Under House Arrest

Coming from a family of 6 kids, while growing up, I always wanted privacy and personal time. I remember the fairly recent days of sharing a bathroom with my 5 siblings. It wasn’t unusual to have at least 3 people using our small bathroom at one time, if not 4. When the gossip would get really exciting, Max was sure to run in to join the bathroom party. So, moving away to Bangkok was stimulating in this way too. I was going to live on my own for the first time. Complete privacy and independence.

As I explained in my previous blog, less than a week after my arrival, security was tightened due to the military crackdown on the red shirts protests. Thus before I even had a chance to settle down and get somewhat accustomed to a new routine, I was put under house arrest….well, sort of. The UN takes strict security measures to ensure the safety of its staff. After being evacuated, we didn’t return to work for 10 days. Out of those days, we were restricted from going out of doors only 3 or 4 days. However, because public transportation was shut down and curfew imposed, it made it impossible to go anywhere outside my immediate neighborhood on the other days.

It was a long 10 days!! I did venture out every day when I was allowed, just to get some humid, polluted Bangkok air and not completely lose my sanity. A couple of times I got lunch with another intern who lives in the same complex and I talked to my friend, who lived much closer to the conflict, on the phone everyday for a few minutes just to make sure she was alive. One major benefit was that I had plenty of time to skype with family and friends. Other than that, I was pretty much dreadful. We were supposed to be “working from home”, but I had been in the office for only 3 days before the evacuation, so I didn’t know what I was doing and needed much guidance. Besides, I’ve already explained that I’m pretty much ignorant.

It was also a time of great uncertainty. My boss, Gerry, called almost every day for a quick check-up. I understood that if the conflict escaladed anymore, then there was a good chance that I would be sent home. The problem was, was that for about 5 days no one knew what was going to happen. It didn’t get better or worse. It was very nerve-racking and I just wanted something to happen; at some point, I didn’t even care what. I just wanted to either go back to work or be sent home.

I lead an extremely busy and structured life at home; I mean, I make plans to be spontaneous! So, I found myself on completely unknown territory not because I was in Bangkok amidst a political crisis, but because I had so much free time on my hands and no responsibilities to tend to.

There are different seasons in our lives for a reason. A few days into my forced isolation, I began to question why I don’t take advantage of this time and really enjoy it. Had I really grown so accustomed to structure that I couldn’t enjoy going with the flow? Why was it so important for me to always be busy and seemingly productive? Why not take available time to read novels, listen to music (I mean really listen to music) and study the Bible (not to mention spend hours on Facebook and skype)? This was a very strange phenomenon to me, but a lesson and time in my life that I really needed.

Thankfully, God knows our limits. And I’m sure he knew that I can’t enjoy a life of solitude and pleasure for more than 10 days. So, we finally returned to work and life began to resume to normal slowly, but surely.

During this time, however, I learned 2 important lessons that are interconnected. I began to gain a new appreciation for my time, family, friends, activities, classes, and work. Simultaneously, I better understood how crucial it was to have time off and really enjoy it. The two must really balance each other out; one without the other will ultimately result in a meaningless life. We must strive to serve God and live a life of purpose; however, we must be sure to take the time to actually seek him and enjoy the simple gifts he has given us. John Piper sums it up pretty well in this quote: “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”