Rainy Days and Fridays . . .

Some of you may read the heading above and say to yourself, "Isn't the line 'Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down'? And . . .  you would be right, if you were singing the old Carpenters' song from the '70's. 

For me, though, its another rainy day, and its another Friday of yet another long week that has brought me yet again to near collapse, physically, as well as spiritual and emotional exhaustion. 

Or, as some followers of Christ through the ages have described it: "dryness"  Sort of ironic, don't you think?  Spiritual dryness in the midst of what appears to be incessant rainy days here in dark South Korea.

Consider this verse, as revised, from the song Richard and Karen sang over 37 years ago:

What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays [Fridays] always get me down.

That just about sums it up.  Nothing is really wrong.  I have everything I need to "survive," but let's face it, "survival" is not really "living."  I think my short trip over to Japan last week may have reminded me a little too much of what its like to be around folks from the heart of America. 

Part of my problem seems to be that the few Americans that are here at Handong still strike me as quite distant and aloof (or is it me who's distant and aloof?).  So, I'm still feeling like I don't belong and I'm walkin' around some kind of lonely clown (at least, that's the impression I sometimes get from the Koreans who surround me and smile as I fumble with my chopsticks).

So, in the midst of this "rainy dryness" I'm experiencing, I read a few Psalms and say "Lord, I am yours, save me."  I'm hoping for a bit of soul revival this weekend.  I'll be teaching the kids in the KEBS class again at Joyful Church on Sunday morning.  Kids have an amazing way of refreshing your heart.  Even a heart that is rain-soaked, yet still so dry.