Monday Musings ~ Jet Lag and Japan

I have never experienced the power of jet lag quite like I have this trip!  Perhaps that is because I never traveled to the other side of the world!  I stay awake all day and function okay - but I can't sleep at night.  I'm having a bit of an out of body experience!  Unfortunately, I'm still responsible for various things in life that can not be put off for another week so I just keep plugging away! 

Disclaimer:  If I say or do anything goofy - it is obviously due to jet lag because we know I wouldn't do that normally, right?

Here are some unique things about Japan:

It is quiet.  SHHHHHH!  I have never been to such a quiet place. 

Even as people pour out of the train station, it is quiet.  You really only hear the sound of footsteps.  They patiently stand in line to go up the escalator or the stairs.  There is no pushing and shoving.  There is no rude language.  Let's just say that is quite the contrast to our train stations here in Chicago!  Even as we walked along the streets of Tokyo, it was so quiet.  Even the construction was quiet - seriously, it really was!

 The Japanese are very practical.  Space is used so well providing everything you need without anything you can live without.  Our hotels were the perfect example of this.

I don't know if you can tell, but this is one tiny bathroom.  There is a lever on the sink that you can switch to use water in the sink or water in the shower.  You have to shuffle a bit to fit in there, but it works!  Heated toilet seats are standard, also, so I would say they have their priorities right!  A toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, dryer and even in some instances, a hairbrush, are provided.  They also supply you with pajamas which people wear down to breakfast.  If you were a business traveler, you could travel around the country taking very little with you.  It makes sense!

There is an expectation of perfection.  The work day is long and the expectations are high. It is a beautiful country where order and fitting in are highly valued.  For much of the country, being different or individual is not valued and could even be shunned.   Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.  Death is chosen over failure in too many instances. 

That breaks my heart.  The message of grace is desperately needed. 

I did have the privilege of sharing the story of The Prodigal Son in two different locations.  What good news that even as we sin and go our own way, God runs toward us ready to welcome us back.  The righteousness of Jesus covers our sin.

This is the symbol for grace.

Don't you love it?  The cross makes all the difference.  The message of grace is powerful in any language but in Japanese culture, it is difficult to accept.

I'm so thankful for the wonderful people we met who are willing to spend their lives delivering the message of God's grace.  He loves His people and desires for all of them to come to know Him.  My heart will never be the same.  I long to see these people come to know Jesus.  In a country with less than 1% of the population professing Christianity, there is a great need for believers to go and to share.  I am so grateful for the Japanese who have made the choice to follow Jesus and are reaching out to their fellow countrymen.  

Would you pause and pray for the country of Japan and continue to do so as the Lord brings it to mind? 

 

Will you take advantage of the opportunities you have to share Christ with those around you?  His grace is desperately needed here in the USA as well.

 

My heart is forever changed.