THE CHOICES WE MAKE

 

Autumn is my favourite season and as I was driving this morning, the colours of the trees that pave the road never fail to evoke a sense of gratitude in me. Nothing can be more beautiful than leaves rustling in the wind and falling one by one till the ground is carpeted with hues of red, orange, brown and green.

I am thankful for the songs from Spotify, for the almost desolate roads with no traffic jams and for the free coffee I have just redeemed, having drunk 10 cups over time. Small things, but all the more precious.

There are so many things that I want to do and some weeks pass with doing nothing new and then there are weeks where everything comes together all at once. I find myself engaged in so many new activities this Autumn and the thing is, I completely enjoy all of them.

There are activities that I’m naturally inclined to and there are activities that I am not.

Let’s talk about outdoor sport and gyms.

Not exactly my cup of tea but there’s one thing that I treasure most and that is good health. I owe it to myself to take care of my body because life is a gift. I prefer to stay healthy than to give reason for the doctor to prescribe tablets for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and the list goes on. Many regular activities came to a halt during the lockdown so I decided to join a fitness programme once again.

Truth be told, crawling out of a warm bed on a cold and wet morning to head to the gym is torture. But finishing a session makes me feel good all over. Hard work but rewarding. The personal trainer is all encouragement as I’m not one who naturally gravitate towards mean machines and dumb bells.

It so happens that swimming classes have also commenced after a break and when notified I decided to take that up as well. No harm checking out  if I’m Olympic material.

Autumn is also the season where many colleges offer part time programmes for people who have learnt too much but still want to learn. So I signed up for 10 classes of make up techniques – day makeup, evening makeup, contouring, block eye shadow, socket line eyeshadow, 1940s black flick red lip, smokey eye, strip lash application and everything else necessary to paint the empty canvas of a face. Nothing like letting the professional make up artist teach me a thing or two. I enjoy every bit of it and it’s all coming to an end now so next week I’ll venture into learning  stained glass techniques, something up my street.

And so I am very thankful for the choices made.

To reset the brain– to see the positive and not the negative; to overcome fear and face challenges; to be disciplined and to have the opportunity to give and serve others in church, in the neighbourhood and at home.

I am thankful to be surrounded by a good husband, children and friends.

Most of all to know that when I reach home, there are logs burning in the stove and the room is warm.

 

 

 

THANKSGIVING

I can't believe that another year is almost gone. Not much difference from 2020 except that I've got  more accustomed to certain practices: mask wearing , social distancing, queuing up for vaccines, more handwashing, avoiding crowds and generally just being careful.

This year is slightly better as we managed to travel beyond our county and visited some very lovely places. Wicklow National Park is stunning. The coast of Kerry is magical. Beehive huts and standing stones are my passion. Not forgetting lighthouses which always strike a chord within me. I would say Malin head is the tops.

 

I've also managed to enrol for art classes and I took to them like a duck to water. I've always liked drawing and everything else that my fingers do. 

Then just recently a group of us ladies from Clare completed a quilt for charity, showcasing 60 landmarks in Clare. The quilt will be hung at Shannon Airport Departure lounge soon.

If I were to summarise the year in just one word, it would be being THANKFUL.  Just last Tuesday, I woke up with a terrible pain in my stomach at 4 am. Having had gastritis before during my office days, I thought it would pass. But boy, was I wrong. The pain was relentless. Wave after wave of excruciating agony. I threw up 5 times and tossed and turned in bed to get the 'right' position to lessen the pain, all to no avail.

 

As a last resort, we went to the Limerick Hospital. Somehow the journey seemed never ending and I threw up again in the car.   

 

Praise God there were not many people there and almost immediately I was wheeled in on a trolley bed. The Pakistani lady doctor was extremely kind and attentive. In fact she was happy to tell me she had visited Malaysia before and loved it. The nurses too were reassuring and there was not one cross word heard. 

I knew I was in fine hands.   

                                                                                  

So as I lay on the bed waiting for this and that test to be done, every decade of my life flashed before me. Good times, sad times. There was one common denominator though. 

GOD. 

 

In every decade He was there - the 7 year old child with very simple faith, the university student questioning God because suddenly she was overwhelmed by the worlds of  Yeats, Kafka and Thomas Hardy, the mother in anguish over her young children, the associate professor who took to the stage to share her research .

 

And now there I was lying on the trolley bed still needing and trusting God. The only difference was I was ready to meet my Maker. I knew I had lived my life and there was no bucket list.

 

But God had other plans and I was discharged. Because I was still weak, I had to cancel a number of appointments that I had made earlier. One of them was meeting up with my friend Carrie for coffee in Quigleys cafe Nenagh. I texted her and asked whether I could see her on Friday instead.

 

I brought a pumpkin for her from my plot because I knew she would love to make delicious stuff out of it. While we were chatting, a couple approached us and asked where I bought the pumpkin from. I said I planted it in our Killaloe/Ballina community garden. Her accent sounded like American or Canadian.

I know what it is like to miss certain festivals or food from home. I remember Kevin Lim giving me a mooncake shortly after he had returned from Malaysia. It was just a mooncake, but it was more than a mooncake. It tasted like home.

 

So I asked her would she like one, as I still have one more at home. The rest is history and I hope she will bake plenty of yummy pumpkin pies....

 

It was a Kairos moment. A tipping point or a kairos moment is usually discovered behind the scenes of an ordinary day. 

 

I am going to trust God for tomorrow.  

 

For 2022. 

 

For our days ahead for as long as we live, we will rejoice in the faithfulness and the goodness of God.

 

                                                               Have a Blessed Christmas!

 

 

 

 

NOVEMBER NOW

 

It is November and I'm thankful.

For public photo journalling, every day of this 6-week Level 5 restricted movement order, so I can remember how I am managing to bring life into this season.

For private notebook journalling, so I can record my praises and petitions and wait for prayers to be answered.

Yes this year has been very curious indeed but I'm thankful still.

For the beautiful land that I am in now and the beautiful land that I left behind. 

For open spaces and birds singing and fresh air and bells ringing.

For so many true friends that I've made and the few that have left but still keep in touch as if they have never left. 

For the sunshine and the rain, that nourish the vegetables and flowers and  trees that bear leaves and trees that bear fruit. 

For good days, and the not so good days with the occasional sniffle, that makes me appreciate good health more. 

For family, that I remember not to take for granted just because they are around me and with me. 

For new knowledge like zoom, podcast, cloud cast, chrome cast, team app which I was afraid of in the beginning but have now become my allies. 

For reaching out to those who are lonely and those who are less fortunate than I am. And the response in their eyes say it all.

 For plans made, for plans cancelled and for plans yet to come. 

 

Indeed I am thankful for the fact that I can still breathe….and say I am thankful.                                                                                                                                                        

THE MIRACLE

I find fasting a very good way to keep my life focussed on God. Normally, I would do a fast in January to start the year right for me and my family. Just like Job in the Bible. "When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for his children to be purified. Early in the morning, he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, " Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom. (Job 1:5)

However, in January we will be going home to Malaysia, so I decided to move the fast to December instead. ( In Malaysia, there will be plenty of lunch and dinner invites as we meet up with friends and family so it would be difficult to turn them down.). Throughout the 24 days in December, I've asked God for a miracle.

Just the other day, one of my Irish friends was sharing with me about her desire to uproot herself to another land and to start afresh. It would mean leaving everything she is familiar with: Friends, family, customs, food, traditions, acceptable behaviour and a stable job.

Knowing that she is a very responsible person, I said:

'Go ahead. Even if it doesn't work, you will not live to regret that you didn't give it a chance'.

Her reply caught me by surprise.

She said, 'I have been observing you. I know you have gone through a lot and yet you are an over comer. I don't hear you grumbling or complaining about being unhappy. You emit 'positive vibes'..

Then a few days later, I got a message from a good friend in Malaysia. I asked her earlier if she would like to meet up when we go home.

She said. ' We can meet up la....
I replied, 'That will be great. Haven't seen you for ages!'
She said, 'Kaaannn...would be great to catch up....miss your positive vibes..'

There it was again...positive vibes. I couldn't help but smile. Twice in a week I was told I emit positive vibes. It is really nice to know.

We are more resilient that we give ourselves credit for, especially when we know Who our Anchor is.

And today being the eve of Christmas, when I was doing my daily devotion, I felt it in my heart.

I don't have to ask for a miracle.

Christ is my Miracle.

He has taken care and watched over me and my family all this while. So I will trust Him once again to put things right.

Amen.

A YEAR OF THANKSGIVING

I was organising my ribbon stash - those left over bits and pieces after we have opened the Christmas presents- that I do not have the heart to throw away because they are too pretty and perhaps one day I might have use for them, when I decided to look for the cellotape to stick the loose ends together.

That is when I saw that the end of the cellotape was neatly folded over so that the next person using it would have no problem finding the end of the tape. Believe me, finding the end of the cellotape could be tricky business if you have short nails. The whole procedure could end up in frustration especially when the tape decides to split into two lengthwise.

Now, I knew I didn’t fold the end of the tape and my daughter Sonya was the last one who used it, so probably she did it. That certainly spelt focus, forward thinking and most of all consideration for the next user.  

Thinking of the whole 365 days, I can only sum it up with one word: THANKSGIVING.

In Malaysia, we have Thanksgiving night on 31 December, and I sorely miss this.

We would go to church around 9pm and after praise and worship, we would testify of what the Lord had done for us for the year. It was altogether very spontaneous and after the initial hesitation, more and more would go up to the pulpit and grab the microphone because our hearts were bursting with joy and gratitude. When the children were young, we would even bring pillows, bolsters and comforters along. Then the countdown began and we would usher in the new year.

I am thankful for my family and for the privilege of being a wife and a mother. I am thankful for my beloved because he is constant and a great support. I am especially proud of my children and my friends ask me how I have raised them to be who they are today: focussed, independent, forward thinking and considerate.

People say there is no guidebook for parenting, but I choose to differ. I rely heavily on 3 great sources: the Bible, the good practices of my parents/culture and the knowledge that I am the parent.

The Bible is the basis of love, forgiveness and discipline. It is the moral yardstick of bringing up a child to worship God and to live a life set apart from the acceptable but unhealthy practices of the world. The child knows how much he is loved even in his mother’s womb. (Psalms 139). I wouldn’t have a clue about parenting if God hadn’t given me the full proof guidelines.

I am thankful for the fact that I am born Asian. The values of respect and honour for others, especially our parents and those who are older than us, are ingrained in us from a very young age. My son Samuel would buy back supper (chilly clams - my favourite) for me when he returned home late at night or drive me to IKEA just to browse.

When I was in Dublin having lunch with my daughter Audrey, she made sure I started my meal first before she ate her first bite. (媽媽，請吃飯). Another mother who was sitting at the next table overheard what she said and jokingly chastised her daughter for not doing likewise.

I am thankful that I am not afraid to be the parent - to call a spade a spade or to address the elephant in the room. I am not afraid to set boundaries and to discipline or to let go and let the child reap the consequences of his mistakes and I will not be too quick to rescue him. Believe me, the parent feels more pain when the child suffers for his follies. I have the privilege and the authority to stand in the gap and intercede in prayer and fast so that they will grow in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Job 1:5; Luke 2:52)

I am not afraid to teach even though it could be difficult when viewpoints differ.I asked my daughter the other day to videotape herself doing some winding down exercises because I wasn’t doing enough cooling off exercises after the gym and I needed to learn how. When I told her that the recording was splendid and very clear, she said, ‘I learn from the best teacher.’

 
 

I am thankful for the bountiful harvest. Everything that we planted and nurtured, blossomed and fruited. There was a great abundance of food. I pickled and froze the surplus (and that will last us till next summer) and we blessed others with our produce.

I am thankful for the many friends that I have. Friends who are caring and loyal and encouraging. Friends in different parts of the world who have touched my heart.

I am thankful for all the trips that He has given us this year - some for pleasure and some for necessity. I went home three times this year and He proved His faithfulness over and over again. Miracles happened and health was restored. Transgressions were forgiven and reconciliation occurred.

God has given us so much and He has been very faithful to us in every sense of the word. He has never failed me and in Him we have no lack. His blessings have been poured out on us, pressed down, shaken together and running over. (Luke 6:38)

Like Michael Caine in the Muppet Christmas Carol, I will sing on this last day of 2018…

‘Yes and every night will end, and every day will start

With a grateful prayer and a thankful heart…’