Interesting thoughts from the day before

The day before, I had many interesting revelations.

We met up with one of my mom's roommates from college for lunch after church. It was interesting to hear her talk about my mom, what she was like in college, and why she loves my mom. I've only ever known how my dad and other family members view my mom...never really got to see her through her friends' eyes. It was cool...it made me really appreciate her for who she is.
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This same roommate of my mom's, Annie,...her and my mom haven't seen each other for around 10 years (they were trying to figure out when was the last time they had seen each other and they couldn't pinpoint the exact time...). And in this short time period, so far, that we've been in Taiwan, my mom has made over a dozen phone calls to her old friends, college friends especially, telling them that she's back and she wants to meet up. This got me to thinking...Life is like a river. It tends to fork off, branch out and every person tends to take a different course. Some people will be further away than others. Especially when people start getting married and starting their own families...we'll be greatly blessed by God to even see each other (forget about EVERYONE getting together...that's next to impossible) once every 3-5 years...maybe even 10 years for some. My mom thinks I'm bored when I tag along to all these lunches, dinners, etc. with her friends...but the truth is, I'm not. It's interesting to hear their intelligent conversations and I also understand why she gets so excited about seeing these people. She hasn't seen them in over 10 years! I imagine myself in her shoes; if I hadn't seen Laura, Sheila, or Maya for over 10 years, I would be pretty darn excited too, child or no child...they're coming along with me whether they like it or not lol =P.
It made me think about my keeping-in-touch habits...how even when I happen to be in Atlanta or in whatever other city where I happen to have good friends, I never really contact them because I'm lazy or I think "oh there will always be another chance"...but I'm realizing now, that no, there won't be any other chance. Right now, I'm standing right at that part where the river forks off into a couple of directions with each of my friends (including me) taking a different way....so the chance I have now might be the last for a really long time...It's a sobering thought...Life and how time passes by...
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People usually start going to church for the free food and fellowship. Then they start going to church for serving purposes (because they serve some kind of position in the church). Then, when they have a real relationship with God, they start going to church for God....Going to church for God...That's a necessary reminder for me sometimes...
I'm not going to church for myself, to get what I want...I go to church to meet Him. FOR Him...just like I live my life for Him.
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I had this thought on Sunday but one of the quiet times that I translated today just so happened to be on this exact same thing...
A day is a thousand years,
A thousand years are like a day to the LORD.
(paraphrased from 2 Pet 3:8)
Quick changes for immediate results are not permanent. Our society nowadays emphasizes speed. The faster we fix something, the more improved and better it is. The faster it runs, the more improved it is. But we can see that the faster it also breaks down...the more it needs to be fixed...and the shorter its life span. Therefore, this kind of principle goes against God's law of natural growth. If we want permanent, lasting, transforming results, the process will be slow. It will be gradual. But it will be lasting. It won't need to be fixed, or touched up or updated. The results will be permanent.