Sharing of Thought in Mothers' Day

Proverb 31: 10-31, a very familiar passage to all of us which talks about a wife and mother who has multiple roles to fulfill. The difference between many of today's moms and Proverb 31’s mother is that she does her roles in total perfection. Many of us find this woman to be too idealistic to be a practical example.

She is a wife (v10), home maker (v27), real estate investor (v16), vineyard owner (v16), trader (v18), philanthropist (v20), garment trader (v24) and mother.

I went through this text over and over again and tried to understand her success story. I finally found the key verse which we often overlook.

2nd half of V25 in NIV Bible says “She can laugh at the days to come”

RSV reads “She laughs at the time to come”.

The Good News Bible says “She is not afraid of the future”.

I like the Chinese translation “She would laugh with joy when she thinks of the future”. I think this Proverb 31’s Mother has the wisdom to discover this secret.

1. There is no need or no benefit to dwell too much over the past. Past is past. Its over. There is nothing you can do to change it.

2. But tomorrow presents an opportunity. There is opportunity to start afresh. There is opportunity not to repeat what’s considered wrong or unacceptable. There is opportunity to repair broken relationship. I think this is the key factor why Proverb 31’s mother laughs at the days to come.

3. Laughing in anticipation of the future is also a demonstration of faith in the providence of God. It’s like what the Psalmist says in Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me, all the days of my life”. This is truly a demonstration of faith in the providence of God for all the days to come even in the presence of trials and tribulation.

4. I think she laughs because she has full confidence that she could find rest in God. With all the stresses, she learns to cast all her worries onto God. We have to learn to stop daily from the hectic schedule to spend a few moments with the Lord.

I like the words of wisdom from the Serenity Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. He said, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”.

The courage to change is something we can all do in the days to come. That’s why we can and should smile in anticipation of tomorrow.

For those of us who are hindered to move forward because of the past. We should be reminded not to be stressed over things of the past because they no longer can be changed but rather to have courage to face tomorrow because tomorrow presents unlimited opportunity of change for improvement and for the better.

Time is in Short Supply

I cannot imagine that so much has gone by since the last time I wrote my blog on 25 April. I had been to Singapore from 29 April to 1 May to see Serene and Meng How. It was both fun and an experience to be in the Settler's Cafe. The food was good. Imagine, Meng How is one of the chefs of the cafe. He said  that cooking those dishes is a breeze after going through them a few times.

I always enjoyed going to Singapore. It's a very efficient society. Almost a cashless society. May be because of the fact that I am an engineer and always appreciate how engineering innovation makes lives so much more convenient and easier. The city is generally much cleaner (hardly any noticeable littering) and the society seems much more civilized (as least on the surface).

A few questions did cross my mind when I stayed in Singapore. Can people's attitude be changed merely by courtesy campaign and through education? Is it more effective and faster to change people's attitude by enforcing the rule of laws. The serious enforcement of the rule of laws seems to work well in Singapore. As least that's how I see it.

I also had the chance from 2 May to 3 May to meet up with the my wife's family members in KL. Hee Chuan's (2nd brother) family has now moved into a new double storey bungalow. Thaw Thaw is now driving with her P licence. Wow, how time flies!

When Lyanna first met my wife, she pulled her aside and told her "Aunti, I have finally found a man just like Uncle Alfred who will love me for the next twenty years!". This was told by my wife to me. I was thinking, "Why 20 years! Isn't is supposed to be "Till death do us part". This is understandable probably because she is not a Christian yet.

We stayed in Lyanna's place and did have a good time with her. She was ever ready to open her home for us to stay when we go there in future. Truly, I pray from my heart that if she ever decides to marry this man, he would turn out to be a good and loving husband.