can it be possible? You bet. Believing is happiness! Think about a child who fully believes in the abilities of her father/mother, what a happy child! I am content, now.

Recent developments

It was hard to come up with a title for this blog post, so I apologize for the mundane title it now has. However, hopefully the pictures in this post compensates for your interest.

Life has indeed progressed most rapidly in recent months, so rapidly that I have not had time. Yes, not had time. This is of course a concept worth to be reviewed with more details, I mean the concept of "not had time". Here it acts just as an open excuse for the negligence this blog has experienced in recent months.

May went by with travels, grandma's funerals, busy working weeks, and relatives visiting us.

June went by with some travels, some busy working weeks, some visiting relatives and related bureaucracy, some self studying, and some preparatory works for small group studies.

July went by with seeing off wife and baby, intensive self studies, frequent hospital visits (non-serious nature), emergency business travel, and traveling to the other home country on earth.

The past 2 weeks has been busy with meeting friends and family, traveling, camping, re-capturing our previous life, and partially meditating on our future life. Still ahead is the last part of this holiday trip and then returning to the current home country and the everyday life there.

I am good at giving long lists of what I have done, here comes a short list of what I have found out or pondered about:
- Life in China is very hectic, too hectic. We need to do something about our life there to get things rolling smoothier.
- Life in Finland is very nice, but we do not belong here no more, at this phase.
- There are tremendous opportunities for "doing good" in China.
- There are marvelous friends in our lives, which we will treasure and appreciate.
- Loving parents and family are gifts from God.
- The Creation is so beautiful, after spending 6 months in BJ, the appreciation of pure nature grew tremendously!
- Positive attitude and a clear purpose help to sustain us, all based on the goodness and immanence of God.
- I have learned to use more superlative words to express myself. Perhaps I have now had more superlative emotions? :)

Coming and going, now we are kind of used to it. People meet us and ask when we will leave. It does not feel bad, rather very encouraging: the short moments spent together are much appreciated, and we all know that our family does not belong here, for now. Knowing where we are and why we are, it is very assuring. God is a God of assurance. He does not leave anything uncertain.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Paul's first letter to Timothy, Chapter 1, verse 9: He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. 

Paul's letter to Philippian church, Chapter 3, verses 13 and 14: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

The letter to Hebrews, Chapter 3, verse 1: Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

Scenery (notice the magnificent clouds)

Picnic in the park, with dear friends

Picnic / swim in the beach, with dear friends, and wonderful weather

The tasty table at a birthday party. Wonderful makers of the cakes and snacks. :)

Earth and sky

Awe struck. "How great, how awesome art Thou!"

Making tents, everyday

Sitting in the airport chair, looking at the check-in queue, soon we will also check-in our huge amount of luggage, then it will be done.

After my previous post there has been many adventures and experiences, so much that I have started to feel numb about it all. We are on our way, in the air or somewhere in between, and that's it. Perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the nature of life for a tent maker.

Making tents is not about profession or exercise, it's about a way of life. When I am totally surrendered to Christ, no matter where I am and which people I meet, I will be an active testimony for Him. It's not how much I talk about Him, it's about how much I look like Him in character.

Tentmaking is easy, but it requires total submission in order to be effective. Everyday, we can either pitch our own tent or contribute to the glorious Kingdom of Christ, what will you choose?

The State of Leaving

"Breaking up is hard to do", says good old song. We are not breaking up, just moving, internationally. We have been living a time of changes, saying goodbyes, packing, unpacking, looking through our stuff and choosing which we want and which to be thrown away. It isn't easy, and we already hope that this period of time will be over.

Yes, it will be over. Every day is closer to the final move, and the transition is always only transition.

Leaving a place is all about inventory, whether be it material or mental garage of life. The moments of joy and sorrow, familiar buildings and surroundings, precious friends, wonderful family (also church family!), everyday meals, nominal routines... Let them be, let them be. Life will continue without us, everything will move on.

We won't, the life of now stays in our minds as a still picture, which we will treasure and zoom in to look at whenever missing home. We will enter another sphere, new rhythm and melody, our life will join the millions of other people in the busy metropolis of China.

What do we take with us? The still picture of current life, the pain of transition, and the excitement of new life.
What do we leave behind us? The possibilities we did not live out, the Finnish childhood Viivi will not have, the events in friends' and family's lives we will miss, and the steady life that would have continued.

Regrets? Life does not give opportunity to regret. There is no if, there is no but. Life goes on, the state of leaving is part of it, and we live through it.

During these times, the words of Paul comforts me:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Paul's Letter to Philippians 1:20-21)

Let it be a transition that exalts Christ, let it be a change that glorifies Jesus. To live is Christ, He does not change.

Living by faith includes leaving by faith. No matter where we are, we long for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefor God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16)

In that heavenly country, we will rejoice forever. No need to transit, no need to leave.

Ja "hyvästi" -sanaa ei tunnetakaan. ("Viimeiset veneet", Lasse Heikkilä)