You Fought For Me

Most would begin with memories of growing up together. But by the time I had any recollection of you, you were already on the edge of adulthood. What I do remember is that we were roommates for a few years and our room smelled of girly things. Everything was pink. From the figurines of sheep, dolphins and precious memories dolls to the bedsheets. Most days, you would stare into the mirror putting on makeup, almost poking your eyes out with those pesky contact lenses.

And there were books everywhere. They were thick and the pages were brown. They never ever had any pictures and they smelled funny. I hated them. But when you weren't home, I would read because you were always engrossed in them. I thought that maybe, if I spent the same amount of time looking at the words it would work for me as well.

I was going into secondary 3 and my teacher said my results weren't good enough to get into the literature stream. I just didn't understand why they had to ask all those stupid questions about the characters when all we needed to do was enjoy the story. But you saw it differently. You barked at my teacher for not giving me a chance. You said you were an expert in Literature (always so humble) and you would ensure that I would do well for my exams. You said you would guarantee it. On hindsight, I'm glad I didn't get into that stream. They might have killed my interest for reading.

You used to be so aggressive. A forest fire or an avalanche. You might think that you've toned down. But I think you've gone from fighting loudly to fighting wisely. You choose your battles now, shaking your fists at the enemy - Ignorance, faithlessness and fear. But loving its victims back to wholeness. Most of the time I overhear stories about you. Whispers of how you inspire and how well you teach. How your name comes up when we are discussing who could serve up something to satisfy those who are hungry for the Word.

Most of all, I'm grateful for your consistency in pointing to Jesus. Thank you Jie Jie!
Happy Birthday, Lynette.