The View from the Top

Oh, today was a VERY, VERY FUN day at work!!!!

It was Dawn's birthday on Monday. Kenji's birthday was last month while he was away.
So, today we celebrated the two of them with a surprise birthday party.
Balloons, party hats, food and CAKE! It was a fun lunch time celebration.

After lunch I had a meeting, did some work... and then a call from downstairs!
"Come down, we're having cake, homemade hot fudge and ice cream!"
Two of our colleagues are heading home this Friday and won't be back until after the New Year. They treated us to afternoon merienda as an early Christmas celebration. Oh their homemade hot fudge is INCREDIBLE!!!

I headed back upstairs for a few more hours of work. And then I got distracted... the Christmas lights were turned on outside on the city streets. And, it was beautiful! I took some pictures from out of the window and then decided that the view from up top would probably be better.

So, Rexey and I asked our so friendly and helpful building staff if we could get on the 4th floor. Not only did we get to go to the 4th floor, but Kuya also let us climb up to the upper roof. The view from there was BEAUTIFUL!!! All around us were the buildings and the twinkling city lights. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!

Okay, honestly...I almost missed out on seeing it.

When we got to the 4th floor Kuya pointed to the metal ladder that leads up to the upper roof and said it's better from up there. No problem, I thought. So, I stepped up and started to climb and then all of a sudden started to get fearful. So I stepped down, back to the ground and said never mind.

Rexey was so quick. She got up on the ladder and just made her way up. And when she got to the top I heard her expression -- one that made me feel ... "Oh! I don't want to miss out on that!"

And so... I put down cellphone, my keys, and my camera. I decided I'd get back up on that ladder, climb all the way up -- and see the view for myself. Oh and it was worth the few minutes of nervousness!!! It was beautiful!

Kuya and Rexey were so good at encouraging me when I decided that I would go up (and when I was having a hard time getting back on the ladder to go back down! HAHAH!). I was so glad that they were there to encourage me -- not to push me or force me -- but to sweetly encourage me to not miss out on something great.

I'm thankful that in my life God has put people alongside me and has challenged me with moments like that.
Moments when I have the chance to look at the opportunities, recognize feelings of fear and uncomfortableness, and have the opportunity to choose to move forward or stay stuck.

A fun day.