glory.

do you remember exactly this time last year? you were fully set on getting into HSS or NYU for your fellowship for 2012, unwilling to budge or divert from your meticulously thought out plan. you insisted on staying on the east coast and expected the results of your acceptance to comply. then match day came and your biggest fear, that didn't even seem like a possibility according to you, was realized. i saw how much it hurt and i felt your pain as if i was your siamese twin. while that wound of rejection was still fresh, our hearts dared to aspire again for UCSF. we knew it was risky to hope for it but all the signs and confirmations made us feel safe and confident. less than a week after convincing yourself this was it, you were crushed all over again. it seemed like rejection was following you around like an ugly disease. what kind of messed up deal is that? you were devastated to the point where you struggled to get out of bed. i witnessed it all unravel and the worst part was i couldn't do anything to fix it and make it all better. i would've cashed in my 401k and spent all my savings if that could have kept you from having to go through that disappointment. as i prepared to leave for hawaii and as broken as i was with my own mess, what was left of my heart ached for you. i didn't have the right words to say and i wasn't able to offer any reassuring promises. all i had was an unwavering trust in the Lord that He isn't stingy as i prayed for His redemption and providence.i believed that as much as mom, dad and i want you to succeed and be happy, God's commitment to your life and making you great spans infinitely wider. as you laid down your ambitions and died to your own flawed plans, He revealed a glimmer of hope in a distant dream called Stanford. it was exceedingly more than your imagination ever dared to reach and presumably out of your league. it was too high that we never even saw it on the horizon. but this was His plan all along. His divine intention was to give you more than you deserved and more than you ever wished for. when i see your life it's so evident that our God is too good not to be true. so banish the rejection from the past like it's going out of style and perish the thought that you are anything short of a royal priesthood and coheir w/ Christ. you lack nothing because you are perfectly loved by the One who has everything.
you were made to shine His glory and you are radiating the brightest when you are most satisfied in Him. so thank Him again and again, find ridiculous joy and crazy love, and give all the glory back to Him.
now we are only 3 1/2 weeks away from living across the country from each other. and although there's no doubt i'm going to miss you more than i can comprehend right now, i'll have so much peace knowing God hand selected you to be there. as stubborn and emphatic as you were to stay in NY, He opened up a spot for you all the way in palo alto instead. the best part is the story hasn't ended. i know that you'll keep adding chapters of His furious and radical redemption as you share testimonies that will continue to leave us in awe w/ our jaws on the ground. love you, Hong.




 Love...always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7