Personal and family – Page 7

Category: Personal and family

I Received the Pfizer Vaccine as a Gift from God

22 April 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

On Tuesday, I received the second dose of Pfizer vaccination in the Yuhua Community Center. As usual, the process was very safe and efficient – something I do not take granted for and am always thankful for. I was generously given a box of face masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer. I had a sore upper arm and some flu-like aches on the day after, but today I am rather fine and continue to monitor my body.

AN ALLERGIC REACTION

Months back I had thought I did not qualify because of an allergy. My late mother told me I had allergic reactions to penicillin when I was a primary school boy. What kind of reactions, I cannot remember, and even if mum was alive, I doubt she would remember. I assumed that the jab was not for me and it was not at all a consideration. However, as the vaccination was implemented starting with the elderly, and as people started to think about it, I too started to seriously consider it.

There were many anti-vaccination material and horror stories circulating on the internet and through WhatsApp messages. A neighbour said receiving the vaccination is receiving the mark of the Beast. A cousin shared a story of a friend he knew who died from heart failure after the second jab. Perhaps instead of a direct cause and effect, it could have been sudden death from hidden heart condition. However, there were also informative articles and videos that propounded that it was good and safe and a social responsibility to receive vaccination. One that I found personally helpful was circulated by a Methodist TRAC seniors ministry recording of a Zoom seminar that debunked many misconceptions about the vaccination (which I cannot seem to find now, or else I will surely link it here). Many factors had to be considered and it became too murky for a quick decision.

PRAYER LED TO PEACE

However, I began praying about whether I should receive the vaccine since I could not remember what my allergic reactions were. If it had been very serious, I would have landed in hospital and my mum would have underlined that fact, “You know you ended up in the hospital for three days! You could have died!” or something along that line. But I could not remember any of such. What should I do with such inadequate information about my allergy?

During a routine medical check at the polyclinic I shared with the doctor about the quandary I was in. The doctor’s reply injected peace. She said the reaction need to be somewhat serious, with for example swelling as well as breathlessness. That got me praying more until I felt God’s peace about receiving the vaccination. This was a kind of peace that could withstand news of negative effects of vaccination and the opinions of others who plan to wait it out and let the early adopters be the guinea pigs.

I have become one of those informed and forewarned guinea pigs albeit one with peace in his heart. I received the vaccination as a gift from God.

Into your hands I commit my spirit and body, Lord Jesus Christ, giver and keeper of body and soul. Amen.

When Seniors Paint the House

11 March 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

When I was in my 30s and 40s, even in my 50s it would take me one day to paint the whole living and dining areas. Last week it took me two days to do a small bedroom that serves as my study/prayer room.

It took three hours to prepare the room. My wife and I had to move all the books systematically onto the bed, and shift the empty bookshelf to the corridor. Then the desks, cabinets, camera cabinet, and chairs into the living room.

Besides that the walls and ceiling had to be wet wiped of dust and dirt. The edges had to be taped up and cardboard and paper arranged on the floor and the paint stirred with brushes and tray all readied for the painting.

The original paint on the walls were lime green and yellow. My grandchildren had stayed in this room for some time. This meant I had to splash on generously and laboriously two coats of white because I wanted a lighter colour, a prayer retreat colour.

After painting two coats, which took about five hours, there was the cleaning up – anther forty minutes of washing, throwing the paint-spotted old newspapers and cardboard, removing the tape, and setting up the bookshelf and cabinets again.

I was tired three quarters of the way, and my wife had to help out. Without her, the project would not have gotten done.

The next day, with some aches from stretching and stooping, using muscles seldom used, this ageing couple had to prepare the other half of the room, removing everything from the bed: the things stored below, and the mattress and other stuff on the bed, and beside it. Then it was the same process all over again. The wet wipes, the stirring of the paint, up and down the ladder, the tapes, the two coats. This time it was more difficult but with God’s strength, when everything was finally done, I had such a good feeling of accomplishment.

There are two more bedrooms and many more ceilings to paint. They will be done at a leisurely pace – at a senior citizens’ pace. There is no hurry. No deadlines. I wonder how long it will take before I embark on the next round of painting and which part of the house will get a new coat.

I Am Grateful For 2020

1 January 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

MENACING PANDEMIC

Covid-19 has cast a menacing shadow on the year 2020. It is the year of the pandemic. 1,816,120 deaths from Covid 19 in 2020, and these are only reported cases. 83, 260,611 infected, of which 59,049,598 have recovered. These statistics are bad, mad and sad. Singapore had also been in the valley of shadow of death. Anxiety, fear and frustration are the moods of the year. However, I do not want to dwell on these tragic details in this post. We are all familiar with the roll call of facts about the source, spread and devastation of the coronavirus. Rather, this post is about my personal reflection of 2020. Despite the darkness, I have experienced much of God’s abundance and redemptive grace. I have much to be grateful for.

REDEMPTIVE GRACE & ABUNDANCE

For one, my whole family is back in Singapore. For a while my wife and I were empty nesters with my son Joshua and his wife Ping studying in London, my second son Matthew serving the air forces in Australia with his wife and our two grandkids, and my daughter Elaine working in the USA. In 2019 my two sons returned with their families, and as if that wasn’t wonderful enough, my daughter was allowed to work from home in Singapore from March 2020. We were prepared to quarantine her at home but the hour she landed in the airport she was briskly brought straightaway to the Grand Park Orchard for government imposed and paid quarantine for two weeks. What a blessing and relief to know she was totally well.

Elaine works from afternoon to about 1am Singapore time and meets her office colleagues remotely at night. Then she would sleep in but we get to see her for meals like lunch and dinner and some weekends. It was wonderful to have her around. Now I wonder when she will be recalled back to her office in Washington DC. Hopefully she won’t be recalled until June 2021.

YEAR OF LEARNING & EQUIPPING

I am also grateful that the Covid 19 circuit breaker period and the months after necessitated the learning of new digital skills that I never had before. Speaking to an empty room with only a phone camera in front of me is something I have become comfortable with. I have also become strangely comfortable reviewing my talks on video. I used to squirm and switch off when I watched myself preach on video. Not so any more. I have also learned to use Zoom for meetings, as well as teach a Christian Education course. I can see possibilities in using these digital platforms. In the larger picture, the churches here have moved from being digital laggards to progressives, and this is a big, big positive in terms of future digital presence.

It has also forced me to purchase stuff online, mainly from Lazada. It began with buying necessary equipment to improve my recording of sermons and digital presence. Soon I moved on to stuff like bicycle lamps and camera lens that I wanted for my hobbies, to frivolous stuff like buying a linen shirt for dirt cheap price for the experience of it. I learned that when it comes to clothing, it’s better to visit the shopping mall.

SWEET RETIREMENT BY GOD’S GRACE

I am grateful that my retirement after 40 years of pastoral ministry in the same church was done sweetly. I am thankful that a home-grown church servant, Alvin Lim had been called by God to serve as the English Congregation pastor, and he willingly obeyed. I feel privileged to have seen God’s hand in forming a team of young people in full-time and part-time ministry, and weaving them with the more experienced staff. All this made it possible for me to step down as senior pastor with peace of mind. It was also a quiet but pleasant send-off with words of affirmation and good wishes, from the President and church leaders and members, and prayers of the three congregational pastors. All pre-recorded before a live audience and screened later for people to view on-line. I was feeling joyful during the recording of that segment, which was done straight after, the pre-recording of the ordination of service of Rev Alvin Lim on a Saturday morning. Very joyful and moving occasions when I sensed a strong anointing of God’s Spirit.

I was also grateful for the final retreat I would have as a senior pastor. Lance Ng, my spiritual director guided me to reflect on the 40 years of pastoral ministry and the desires that the Spirit is stirring within me with regards to the future. Co-discerning what God is saying and doing is so vital and that is the spiritual director’s role. I was excited with the desires of my heart that surfaced during that five days of silent delighting in the Lord at Life Springs Spirituality Centre. I have been giving God a blank page for post-retirement, refusing to plan but instead to wait on Him, and the Lord has started to reveal the steps I am to take after retirement. Exciting new chapter.

SUMMARY

To summarize, although 2020 was a “negative” year in terms of the adverse effects on mental health, the economy, jobs, separation and loss of loved ones, and the surfacing of ugly politics, for me personally God has graciously allowed me to experience his abundance, guidance and preparation for the future. Oddly I will remember 2020 rather fondly because I see too many positives for myself and my family and the church– the lot has fallen nicely for us.