I had a very long day. I have been out all the way - from going to church in the morning to attending my cousin's wedding in the evening. In between I had to attend a farewell get-together for a family from U.S. who have been in Singapore since three weeks ago. I had to also rush through the Missions Ministry Newsletter which needs to be in print before this coming Sunday, in time for the Missions Emphasis Week.
During the get-together for our American siblings-in-Christ, I was surprised that their little daughter, Claire, whom I shared about in one of my recent blogs, allowed me to hold her. By this, I mean I was able to carry her. The Americans use "hold" in place of "carry." I was stunned when she opened her arms up to me to allow me to hold her around the Plaza of the church. I even fed her the Japanese pizzas that we ordered and also to let her drink from the water-bottle! That moment brought a lot of joy and I praise the Lord for that.
Oh yah, the parents allowed me to babysit her on one of the coming days this week. They basically wanted to go on a date without their daughter and since Claire has trusted me, they are at ease to put their little darling under my care. I think it will be on Wednesday but I have to confirm with them again as I may have to be in office for a meeting in the late morning. I am crossing my fingers that there will be no meeting.
Anyway, the above experience has taught me something - that in all relationship, there need time for one to trust the other; for one to develop the friendship with the other by communicating; and that both must make an effort and not expect friendship to happen without doing anything about it from either party. It took me almost two weeks or so to win the trust of little Claire. I did not give up. Whenever I see her, I will make conversation and play with her. I guess she has reached a point where she is able to trust me, hence the opportunity to hold her.
I still smile whenever I recall the moment when Claire just lifted her arms towards me. I will always cherish that. :)
That was the happy part of the day. I also experienced two unpleasant and sad moments - one was a remark being made against me for having missed someone's birthday get-together. It was not that I purposely missed it. I even took the initiative to inform this individual I was unable to attend as I had an important meeting that evening. In the end, I got this "we had fun without you" statement when I asked how the get-together went. When I heard that, frankly I was not angry but disappointed. Well, so be it.
The other incident was my backache. The pain came after the get-together when I was in the church office ready to do the newsletter. It was quite unbearable but I took the two painkillers to alleviate the discomfort. It was better after 10 minutes. Praise God for that!
Well, I had to rush to my cousin's wedding at Furama Hotel along Havelock Road. It was a simple wedding reception of a small group of family members and closer friends from my cousin's church. Mum gave me a couple of wrong timings throughout the day - when I was leaving for church this morning, she said the reception was at 4pm; then when she called me in the afternoon, she mentioned that it was 5pm. Because of the last information, I had to rush like a mad dog as I was running late. I had to grab a cab in the end. When I arrived at the function room, all I saw was this group of my cousin's church friends rehearsing for the wedding service. Mum walked towards me and apologised. In the end, the whole event was to start at 6pm. Sigh.
Anyway, it was a good time of catching up with my relatives, especially my cousins. I did not eat much as I was not that hungry.
Well, it has been an eventful day.
Thanks be to God for both the pleasant and unpleasant encounters.
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
During the get-together for our American siblings-in-Christ, I was surprised that their little daughter, Claire, whom I shared about in one of my recent blogs, allowed me to hold her. By this, I mean I was able to carry her. The Americans use "hold" in place of "carry." I was stunned when she opened her arms up to me to allow me to hold her around the Plaza of the church. I even fed her the Japanese pizzas that we ordered and also to let her drink from the water-bottle! That moment brought a lot of joy and I praise the Lord for that.
Oh yah, the parents allowed me to babysit her on one of the coming days this week. They basically wanted to go on a date without their daughter and since Claire has trusted me, they are at ease to put their little darling under my care. I think it will be on Wednesday but I have to confirm with them again as I may have to be in office for a meeting in the late morning. I am crossing my fingers that there will be no meeting.
Anyway, the above experience has taught me something - that in all relationship, there need time for one to trust the other; for one to develop the friendship with the other by communicating; and that both must make an effort and not expect friendship to happen without doing anything about it from either party. It took me almost two weeks or so to win the trust of little Claire. I did not give up. Whenever I see her, I will make conversation and play with her. I guess she has reached a point where she is able to trust me, hence the opportunity to hold her.
I still smile whenever I recall the moment when Claire just lifted her arms towards me. I will always cherish that. :)
That was the happy part of the day. I also experienced two unpleasant and sad moments - one was a remark being made against me for having missed someone's birthday get-together. It was not that I purposely missed it. I even took the initiative to inform this individual I was unable to attend as I had an important meeting that evening. In the end, I got this "we had fun without you" statement when I asked how the get-together went. When I heard that, frankly I was not angry but disappointed. Well, so be it.
The other incident was my backache. The pain came after the get-together when I was in the church office ready to do the newsletter. It was quite unbearable but I took the two painkillers to alleviate the discomfort. It was better after 10 minutes. Praise God for that!
Well, I had to rush to my cousin's wedding at Furama Hotel along Havelock Road. It was a simple wedding reception of a small group of family members and closer friends from my cousin's church. Mum gave me a couple of wrong timings throughout the day - when I was leaving for church this morning, she said the reception was at 4pm; then when she called me in the afternoon, she mentioned that it was 5pm. Because of the last information, I had to rush like a mad dog as I was running late. I had to grab a cab in the end. When I arrived at the function room, all I saw was this group of my cousin's church friends rehearsing for the wedding service. Mum walked towards me and apologised. In the end, the whole event was to start at 6pm. Sigh.
Anyway, it was a good time of catching up with my relatives, especially my cousins. I did not eat much as I was not that hungry.
Well, it has been an eventful day.
Thanks be to God for both the pleasant and unpleasant encounters.
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
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