Contextualization

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not rice, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

I am the rice of life.

Sometimes you just have to cross the street and trust that the cars won’t hit you. In fact, this is the only way to cross the street in China. If you try to wait for the cars to clear up, you’ll wait a long time, so the best plan is to inch your way out into the street and let the taxis and motorbikes go around you, like a river around a boulder.

I recently had to make a decision about whether or not to stay in China for another year. I had been thinking about it since January, asking the father to give me direction, sorting out my own motives for making a decision either way, trying to distance myself from everything that frightens me about staying and about coming home. I wish I could tell you that on the day the decision was due, I had certainty about what to do, but the truth is I was no closer to knowing than I had been in January. It was Thursday, March 15 (beware the Ides of March), and I was in agony as I hourly changed my mind.

In the end, I decided to come home, and it feels like I’ve stepped out into six lanes of oncoming traffic. Father, do not abandon the works of your hands.