What a surprise and joy it is to encounter an unexpected person! I had a chance to visit a historic church in Rome with a Pauline sister from another country who took the same course as me.
When we entered the yard, a
man was repairing beautiful mosaic tiles on the ground. Because we looked at
the marvelous design most attentively with wondering eyes, he handed each of us
a piece of tiny tile split into two, saying "Perhaps you will meet each
other again someday."
After the course, all of us
returned to our respective countries. Living far away from each other, I don't
know if we will meet again, but I still keep that piece of broken tile with me.
One day, a close friend who
graduated from the same rural elementary school as me visited our Congregation.
It was a really surprising encounter after 43 years. I hadn't thought about him
in a long time.
He said coming to see me was
on his bucket list. At the beginning of our meeting, we thought our discussion
would be somewhat uncomfortable, but we talked and talked. When I saw him, I
recognized him immediately because I saw the same pure and innocent smile in
his face that I liked so much during my childhood.
A year later, I invited him to
a painting exhibition by our sisters at an art gallery in Myeongdong. Then, after
another year, I was invited to the reunion of my elementary school alumni. I
heard they had started to meet once a year.
Fortunately, this time, the
alumni gathered in Seoul, near the Congregation. So many friends living in the
country came to the capital to attend the reunion. About half of them are still
living in the same rural area, but the rest of them are living in Seoul or
Suwon.
There were about 68 friends in
our class in elementary school. This year, 42 were present at the meeting.
Wearing their name tags, they played soccer and some games on the playground in
the park.
One of the friends shared some
fruit and rice cakes with us in the playground that day. Another brought little
pieces of fast-fermented bean paste called "cheonggukjang" to share
with others. And yet another made memorial towels to present to each of us. It
was very encouraging to see these spontaneous and voluntary acts of sharing.
I just greeted them and talked
with them for a while. I couldn't remember every face but I found some familiar
ones. A few friends positively approached me, introducing themselves using
Christian names.
I went back to my Convent
before dark, but they had dinner and enjoyed their time together. Some of them
slept in a holiday villa and climbed a mountain early the next morning. Eight
of them, whom I invited to come for a bazaar being held to raise building
funds, visited the Congregation the next day as well. I really appreciated
their presence and concern for others.
To make the reunion happen,
some friends worked so hard to arrange the schedule. I wonder how they have
lived so far and what kind of experiences they have had along the way! Perhaps
we can meet again in the future.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2019/10/162_277549.html
No comments:
Post a Comment