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London/Egham Adventures (Part II)

Welcome to the second installment of my adventures in UK. I know, I know. This is long overdue. I apologize for the delay, but I’ve been running about like a headless chicken for the past few days. Ok, I exaggerate. But I was busy almost every evening and I just needed time to chill out and just not do anything. =P Enough of rambling. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

I started out my much-too-short one-day trip to London with a visit to one of my favorite places in the world – Covent Garden! I absolutely love the whole atmosphere there. Words would do it no justice, so come see! Come see!

I was kiasu (sorry for the Singlish but there is no better word to describe my kiasu-ness), so I set off from Egham early in the morning at 7.30am. I arrived at my destination at 9 plus, all ready to begin the day when I realized that Covent Garden was not open yet. Silly me! Anyway, I decided to just walk around to pass time. Slowly but surely, the place started rousing to life. What a delight!

Sellers setting up their stalls…

A young lad busy chopping onions…

The crowds filling in…

Pretty trinkets…

Stylish clothes…

Old couples enjoying a nice, leisurely, hot cuppa at the cafe…

Warmly baked pastries hot from the oven…

Bread galore…

An English artist deep in thought… Love his rugged hat and frayed jeans

A musician with his beanie and guitar strumming his heart out…

Mr Red-Nose Clown teasing the crowds…

The human statues who amuse little tots by moving suddenly when coins are tossed into their trays…

A diligent cook hard at work…

A look of concentration… I am intrigued by how seriously these people take their food. Obviously, they deliver only the best to their customers.

Can you tell now why I love this place so much? It just seems to exude a unique charm of its own. Here, the pace is brisk but not frantic, bustling but not deafening, endearing but not cloying. In all my travels, I have never found another place like this one. I could linger here all day. But alas! The hands of the clock marched mercilessly on and I soon realized that I had to leave soon. After a frenzied bout of shopping, I headed down to Leicester Square to meet a dear Christian sister of mine. I got to know her while I was studying in London. We read the bible and prayed together. Though we don’t see each other much nowadays, she’s been a great Support in my struggles with Ed and a constant encouragement in my walk with God. So very thankful to have a friend like her! After that, I met up with two other friends from university. It was another great meetup. Friendships… they sharpen. They challenge. They nourish. They encourage. They grow.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.

~ Anonymous ~

When you’re so deeply immersed in a place, you sort of take on all the quirks and character of it. That’s exactly what happened to me in London. With my friends, I did what typical Londoners do… sip tea in a cafe, sit on the lawn to bask in the sun (the luxury of springtime! I’d never do this in Singapore!), jostle with the crowds on the tube, marvel at street artists as they work their magic on the drawing board. It felt as though I had never left the place!

After a long tiring day, I finally dragged my aching legs back to Egham. I was now all ready to return to Singapore. I wished I could have spent more time in London to visit more places I used to frequent, as well as to meet up with more friends. But oh well, next time perhaps. Next time. Till then, it’s goodbye to London for now. I’ll miss you so very much!

These photos are the very reminder I need that Recovery is worth it! It is not just so that I can have the energy to visit the many places I want to visit. But I think about how there is a world out there much, much, much bigger than me, pulsing with life, surging with an uncontainable energy of its own. No matter how difficult my problems are, there are but a drop in the ocean. And regardless of how heavy my burdens may be, God who created this vast universe is able to provide me with sustenance and whatever I need to continue my journey.

I just received a piece of ‘bad’ news yesterday. Like what Sleepypig said, it has been an emotional roller-coaster for the past few months. We have been veering maniacally between brimming hope in one instant and glum melancholy in the next. But I know that everything has a purpose. I have been tempted to rest from recovery because of all the perceived obstacles ahead. But I know that this is precisely the time to dig in the heels and work real hard on improving my ‘health’ in every sense of the word.

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so we see ourselves as we really are.

~ Arthur Golden ~

Through this difficult time, I have not only learnt more about myself. I have also seen others for who they truly are. I have always feared that people would judge me or us for our current situation. At the beginning, I crouched behind a veil of secrecy because I feared they might think badly. But through Sleepypig’s encouragement, I slowly opened up and started sharing, first to my close friends, then to my colleagues, support group, and finally to my discipleship group. Sometimes, it gets tiring to have to explain the situation over and over again. But God is teaching me patience. He is also teaching me to allow others into my life and to minister to me so that we may share and carry each other’s burdens in fellowship. I realized that not only did they not judge me. They showed unceasing love and support, praying for us and taking time to find out about the latest updates. It was a huge load off my mind, knowing that we are not alone in this and that there are many people around to support and pray for us, even as we continue to ride out this long, seemingly endless waiting period.

With this, I know that I need not rely on Ed to cope with my situation anymore. Sure, the temptation will still be there. But I do want recovery because recovery means life. Recovery means not fearing food and living in bondage to eating/exercise. It means more energy to serve God, to love others, and to truly live!

May the Lord grant you all the strength and courage to walk your path too! Have a wonderful, love-filled weekend! =)




This post first appeared on Soulvoyager's Blog | Just Another WordPress.com We, please read the originial post: here

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London/Egham Adventures (Part II)

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