Sunday, November 6, 2011

Eat My Shoes


Photo By Daryl Goh
These are my shoes; new shoes which I like very much. My friends tell me that they look like my previous pair, but they aren't. They feel different, wrapped around my feet like sandals warriors used to wear.

Just the other day, it was raining an angry, monsoon kind of rain, as heavy as it gets in Singapore. I was fighting to stay dry, hunched under a borrowed umbrella. In my mind, the puddles were oceans and I was skipping from island to island with a single thought, "I mustn't get my new shoes wet!"

It was the same day that I received news of the worst flooding in 20 years in Thailand. More recently, I came across this picture of a girl holding up her shoes while wading through the floodwaters, as if to taunt my immaturity.  Here I was, worried about staining my S$140 shoes, while the Thais were having their homes and belongings destroyed by the waters.

Today in church, I heard Pastor Helen preach on the issue of calling on the name of the Lord. I learnt about the heart of God when people call out to him in suffering or anguish. The fact that God doesn't wish to see anyone perish, either spiritually or physically.

Recently, a friend from secondary school asked if I wanted to contribute to hungry kids in Thailand. through a program called "Nourish The Children", which is a for-profit organisation launched by Nu Skin Enterprises. The initiative aims to provide the victims in Thailand with nourishing meals through VitaMeals. Each bag feeds 30 meals. Providing someone a meal for a month (3 bags) would cost $120.

Imagine that. A month of meals for less than a pair of shoes.

I believe that sometimes, God wants us to be the answer instead of praying for answers. This is an excellent opportunity to be God's answer to those in Thailand. If you would like to be a part of this, contact me with your pledged amount and I'll link you up with my contact at Nu Skin. Alternatively, donations can be made through the Singapore Red Cross South East Asia Floods Appeal.

Whichever way you choose.

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food..."
| Jesus - Matthew 25:34-35 |

Friday, November 4, 2011

Inhale

Here come the floods, princess,
Leave everything behind.
You never really created, only captured
and pieced together like baby's fingers grasping.

I breathe, and I am in awe.
I hear the rise and I fall.
These are days of beauty,
so full, like walks in the rain.

What kind of love are these roses?
The only promise you try to suffocate.
I want your thorns broken
and your petals, wet.

Soak just a little while
in a stranger's smile and gaze.
While I search for ways
for us, to last, a little, longer.

- Daryl Goh