what's in a name?

i was reading tom's post and it got me thinking about my own blog name. i've had people asked me this before so what better way to procrastinate than to blog about it during office hours?

[adaptation]

i actually got inspired when i was watching the movie adaptation (starring nicholas cage) a few years ago. there was a dialogue between chris cooper's character (john larouche, a plant dealer) and meryl streep's character (susan orlean, an author) that went something like this:

John Laroche: You know why I like plants?
Susan Orlean: Nuh uh.
John Laroche: Because they're so mutable. Adaptation is a profound process. Means you figure out how to thrive in the world.

the last sentence about how plants adapt, grow and change in order to thrive in a new environment really made me think about my own life on earth. i figured one of the reasons why i started my blog was to document these changes (however profound or mundane) in order to gain a wider perspective on myself and the world around me. the word adaptation seemed fitting at the time but i realized it's even more appropriate now that i've graduated and living in hk.

writing this post made me curious about the word adaptation so i looked it up in dictionary.com and found the following definitions:

- something, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.

- a composition that has been recast into a new form: the play is an adaptation of a short novel.

- biology: an alteration or adjustment in structure or habits, often hereditary, by which a species or individual improves its condition in relationship to its environment.

- physiology: the responsive adjustment of a sense organ, such as the eye, to varying conditions, such as light intensity.

- change in behavior of a person or group in response to new or modified surroundings.


there's an underlying theme here. from biology to writing a screenplay to physiology, adapation is a process that involves change. it is a response to a situation or an environment that leads to something new, something different, something more suitable and something better...if you only allow it to happen and take root.

this is what it must be like when we let go and let God into our lives.

but easier said than done right? every day i'm learning more and more to trust in God's plan and above all else, to put Him first and receive His best. some days are easy and some days are harder than others.

today i just got offered a really great job that i might have to turn down because they needed someone to fill the position immediately. i have to discuss this with my boss tomorrow but she's currently in guangzhou and she won't be back until fri afternoon and i have to let the other company know by 10am friday morning. what does this mean?

it's stuff like this that makes it hard sometimes and it's also stuff like this that makes me realize i'm not letting go and letting God 100%. i'm keeping Him at the door when He's suppose to be in my heart. i'm not allowing Him to be God in all His goodness and in all His power when i'm trying to do things my way.

Dear Lord, please help me be obedient to your words and the will you have for me. To seek You above all else and to trust in the plans You have for me Lord, with all my heart and with all my soul. To acknowledge You no matter what the outcome is because You know the deepest desires of my heart. To transform me from the inside out, to renew me of my old selfish ways so that i may live to thrive in Your purpose alone.

Amen.