The Short Version:
Believer/Wife/Mother/Runner/Writer/Teacher/Business Owner
https://www.facebook.com/irene.tang.79
https://www.instagram.com/runninggodsrace/?hl=en
*Loves: all things lime green, crazy strong coffee, lots of lemon, kale, Hoka Stinson ATR 4, Lululemon sales, Downton Abbey, Food Network, Costco, day trips with the fam to Carmel and Napa, carbo loading at Amici’s
*Pet peeves/dislikes: sand, being seated near the kitchen or restroom at restaurants, ground floor hotel rooms, toilet paper under vs over, music in the car played too quietly, humidity, ants, dusting, the word “jog”
The Long Version:
I was introduced to Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, in 1982 during my sophomore year of high school. Before that, I was one of those teenagers that just wanted to “fit in” and be like everyone else. I wasn’t a rebel or anything – except for the fact that I often resented being Asian with all the stereotypes and prejudices that came with it. Funny now to think back on that time I got an “F” on a math test and purposely left it out on my desk in class for everyone to see because that was supposed to prove I wasn’t a “stereotypical Asian.” Other than that, I consider myself quite fortunate having grown up with many luxuries and typical American childhood experiences. My parents were loving, encouraging, hardworking immigrants who became U.S. citizens shortly after moving our family from New York to California in 1973. One of my most touching memories is of mom and dad studying for their citizenship exam and our old used turn table faithfully playing English lessons on vinyl. And them asking ME (a second grader) how to pronounce words.
Looking back now, not much changed immediately after that introduction at church youth group one Friday night. I didn’t look, talk, or feel any differently. I remember thinking I would, or that I should.
Everyone has a different “testimony” of how they came to know Jesus. At the time, I wasn’t looking for any spiritual direction or answers. I wasn’t for or against church, religion, or the Bible. I was about as neutral as they come in that regard. My family started going to church that year simply because my dad didn’t want his kids to lose their Taiwanese heritage being raised in an upper middle class white community in Southern California. So, he followed the suggestion of his engineer coworker and brought his family to the only Taiwanese Christian church in the area.
It’s taken me the better part of these last thirty-five years to realize how those pieces of the puzzle fit together into the “big picture” of the life God was orchestrating – and still is today.
Perhaps because I was so neutral before I started my Christian journey, there didn’t seem to be any drastic discernible changes. I wasn’t struggling with much back then, except for the Asian thing, bad perms, failing math, and poor fashion choices (hey, leg warmers were a big deal in the 80’s). If I had to pinpoint when and how it was that Jesus made the biggest change in my spiritual life, I’d have to say it was decades later. After I got married, had kids, and started a career.
Along the way I was a faithful church goer, youth group, Bible study, and worship team leader, prayer-er, and even one who went on short term missions with my youth group and later with my hubby to Argentina.
Now don’t get me wrong; Jesus’ presence, protection, and provision in my life have been undeniable since the day I born – way before I could even say or knew His Name. But I can honestly say that I didn’t REALLY know what it meant to run with Jesus until…well…I started running.
