I'm sitting in the front room of what used to be my flat some three years ago. For the last couple of weeks, I've been back in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the first time since leaving at the end of my apprenticeship in 2007, and it's been wonderful to come back. In something that seems a little bizarre given the short time I was out here (after all, I only spent 11 months in KL), the last few weeks have felt more like coming home than going on holiday, and it's been a real pleasure meeting old friends.
In wondering why that is, a clue was offered in the Bahasa Malaysia song that makes up the title, which I was sing yesterday. It translates as "In Jesus, we are family", and coming back here makes me feel how true that is. I'm not returning to acquaintances, or even close friends. In a very real sense it's coming back to family, family who welcomed me in and I shared my life with those years back. A new family, in Jesus Christ with God as Father.
"And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."Matthew 12:49-50
The flipside is that it makes departing harder than the average holiday. Maybe it's time to start looking again at the flight costs for next year...
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