At 9am I brought mum for her treatment. She was running a slight fever after that but the nurse sponged her forehead. She felt better and was allowed to go home. I prepared lunch for my parents and grandma before heading for church. Got a call from dad that mum vomitted twice after she had her lunch.
I was doing my devotion along the corridor of the hospital and today I have been reminded to be joyful always. When I woke up this morning and because of the lack of sleep I had, I was quite grumpy. I was not looking forward to the day as well because of mum's radiotherapy. As I was praying on my bed, the Lord just told me to be joyful. From then on I was just thinking about this word.
I think it is good to be joyful always even in affliction because then we are reminded that trials and struggles we face are not bad but they are there to build us up in the faith and also in character. This is not about positive thinking but usually we learn most during bad times than good because for the latter we tend to take things for granted. As humans, we usually see struggles as bad because it is a lousy feeling and always a drag having to deal with them. It can sometimes be time-consuming and energy-sapping. But if we look at all these with a positive attitude, it is a good experience afterall. It brings us down for a moment but it also allows us to look up and know that there is God by our side to lead and teach us.
I am now in the church office and have been here since noon. I have been busy with a couple of things. What I learnt as mentioned above was put to a test in two incidents I faced. In one of them, I guess I passed but in the other, I kind of failed.
I was helping my dear friend to secure a good deal for her air ticket and also for her mum and sister who will be travelling with her. When I called the first few travel agencies, I did not get very good news from them as I was told many flights have been fully booked as her date of travel next month is considered as super-peak period due to the summer holidays in Europe. The prices are also considerably higher than usual. I started to panick and was also a little discouraged. It did not help when the customer service of some of these agencies were below par.
Anyway, I stopped for a moment and decided to spend some time in prayer. I asked the Lord to provide for me in the next few calls that I was to make. I know He would not disappoint me as I was really at my wit's end, trying to secure the three seats. I also know that He would not disappoint my friend because since He has given her the chance to study overseas, surely He would provide her the air ticket to travel to the country of study as well. That gave me a lot of peace.
After I closed my prayer, I resumed making enquiries with the rest of the agencies I listed and guess what, the subsequent three that I called gave me hope because they told me there are seats available but limited. Small hiccups here and there as in the dates of the intended departure did not coincide with the flights that were available. Pricing was also a factor. As I went along, I continued praying. Finally one of the agencies got back to me and they offered a reasonable price for the three air tickets and the dates were also suitable for my friend and her family members. We quickly got the agency staff to make a tentative booking. Then a call from another agency came and offered a better price but all three have to be placed on the waiting list. Well, I requested for the agency staff to try securing the seats by a certain date. I shall pray that the Lord will provide a way in this.
Well, God is truly good that when I needed Him the most and was quite discouraged, He provided a way out. Hallelujah!
The other incident I felt I have failed was about the matter that I need to handle pertaining to the Missions Ministry. As the leadership needed a closure to this matter, I felt pressured to provide a quick report on this. Of course it is easier said than done due to new developments in the course of the fact-finding. I was quite discouraged and in replying to one of the emails sent to me, I sort of shared my frustrations and disappointments. Well, as I look back on this now, I felt I could have dealt with this in a more positive manner. I guess this is one area of my life that I am still learning to overcome.
Well, time for me to stop - need to attend a prayer meeting soon.
To God be the glory and thanks be to Him for all that He had provided. :)
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I was doing my devotion along the corridor of the hospital and today I have been reminded to be joyful always. When I woke up this morning and because of the lack of sleep I had, I was quite grumpy. I was not looking forward to the day as well because of mum's radiotherapy. As I was praying on my bed, the Lord just told me to be joyful. From then on I was just thinking about this word.
I think it is good to be joyful always even in affliction because then we are reminded that trials and struggles we face are not bad but they are there to build us up in the faith and also in character. This is not about positive thinking but usually we learn most during bad times than good because for the latter we tend to take things for granted. As humans, we usually see struggles as bad because it is a lousy feeling and always a drag having to deal with them. It can sometimes be time-consuming and energy-sapping. But if we look at all these with a positive attitude, it is a good experience afterall. It brings us down for a moment but it also allows us to look up and know that there is God by our side to lead and teach us.
I am now in the church office and have been here since noon. I have been busy with a couple of things. What I learnt as mentioned above was put to a test in two incidents I faced. In one of them, I guess I passed but in the other, I kind of failed.
I was helping my dear friend to secure a good deal for her air ticket and also for her mum and sister who will be travelling with her. When I called the first few travel agencies, I did not get very good news from them as I was told many flights have been fully booked as her date of travel next month is considered as super-peak period due to the summer holidays in Europe. The prices are also considerably higher than usual. I started to panick and was also a little discouraged. It did not help when the customer service of some of these agencies were below par.
Anyway, I stopped for a moment and decided to spend some time in prayer. I asked the Lord to provide for me in the next few calls that I was to make. I know He would not disappoint me as I was really at my wit's end, trying to secure the three seats. I also know that He would not disappoint my friend because since He has given her the chance to study overseas, surely He would provide her the air ticket to travel to the country of study as well. That gave me a lot of peace.
After I closed my prayer, I resumed making enquiries with the rest of the agencies I listed and guess what, the subsequent three that I called gave me hope because they told me there are seats available but limited. Small hiccups here and there as in the dates of the intended departure did not coincide with the flights that were available. Pricing was also a factor. As I went along, I continued praying. Finally one of the agencies got back to me and they offered a reasonable price for the three air tickets and the dates were also suitable for my friend and her family members. We quickly got the agency staff to make a tentative booking. Then a call from another agency came and offered a better price but all three have to be placed on the waiting list. Well, I requested for the agency staff to try securing the seats by a certain date. I shall pray that the Lord will provide a way in this.
Well, God is truly good that when I needed Him the most and was quite discouraged, He provided a way out. Hallelujah!
The other incident I felt I have failed was about the matter that I need to handle pertaining to the Missions Ministry. As the leadership needed a closure to this matter, I felt pressured to provide a quick report on this. Of course it is easier said than done due to new developments in the course of the fact-finding. I was quite discouraged and in replying to one of the emails sent to me, I sort of shared my frustrations and disappointments. Well, as I look back on this now, I felt I could have dealt with this in a more positive manner. I guess this is one area of my life that I am still learning to overcome.
Well, time for me to stop - need to attend a prayer meeting soon.
To God be the glory and thanks be to Him for all that He had provided. :)
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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