Introduction

Reality is like gravity
Even if it's a faint light, a tiny hope
The weight of worry
Time to choose
Spring returns after beating winter
Somewhat warmly
During Lent
When we meet the breath of God
Towards the sea of ​​eternity
In the damp soil
Beautiful and wide land
Language with margins
It's still dark though
Pattern of Time
Leisure and space
Speed ​​of the mind
Even a handful of sunlight
A cold and painful love
Hope for life
Drive away the feeling of being overwhelmed
Nobody
Faithful learning
Leaning on slowness
small tree shade
Poplar leaves
Warm gaze
The light comes through memory
Quiet and simple
Every time I see a rainbow
Distance from desire
One's own life
What the brook says
Neighbor's daily life
Approaching movement
Inner landscape
Flower-eating bird
A faint possibility of good
The Courage to Exist
The wisdom to know when to stop
some letter
How to distinguish between day and night
Into the laughter of the trees
Riding the wave
Thank you so much for your patience.

Note

I hope that it will sometimes be a comfort and strength, and sometimes a challenge,
A letter written with slow breathing, as if speaking to the world

From the first week of January to the first week of November 2021, when we had no choice but to hold non-face-to-face worship services due to COVID-19, I wrote 44 letters, thinking of Christians who were diligently living their given daily lives and of my beloved parishioners. This book is compiled.
This is the second pastoral letter, following "Living with Longing," published in March 2021, and is a record of a pastor's struggle to maintain his direction while being swept along by the merciless river of time.

A letter I started writing to fill the gap in time.

In the two years since COVID-19 took over the world, "non-face-to-face worship," which was initially an unfamiliar term, has become the new standard.
Now, instead of going to church every Sunday morning, we have become accustomed to turning on the Internet at home and participating in worship services through video.
The author waited and waited, wondering when they would be able to meet face to face again and worship together, and began writing letters to fill the gap in time.
In a narrow sense, this is a letter written with the members of Cheongpa Church in mind, but in a broader sense, it is a letter written with everyone in mind who is doing their best to live the daily life given to them.
Like the letter the author received from his father in the countryside when he came to Seoul to study as a child, or like the letters exchanged between scholars of old such as Toegye Yi Hwang, Nammyeong Jo Sik, Heo Gyun, and Gwon Pil, or like the letter the Apostle Paul sent to believers 'hoping that they would stand tall in Christ,' I poured my heart into each and every word, hoping that it would be a comfort to some and a challenge to others.


Is a life aligned with desire sustainable?

The author interprets COVID-19 as a kind of 'stop signal'.
I take this as a warning to those who are 'breathless as they run through the fields of desire' to 'stop for a moment and look at themselves'.
However, he is bitter that not many people seem to understand the meaning behind this 'stop signal'.
We just want things to go back to how they were before as soon as possible.
I want to get back to my daily life and run through the fields of desire like I used to.
However, the author says, 'Now is the time to examine our lives.'
He emphasizes that we must ask ourselves again and again whether our current life, which is conditioned by desire, can truly be sustained in the future, and whether the current system, which forces people into the wheel of endless competition, truly conforms to God's will.
Soon we will return to our daily lives, and then naturally, ‘social distancing’ will disappear.
So, what is the attitude toward life we ​​need now? The author calls it "distance from desire."
I urge you to slow down your heart a little and live at God's pace.