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.

Photo By DAMIR SAGOLJ/REUTERS

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 |

Discover The Dusk Of Your Day Has Turned To Dawn

Something doesn't sync. I wish I could figure it out but I cannot pinpoint the cause. People tell me, "No one has it all figured out. That's what life is for isn't it? "

Isn't it?

I think life should be more than a struggle to stay in balance, trying to avoid one extreme or the other. We forget that God IS the spectrum; our characters and personality are all from Him. He exists and owns it all. He is anger and justice and judgement. He is Love and forgiveness and pardon. At the same time.

The problem is He is the spectrum and we have no idea how to embrace it all. 

As I said before, I've been out of sync. As much as I am able I'm remaining faithful with what ministry I've been assigned to. I've served in my church almost all my life. I throw my life into my work at Christian Outreach to the Handicapped. I throw my life into the Worship Ministry in my church. I throw my life into the Youth Ministry in church. I've been giving and serving from the overflow of what God has given to me.

But lately, its not been fulfilling.

I feel a little bit betrayed lately. I feel my heart is a little bit raw. Like a prime cut, beaten pink, and ready for the heat. People are not the cause. There is a underlying reason for all this frustration. A desire that has not been met, a path not travelled, a direction mistaken. Where did I veer off?

Andrew Loh was preaching about my favourite passage in John chapter 4 recently. It was about Jesus when He met the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus was alone because the disciples had all gone to buy food. Andrew then made a little observation, "Why did it take 12 disciples to go and buy lunch? Maybe the food was really heavy!"

And there was my revelation and it hit me hard. Like the 12 disciples, we get so caught up in life. We're struggling so hard, arguing with one another about which is the best way to buy lunch. We've abandoned Jesus. We aren't where the miracles are happening. That is my frustration. I'm letting life entangle me with its meaningless squabbles.

Lift up your eyes! I want to be with Jesus.

Livin' On A Prayer

She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. I would see her when I went to have lunch in the multi-purpose hall. She would see me and look down with her smile on her face. As if shy to show me how glad she was to see me. Her smile is unaffected by the cerebral palsy that ravages her body and hinders her movements. It is a smile that burrows past any walls, as if challenging me with her gentleness. I always stopped to say hello and have a conversation and she was always glad to oblige. Tonight I saw her in hospital and she looked down smiling again. But she struggled to remember my name. I'm glad she didn't forget. She was fighting. Against thoughts of death, against bad memories, against frustration, against fear.

Think about Jesus. Jesus is in you. Jesus loves you!

She would repeat those precious words when I spoke them over her. She adored that name. I was fighting too, almost defeated by tears. There was righteousness to be done and we drenched her with love and encouragement. Her sister asked me whether it was a spiritual, or satanic attack. I quickly answered no and assured her that she was a daughter of God who could not be taken over by the devil. But I do believe that the devil, filthy parasite that he is, would always want more of a person. The issue isn't whether God lets it happen or not. The issue is whether we are defending each other with the Word of God.

She sang bravely. Songs of hope, songs of promise. She sang to Jesus and I believe He took notice. Her eyes held recognition more regularly. She remembered family members when they came to visit and she called them on the mobile phone when they didn't. It struck me how often she was apologising to the people around her. It reminded me of Jesus healing the man with palsy in the Bible. The first thing He said when He saw the man was, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

It makes me wonder if the mind and its conscience, the body and its health are somehow all interconnected. Maybe Jesus understood that forgiveness was synonymous with healing. After all, we don't see Jesus examining that man for signs of depression or the state of his mental health. He probably knew that it was all linked. We all want to be forgiven and we all have a Forgiver.

Daughter, your sins are forgiven. Get up and go home!