Milestone: Pray and don’t lose heart

I’m deliberately writing this post to remind myself of the faithfulness and mercy of God. I’m beginning to enjoy being 30 and learning many precious and new lessons of faith and life.

Easter 2010 is precious because I have repeatedly witnessed my prayers being answered and God reminding me of His presence. This post is a milestone that will remind me to trust in God:

1. On 27 December 2009, I prayed that I would somehow be able to participate in the Easter musicale. A conference was scheduled for the Easter weekend and conferences almost never get postponed 3 months prior to the planned date. Everyone in the committee (P. Mark & Mitch, Aileen, Daniel, Elsie and Chen Kee) prayed for me and God answered our prayers on 8 January 2010. This conference was postponed to the end of May! I remember being amazed and in awe of the power of prayer. Note to self: Faithful people were praying for me.
2. My version of stage fright – not trembling hands or cold sweat but *mind goes blank*. I had that moment on the first day of concert. I remember being afraid that it would happen and it did. Thank God for people who were praying – Ade and Adrian. Instead of the awkward silence of someone who has forgotten the lines, I managed to substitute the words. From “the stone has been rolled away, and night has turned into day” to “The stone that was in it’s place, it now has been rolled away“. Everyone was tickled/impressed by that… the truth is: God’s grace alone. Made me remember the importance of putting movements to each phrase so that in the event that this happens again, I’ll remember the key words aka Easter 2010.
3. I know many choir members were praying for me on the 2nd night of the concert. Through their prayers and by God’s grace, I remembered my lines. I was extremely nervous – repeating the phrases to myself many times. I had to trust that as God had answered so many prayers, He would answer my/our prayers again. And He did. Feedback was that 2nd night’s performance was better and the solo item on Easter Day at Shangri-La was the best of all 3 presentations.
   

   Daryl Chew managed to capture the classic 'stone' moment.

4. Prayer request dated 27 December 2009 that “story and script would touch the hearts of both believers and non-believers as we remember Christ”. Answered during rehearsals and actual night performances. Feedback has been good. My own heart was ministered to as I remembered Christ’s love for us… that He wants to restore us to Himself even when we disappoint Him (remember the story of Peter’s restoration).

My soul, trust in the Lord with all you heart. “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” Lk 18:1

Day 7/27: Christmas Thought – Freedom

This Christmas, I celebrate freedom from the eternal consequences of sin. Ecclesiastes says “Fear God and keep His commandments, for that is man’s all”. I know I have broken one of God’s commandments. With my nonexistent strength, I find myself falling short of the standard of holiness that God meant for me. I dare not go through a checklist of items that would qualify me as holy. I have sinned. I have fallen short of the glory of God.

My freedom? “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29

Day 6/27: Prayer

The best part my day was spending my time in the pool praying. I swam 24 laps and made about 24 prayers. It was an inspiring half hour. I prayed for people I knew who needed prayer support, for activities in church, for Christmas, for Adrian and I, mum & dad and myself. I am inspired to continue my swim routine because when else can I get 30 minutes of uninterrupted time? The peacefulness of the water cleared my head. The rhythm of each stroke gave tempo to my prayer. The completion of each lap made me think about who/what else needed praying over. I am inspired because I have prayed more tonight, than any other night.

For each one whom I prayed for tonight, I can genuinely say “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”. I thank God that I am privileged to be a part of your life story as it unfurls before me… which allows me to pray about something that I know you might be going through.

Day 3/27: Learning

My 3 days of leave have been wonderful.

I’ve been practicing Mozart’s Sonata in C K.545 and improving each day. “XX/XX/1994″ – 15 years have flown by since I was forced to practice classical arrangements by the great composers. I used to practice grudgingly once a week… and each practice was perfectly timed: just one-hour before piano lessons. Today, I’m practicing because I’m rebuked by what Lady Catherine said to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice “… no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice… she will never play really well unless she practices more…” – Jane Austen.

One Hundred Years of Solitude… my impression so far? The Buendias are a messed up family. I’m soldiering on to read this book to the end… there must be something great about this book that I’m missing. It won the Nobel Prize for Literature, was featured in Oprah’s Book Club and PY’s friend wrote an entire thesis on this. Meanwhile, I’m learning new words in this book that was translated from Spanish to English. Effrontery. Intransigence. Punctilious. Emissary. Whoever you are who is reading this… please don’t laugh at my weak vocabulary. I may be out of school but I’m still learning. Or, as a certain Miss Low would say, I’m learning steel. 

Each night this week after washing the dishes at Youth Conference, it has been my joy to end the day with an adorable 2-year old who would hold a toy duck in his hand and say “waack waack”. Playing with him has been one of the highlights of my day. So far, my 2 year old friend has given me his kiss of approval and a voluntary “buh-bai”.

Day 1/27: Of Lizards and 2 year olds

Found a dead baby lizard while tidying my desk. Poor creature… crushed by the weight of months of uncleared/unwanted stationery. Spent more time sorting out foreign currency and coins (also in the unwanted stationery pile – no wonder the lizard was crushed!).. I’ve got $300 worth of HK dollars & $100 dollars worth of HK coins, $100 US dollars, $20 Thai Baht, $20 Malaysian Ringgit, $100 of Euros… So that’s where my money went… Perhaps it’s a reflection of my life. I hoard money. (Joking). I live in a mess (Not joking). 

Played with Jovan during the last 15 minutes of evening devotion. He’s such a joy! True to his name. We spent 15 minutes identifying animals… In Jovan-talk, he calls elephant “eh-fant”, camel “emma”. He pronounces car, cow, duck accurately. He calls me “There!”… because when they look at a picture and ask where Auntie Min is, he says “There!”. So cute… Elaine says I’d be a ‘chap’ mother (opposite of bo-chap). I’m looking forward to playing with him soon.

Thoughts about/at work today

• Had a really good time with AL and M tonight. M’s going through such an exciting phase of life – job searching! It’s stressful, exciting, worrying, adventurous, disappointing all at the same time. I remember all those emotions during my first job search. We shared how the Lord leads in very interesting ways. Sometimes, He leads us to jobs that we wouldn’t have considered before but enjoy so much now. Both AL and I testified to that. Dinner brought back memories about my first job, my next job and subsequent opportunities after that. Thank God for His hand of blessing! His thoughts toward us…. to give us hope and a future.
• I am having such a fun time at work with my colleagues. They’re a really great bunch of people to hang out with. They’re smart, witty, loud, sharp… everything needed to spice up life in the office! Apparently, we laughed so loud at the lift lobby that people in the lift 3 floors down could hear us! Yikes!
• B is soooooo good at negotiation. So, so, so good.