Praying for our Leaders

Lately, apart from constant challenges from work, I experienced a foretaste of what it was like to be a target for bad publicity. It was a mixture of fear, anger, injustice and a great burning desire to set things right. However, people in general give more credit to “an apparent” victim, rather than question about the real truth that lies behind.

In fact, I have to some extent lost faith in our local media and reporters. I know that this may not apply to every reporter, but sometimes, reporters are only reporting selective facts that a certain party would like the public to know. Never mind about accuracy and the other side of the story. Forget about verification of facts. The important thing is to get the story on the headlines and the nine o’clock news. Little considerations are given on the repercussions involved.

I suppose such are the news that would sell. Now that I have the sacred opportunity to be standing on the other side of the balance, I realised that readers and viewers have both been fooled. It was also at this time that I caught a glimpse of how Jesus must have felt when his own people turned against him and misunderstood him. It was an awful lingering feeling that made blue sky seemed dull. It behaved like a shadow that followed me wherever I go, except that this shadow was constantly throwing false accusations at me!

Suddenly, I realised how wrong I had been, when I too was hurling stones at our politicians and leaders, whenever they were “caught” doing something questionable. It was definitely easy for me to criticize, to judge and to form a seemingly right opinion. My dear brother recently reminded me with this timely advice “Be part of the solution in our society and our country! Don’t criticize our leaders but pray for them! We don’t know the full picture of what went on in their lives, but regardless, they need our prayers! Its easy to just stand there and judge but it would take someone with a bigger heart to pray.”

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior”1 Timothy 2:1-3

New Supplier, New Challenges

Recently, I have been quite preoccupied with problems encountered at work. A few months ago, I was given a proposal to change our existing internet provider to a new player in the market. As we have been facing many unresolved problems with our current supplier, the opportunity to consider an alternative was like a breath of fresh air.

After much praying and seeking the Lord, I felt that we should give this new player a chance. This would involve considerable risks on our side as more than half of our customers will be utilizing the new services provided and I am sure that there will be oppositions from them. Therefore, as with every new venture, I expect some teething problems but not to the extent that I had perceived. Soon, I was informed that students had been complaining about us on their blogs and facebooks. Complain forms piled up quicker than we could resolve them. Efforts to resolve complaints had been futile. Advice from the new supplier didn’t work.

Not long after that, I found myself awake at night, chasing endless trains of thoughts. At one point, I even thought that I had heard God wrongly about taking up the proposal. A few nights ago, I was going through the same roller coaster ride when out of nowhere, I could hear a still small voice telling me “Fee, why don’t you talk to the supplier again, telling them that you can’t seem to implement their internet service?” “But Lord, that’s not within their scope of service, I will be asking them for an extra mile, which they might not give due to legal implications. But I guess there is no harm trying.” I replied.

The next day, I called T and explained to him again, that we are facing more problems that we could handle. Almost immediately, he said he would bring his technicians and troubleshoot the problems with us. The team came yesterday and went on to investigate the connections at some of our problematic houses. Throughout this time, I prayed that this group of experts could identify and solve the issues at hand. Then to my greatest relief, at the end of day, they came back and informed me that there were some cabling problems, which needed rectification from their side. Therefore, not only did they help me resolve at least part of my problems, but they have also agreed not to charge my company for this entire period until the cables had been rectified! In addition to that, once they have resolved their side of the issues, they would come back again to help us look at our problems!

Well, I think that is a great milestone for us and for the team to take this extra mile, I have no doubt that there is divine intervention behind! As expected, I slept like a baby last night!

 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  (Psalm 23:6)

Delightful Fruits

As we were travelling back from the children’s music class, Clarissa was happily enjoying her portion of delicious honey sweet mango. “Who gave such delightful mangoes to you?” she asked me. “Its one of our friends from KL.” “Where did your friend find these mangoes?” “She must have bought it from her usual fruit supplier.” I was beginning to wonder where this conversation might lead to. “How did the supplier know that these mangoes are so sweet?” She asked again, popping another slice into her mouth. “The supplier must have tried it himself before recommending them to Aunty Helen.” I replied, hoping that this would be the end of it.

However, she continued, “The supplier must have tasted the mango and found it to be sweet. Then, he proceeded to plant the seed, from which the whole mango tree grows. Now, he has a whole tree full of sweet mangoes to sell!” She said matter-of-factly. “Only a good tree can produce sweet mangoes!” That was her conclusion.

I must admit that I was surprised at her profound findings. There I was, providing some superficial answers, hoping that they would satisfy her; but Clarissa was searching for the “truth” behind.

Our Lord Jesus had also commented on a good tree bearing good fruits 2000 years ago:

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:43-45

A while ago, one of my non-believer friends shared with me about her Christian friend, who was engaged in immoral activities. I recalled telling her that although this friend might profess to be a Christian, she was unlikely to be committed to the Lord. “If she is truly dedicated to Jesus, she would find it hard to betray her husband.” I shared. At that point in time, I had forgotten about the “Good Tree” teaching by Jesus.    

Indeed, if anyone is in Christ, it would be quite impossible for him to produce “bad fruits”. 

No Rocket Science

Ever since stepping into the F&B industry, I found myself reading more and doing more research. In fact, I have never ordered books in the internet until I discovered that most of the notable F&B textbooks are available on Amazon. I have even subscribed to restaurant owners.com to tap into their numerous audio resources, articles and monthly magazines.

Having armed with all these useful information, one would think that our F&B outlet must be doing exceedingly well. On the contrary, we are barely surviving (hence, the research)! Over time, I realised that all these knowledge are futile if I don’t put them to good use. Therefore, meetings were set-up to discuss about our operations, and what we can do to improve the performance of not only the outlet but the staff too.

Once we start to apply the theories, the pieces begin to come together. Revenue is now charted on a positive gradient and the staff is beginning to see an improvement in the management. There was no rocket science really but it took me a few months to realize the importance of fervent practice and continuous application!

In fact, after I have been through the process above, my comprehension of what Jesus spoke regarding the builder who built his house on the rock versus one who built his on sand, took on a new level.

“Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6 46-49

It is amazing what was spoken more than 2000 years ago by our Lord is relevant in so many areas of our lives, including our work. If I could put in so much effort to improve my work performance, surely I would place even more emphasis when it comes to my spiritual life and eternal destination? Sadly, this doesn’t happen all the time.

Thank you Lord for showing me the importance of active obedience and putting to practice what I have learnt from your words. As much as our F&B outlet has benefited from the application of proven theories, our lives would be transformed for the better when we choose to obey you.

A Saturday Encounter

This wasn’t how our spent our typical Saturday night but to show our support to our church’s Boys Brigade, we bought tickets and attended their 10^th Anniversary Dinner. Thinking that this would be a dull evening, I was pleasantly surprised when I found a friendly mother seated next to me, asking me about what I thought of Boys Brigade.

“My son is turning to be quite rebellious and upon my friend’s recommendation, I decided to enroll him on BB. So, how do you think BB has impacted your daughter’s life?” Melisssa asked curiously.  I told her that we enrolled Clarissa so that she would be more willing to try out new stuff. She has always been quite reserved but through the numerous activities organized by BB, she has learnt to be more independent and helpful at home. She has also grown to be more socially aware of the poor and needy.   

Over the course of time, she began to be more open and started to tell me about her Christian friends. “I could really see how your religion has impacted my friends’ lives. Through hardships and heart-breaking reconciliations, I could see their faith at work! I wouldn’t know how to cope if I were put in their shoes, but I can really see that Christianity is a real source of spiritual and emotional support in their lives” She shared without hesitation.

“Well then, this shows that God has been knocking on the door to your heart, asking you to open the door to let him in. What you had witnessed was more than mere spiritual support, but rather its God at work in their lives, which is supernatural power.” I responded. “Now, the same God is standing before you and reaching out to you through your friends. It is not just help that He is offering, but eternal life and forgiveness from our sins.  One day, we will all face judgment after we died and God will stand as our judge and determine our final destination. Therefore, it is important that we are reconciled to Him before its too late.” When I explained to her that her salvation was just a prayer away, she was amazed.

Although we had since gone on our own separate ways, I prayed that God will continue to touch her life and more importantly, that she would one day, open her heart to receive Jesus as her personal Saviour.

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Joel 2:32

Putting Up a Struggle

I love peace and quietness at home. In fact, after Joseph turned 2, these were rare occurrences at home. I would be quite happy to trade hard-to-win compliance from him with just peace and quietness.

However, teaching obedience comes with a price; it quite often comes with a struggle. It didn’t matter to Joseph that I was driven to my limits nor that I had in fact a pile of office work waiting for me to digest and especially not that I was exhausted from a day’s work. Joseph was determined to have his way. He would use a hammer to bang on the room door until it was dented, or he would roll on the floor if he found himself in a lying down position, or he would stomp on his feet if his two feet were conveniently standing, and his most powerful weapon would be his relentless, insufferable, aggravating cries!

I found my authority challenged, emotions drained, sanity pushed to the limit. Years ago, I read a book entitled “Boundary with Kids” in which the author encouraged the parents to stay firm and not give in to their children as one day, these children would “give up their stand” and choose to obey instead! For about two years, I was clinging onto this advice but more importantly, I have been praying to our Heavenly Father almost every night out of desperation.

To my surprise, I realised that the first person who needed changing was not Joseph but me! Through the crying sessions, God taught me about patience and staying focus. Moreover, my love for peace and quietness was in fact a reflection of my self-centredness. As soon as I put aside my expectation, I found his wailing sessions easier to bear.  Over time, I began to learn that part of the reason why he cried persistently was that he was afraid to lose my love. Therefore, despite feeling annoyed, I had to assure him that I loved him.

Recently, my mum commented to me “Did you realize that it has been some time since Joseph cry?” Much to my amazement, my mum was right! In fact, I thought that every one of us has a chapter similar to Joseph’s. First, we who are stiff necked, turned away from God and went after our own dreams. God through his patience and love, continued to pursue us until one day, we decided to return to Him in repentence. Over time, through the working of His Holy Spirit, we learned to obey God lovingly and willingly. Our lives display the work of His hands. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!

“Trials have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7

Slowing Down

Due to my professional training, I placed great emphasis on deadlines and carried undue urgency in completing an assignment. Therefore, the phrase “learning to take my time” was alien in my work ethics, until my children came along.

Simple tasks like getting them to bed could take one hour or more, and weaning them to sleep on their own, at their own bed, has taken me more than 8 years and so far, I have yet to succeed! I used to take 15 mins to get ready before going out; now, I am delayed by having to pack and getting Clarissa and Joseph ready; and if any one of them were to interrupt my train of thoughts and instruct me further on what to bring, I would have forgotten what I was engaged in at the first place!

Through parenting, God has brought home a valuable lesson to me: Time is no longer of essence but how I bring up my children is of paramount importance. I could almost hear Him whispering into my ears “Fee, you need to slow down and listen to your children. You need to walk in step with them, otherwise, you would not be able to appreciate them as you ought to.”

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to sit and watch Clarissa and Joseph taking their swimming lessons. To my amazement, they had progressed much more than I had expected. Joseph, my five year old, who could barely float 1 month ago, was learning free style!

Up till when Joseph was four, he was known to be difficult. His cries used to drive all of us up the wall and away from him. Now, I realised that he has shed his old ways. His dreaded trademark is replaced with cheerfulness and cheekiness. Most of all, he is able to listen to reasoning without losing his cool. I can’t help but smile when I see him kicking in the water despite his constant complains of chill. His ability to put aside his dislikes and emotions warms my heart.

Such reflections made me realize how much both of them have grown not only in physique but also in character. I used to make it my daily goal that they are trained to sleep in their own beds; now I am enjoying the warmth of their bodies and the sound of their breathing next to me every night. Thank you God for blessing me with Clarissa and Joseph and using them to change my worldly values.

Children are a gift from the Lord: they are a reward from Him. (Psa 127:3)

Losting Sight of our Core

As part of my work requirement, I have to read up on restaurant operations, F&B costings, marketing and hospitality. Recently, I was particular drawn towards an article entitled “Losing Sight of Our Core!”.  One of the main reasons why restaurants failed was that the operator had lost sight of what made it successful in the first place! In my heart, I was thinking: “How silly is this? You mean someone can be so accustomed to being successful, that he had forgotten what gets him there in the first place!?” I sniggered at the thought.

But then again, this is perfectly logically too. After having “made-it”, we took life for granted, thinking that we are above the game. I can confess to a daily checklist that I used to make up as a benchmark to measure “my happiness”! Good health – checked; Children with good exam results – acceptable and checked; Wealth building up – could be better but checked; Fine weather – checked!

And when most of our checklists are checked, it is no wonder that we thought that we could be invincible! However, we are mistaken and I have erred. I, as a mere created being, have no control over the status of my health. I can’t even lessen the strands of hair that fall off every day! As to my kids, I could give them many dull hours of tuition but if they couldn’t wise up and improve on their results, there is nothing I could do about it too. Wealth, majority of the world’s population is living below poverty’s line, so what made me different from the rest? Could it be pure chance that I was put, of all places and countries, Kampar in Malaysia? Finally, I can’t even prevent leakage caused by torrential rain in my house and therefore, I will confess that I am no weather woman.

Having evaluated my own checklists, I realized that I too, have lost sight of my core. I am in fact trying to build up wealth in this world more than accumulating rewards in heaven! This is a struggle that Paul had been through. Having spent so much time pursuing what he thought to be important, he finally realized that his CVs, credentials, and praises earned were rubbish (or dung!) compared to knowing Christ. Its through Christ that we gained a new lease of life and a new standing before God. Its through Christ’s death, that we are guaranteed a place in heaven. Therefore, we must not take our salvation lightly and continue in our sin. Afterall, what we amass on earth would only be temporary, but what we accumulate in heaven, would be eternal. Its easy to lose sight of eternity and focus on the “for now” but trust me, once we passed on, we would have an eternity to regret on the “what ifs”.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” Philippians 3:7-8

Street Appointment

During my student days in the UK, I joined a church nearby for their weekly street evangelism at an underground station. I found that approaching strangers to talk about Jesus was a struggle and had always admired those who were articulate. Loss for words, fear of saying the wrong stuff and of rejection were amongst the many constraints that I faced when deciding whether to step forward to intercept a pedestrian and start an “out of this world conversation”!

“Lord, I don’t know how I should do this, but I would like you to take the lead!” On some occasions, I didn’t manage to speak to anyone, probably due to my hesitation and fear; On others, I was told to go away in not so many words. However, there was this incident that made me looked at evangelism differently – that it was definitely a divine appointment.

On one particular winter Sunday, Grace and I have been standing at the entrance of the underground station for some time. To keep ourselves warm from the icy cold winds, we were hugging ourselves and occasionally, jumping on the same spot. Just then, a spectacled Chinese walked past us. “Excuse me, could we speak to you for a moment?” The conversation started with Grace telling him about Jesus, how he came to the world to die on the cross, so that we could be reconciled to God. During the conversation, we discovered that he was sent by his country on a scholarship to pursue a PhD at a renowned university in London.

Almost immediately, I started to feel small. Here we were talking to a person with exemplary academic results, hand-picked from a nation with a population of 2 billion (or thereabout). He must be cleverer than both Grace and I put together! Much to my amazement, he was very interested in what we had to say. “What do I have to do to be saved?” He asked earnestly and unexpectedly. At that very moment, I quickly whispered to Grace “People like him probably need to think about it. Why don’t we invite him to our Mandarin speaking church and ask him to go there to find out more?” I asked Grace who concurred with my view.

Almost immediately after he had left, I began to regret that I didn’t pray the sinner’s prayer with him on the spot. Afterall, a good PhD student would find very little time to attend church, no? So for six months I prayed and hoped that he would find his way to church. 

One day, I went to church early while the Mandarin church was still having their worship service. While waiting at the foyer, I started to chat to a friendly lady who was also waiting for someone. “Where do you come from?” I asked. “I came from China. My husband is studying here in London.” She answered. As the conversation continued, she told me that her husband came to this church because someone had shared with him one day at an underground station. I could feel myself choking back my tears as I listened. God had given me great comfort in knowing that the man did come after all. Before I knew it, I could hear a familiar voice calling from a distance. “Hello! How are you? I am so glad to see you here as I have been meaning to tell you that God has changed my life! I am so grateful that you have shared about Him with me!” The man came smiling, extending his hand to me! I was speechless! At that very instant, God has not only redeemed this man and his wife, He has also freed me from my regret! I am so humbled that God has used an imperfect being like me to bring His message to those who needed to hear it.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 1 Corinthian 1:25

Our Common Trademark

Ever since I became a parent, I found myself repeating instructions to my children. The other day, after I had finished showering Joseph who was whiney after a nap, I told him "It is time to get out of the bath tub!" But when I saw him standing stone-like, seemingly oblivious to what I said, I began to get annoyed and repeated loudly "Can't you hear me? It is time to get out of the bath tub!" Upon my second irritated command, he reluctantly stepped out and walked slowly out of the bathroom. "Did you not hear me the first time?" He nodded "Then, why didn't you obey me?" I was vexed by the fact that both Clarissa and Joseph had succeeded in turning me into a CD player that keeps playing the same "tune".

I have always wondered why children do not listen and obey at my first and kindly offered instructions. To begin with, I am normally patient, happy and at ease. Somehow, after a series of seemingly futile string of words, I become uncontrollably vexed, not to mention furious at times! I am almost inclined to think that children tend to react quicker towards an infuriated adult as compared to a loving and kind mummy. As I was digesting this irrational trademark of kids, I was reminded of my own spiritual walk with our Heavenly Father. I wondered if I had also taken advantage of His sound advice and chose to ignore them, whenever I think I could get away with it; and I am not surprised to discover that I behaved just like my own kids!

There is something in each of us that caused us to rebel against authority and it has a lame name called SIN. As much as I thought "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Joseph would just move (like a puppet) upon my first command. He would be happy and my emotions would remain unchallenged!" Unfortunately, as every one of us is not a puppet and is given a free will, we quite often make the wrong choice. As a result, we upset people around us and most of all, dishonored God. Therefore, before I start to wonder why my children do not obey me, I must instead examine myself and pray for His forgiveness!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)

When Loss is Gain!

Listening to my dad talking about how he survived through financial crisis and business failure is similar to me reading about how God had brought His people to their Promised Land. It is nothing short of miracles after miracles! Although my father is not a Christian (yet), he would often say that "Someone Up There" is looking after him. From his wealth of experience, he developed his unshakable faith.

Whenever an undesirable situation landed on our lap, my first reaction would be to calculate the costs and establish the probability of failure, so that I could work towards the upside; while my dear father would look at it from the most positive angle imaginable! He has faith to pull through any situation as he has been through worst. Ashamed that I am, I realised that God is using my dad to teach me a profound and yet untapped territory in my Christian walk with our Heavenly Father: I must believe in the impossible in every areas of my life, even if this means that my "professional training" might be challenged. Now, it is easy to believe in the impossible on behalf of someone else (like my dear friend, Liz) but to apply such belief in myself and our company's performance, would take much convincing altogether! "Would God be interested in businesses? Surely He would be more interested in those who are suffering because of their faith or involved in great calamities!" I told myself.

Ever since I moved back to Kampar, I have been learning that God is interested in every aspect of our lives, including the part that generates income! If our businesses/careers are going well, I know that we don't deserve such blessings but instead, we must humble ourselves before Him, who gives and takes away freely; If our businesses/careers are going in the opposite direction, we know that everything belongs to Him, and He would only have our best interests in mind. Problems arise when I start to put confidence in our material success and value our earthly dwelling more than our heavenly citizenship.

Recently, the local authorities gave us some problems despite our compliance. The impact could be devastating if not rectified. However this time, I am learning to look at the situation with faith rather than with fear, as I know He is in total control of the situation and steering it for our good. The God who took care of Abraham and my dad, will surely take care of me too.

"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" Philippians 3 : 7-8