"On Giant's Shoulders" by Future of Forestry, Saturday, May 29, 2021

After several members of the Christian Rock band Something Like Silas dissolved, some of the members came together to start a new indie rock project. The band's name was taken from a C.S. Lewis poem of the same name. Debuting in 2007, Future of Forestry has gained acclaim from music critics and the group has a modest following. They have not been hit producers; however, their music has shown up in numerous TV shows and movies. Fronted by classically-trained composer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Owyoung, who now operates the band as a solo project, Future of Forestry's music is layered and undeniably artistic. However, I just wish they would learn the rules of where to put apostrophes.

YOUR HEART HAS BROUGHT YOU TO THIS LAND WHERE YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND BOLD. "So, you're about to graduate. What are you doing next?" I asked a friend in college. My being a super-senior made me have this conversation every semester with classmates who were going on to brighter days before me. "I don't know. I'd like to travel. Maybe go to Korea and teach English for a year. I want to connect with my father's side of the family," River said. Recruiters for the missionary academy came to my college every year. Another friend said he wanted to teach in Taiwan so that he could learn some Mandarin. I knew from my time in Yap that hot places weren't for me. I get so sluggish when I'm in the heat. River was the girl I traveled to Yap with, and I had stayed with her family for a few days before going to Yap. Her parents had met in Korea. Her mother had been taught for a year and her father had been one of her mother's business English students. He wrote to her years later when she had returned to America, and the two eventually got married. 

THE DAY THAT YOU ARRIVED YOU KNEW THAT YOU COULD RIDE ON A GIANT'S SHOULDERS. The year after asking River what she was going to do after graduation, I was in the same predicament; figuring out what to do. River ended up getting married and working for Adventist publication. Korea stuck in my head.  "I'm not sure about going there to work as a missionary because I heard that they make you teach Sabbath School, and I don't think I could teach school and teach on Sabbath, too," River said.  When my student teaching experience soured,  I reached out to a friend who was teaching there. She said be very cautious. The institute hours were long. But the adventure of it intrigued me. Going away to another country where I could be anyone I wanted. Another colleague was teaching with EPIK (English Program In Korea) in public school. I saw the Facebook pictures of drinking and barbecue, and I realized that I had to work for the church. It would keep me safe. How could I fall away from the relationship with God I had cultivated? I could be free to be anyone I wanted, and yet I chose the most restrictive path. Dear past self, it's okay to be yourself.




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