talk with the lady at starbucks

so, i went to the starbucks in the taipei medical university near where i live to use the internet. i was preparing to relax, get on the internet, listen to music, people watch, etc. i went in and a lady sitting by herself offered me a seat where she had put her stuff because it was closer to the outlet. i noticed she had the book the Life of Pi (a classic).

i thanked her, set up my stuff, bought my internet card (100NT - 3 U.S. dollars - for a whole day, incredibly cheap), bought a drink and sat down. my internet worked fine, but then all of a sudden, it stopped working.

i asked the starbucks employee to help me, and after everything she did, she said everything was fine. i thought that was weird so i kept trying to figure it out. i saw the lady who offered me a seat kept looking over at me and my computer. i looked over at her and smiled. then, she started talking to me, lol.

she asked me if i was ABC (i guess they can tell, haha), and i said yes. she then asked me what i was doing here and since my internet wasn't working, i kept talking to her. after a while, i looked at my internet, and guess what?! the wireless wasn't on! i think God switched it off, lol.

anyway, we started talking and i told her i arrived just three days ago and proceeded to tell her the story of why i came. i asked her why she was here, and she said "to see the doctor" (kan4 bing4)....literally it's "to check out her disease/sickness" but it could mean anything from a cold to something more serious. kan4 bing4 is very general. i mean, it was the taipei medical university. she looked tired and worn.

then her next question surprised me. she goes, "you just seem....so...happy". and i kind of chuckled and said, "i'm christian?" then she goes, "does that make a difference?" she spoke english well. and i proceeded to tell her my testimony....i told her that before i came here, i had a job, i chased after money, etc. but i realized that life isn't about that, etc. i said more about my ex-job. i asked if she was christian, and she said yes, but not very familiar with it. i don't know why she said yes. maybe she had accepted christ in the past....

i asked her what she does and she goes, "i'm an international saleswoman...but i don't like my job. when i see other people that love their jobs, i'm so envious, because i want to be able to find a job that i love too." i thought, is her sickness so bad that she can't start over?

then she goes "you seem very ambitious", and i laughed and said, "what's the definition of ambitious? i would say i was ambitious in regards to pursuing career and everything before, but now ambitious means something else altogether for me." she goes, "you're from the u.s., so your parents must have some money to take care of you. it's not like you need to work hard to put food on the table. why are you so ambitious still?" well, i explained to her that there are too many opportunities in this world not to pursue them, and i felt that if i became a lawyer, i would be able to tell people, yeah i'm a lawyer. but again, i realize that life isn't about that at all." then i had to leave for a bit for some reason, i came back, and we just started talking about something else.

when she got up to leave, she smiled and said bye, and i smiled and said "it was great talking with you."

WOW. when i was there, it felt like a regular conversation with a woman, but now that i think back on it, i hope it was a powerful testimony that gave her hope and transformed her thinking, esp in the kind of situation she was in. many times when people do what they call "evangelize", it seems like a glorious thing and you're doing so much for God, but honestly, it's just about being yourself and having other people see the life of Christ in you, esp people like her. we really aren't sacrificing a lot, albeit, i did suffer and learn A LOT to be in this position, but i realize now, it's all for the glory of God! all of that learning is so i can tell other people what God has done in my life. God really is the one doing all the behind-the-scenes work and we are his result.

WOW...all glory to God and none to me, because i pretty much did nothing. lol.

i hope to whoever is reading this, it lifts you up.

God Bless!!

/edit/

I'm feelin' this song, oh yeeeeaaaah......

"THE SHOUT OF THE EARTH WILL BE YOUR PRAISE,
GOD FOREVER,
AND THE LIGHT UNTO ALL WILL BE YOUR WONDERFUL NAME,
FOR THE GLORY LORD IS YOURS,
GOD FOREVER,
ALL THE GLORY LORD IS YOURS....."

KING ABOVE KINGS!