Love is a decision

What do we live for?

The New and the Beautiful
Long long time ago, I used to be a shopaholic. If you relate to that term, see if you relate to this,
I used to own:
40 watches (some of which were given to me because friends knew i liked watches),
50 bags (different shapes and sizes to match clothes)
earrings so many I couldnt count.
And when I went on my frequent shopping trips to Thailand (years ago), I used to stock up on everything beautiful. There's always something more beautiful than the last thing I bought.

Retailers always manage to come up with something different, new, unique to attract sales.

Ours is a society of disposables. When something new and beautiful comes along, the older, less beautiful gets put aside. Sometimes it's just out of plain boredom.

People: Disposables?
People are another thing altogether. They are always unique, constantly changing, each beautiful in their own way. Some more obvious than others. Some still discovering their own beauty. Still some needing others to tell them how beautiful they are. And many still trying to accept the truth of their beauty. People dont come with manuals, expiry dates or guarantee cards. People are not disposables. If you are like me, at some point in our lives, wished we could 'exchange' some people in our lives with what others have. Parents, teachers, pals, boyfriends, classmates, colleagues.

We think that if we only had this/that particular teacher, we would've performed better. If we only had a husband/wife, our lives would be happier. If only...

"Love is a decision". We decide to love a person whether he/she deserves it. We can't simply give up on a person just because they have failed us in our expectations of them. We can't 'replace' them with someone else just for the heck of it. But i can see the effects of being brought up in an 'instant' society. "If this doesn't work out in so-many months, we'll call it quits."

I thank God for all the people in my life who believed in me, gave me a challenge, helped stretch me beyond what i think i can do. People who decided, and still continuously decides to love me despite of everything. People who stuck by me through all the ups and downs, doubts and uncertainties. People who believed in me even when i didnt believe in myself. Thank you all, for deciding to love. Not judging me when i had 40 watches, not condemning me when i gave up my cool career. And most of all, thank you for not walking out on me when I needed to do this missionary work, even when you didnt understand, you persevered, thank you.