Being in God's Presence

Today I feel like Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century French monk, who worshipped God in the kitchen where he worked most of the time. It was in that place of the monastery where he simply praised, prayed and pondered.

I am unable to attend church because grandma still needs help during her bath time and I also wanted to take the load off mum and the helper so that they can find some rest themselves.

Since I cannot worship God in church, I decided to do so at home while doing all the chores. I have to say it was a very refreshing way of being in the presence of my Lord and Saviour.

While bathing grandma, I prayed for her that the healing of the Lord will be upon her thigh-bone and also her hips. I also asked Him to cool grandma down in terms of her foul mood, just like the water running down from her head to her feet... that He will refresh my grandma, physically, mentally and emotionally.

While I was vacuuming the floor, I was reminded of the filth in my life and I took the time to seek God's forgiveness for the sins I have committed throughout the week. I also surrendered the concerns I have for my family and other loved ones in my life to Him. It felt good - knowing that these individuals, who mean so much to me, are now in His care.

While waiting for the washing machine to finish its wash, I took my guitar and sang a couple of songs. I also took the time to read His Word and after that, remained in silence to allow God to speak through the passage I read.

Did He speak to me? Yup! He did. During this period where my life revolves around grandma, I am assured that my help comes from the Lord and He will never let my foot slip. Though I have to balance between caring for grandma and work (which I kind of neglected last week), I find peace that I will be able to cope with both.

There are a couple of deadlines to meet for my work this week and with so little time left to complete the tasks, I cannot waste my energy simply by worrying because that will not help in any way. I will simply just do them and even if I have to work late in the night, I know the strength of the Lord will be upon me to see me through them all.

The presence of the Lord is everywhere because He is omnipresent and we can worship Him everywhere we are - at home, in the office or school, etc. Practice being in the presence of God and you will have a whole new perspective towards what you are doing at the point of time or with the struggles you have at that point of your life.

That is the reason why Brother Lawrence was always joyful and because He was always in tune with God, he knew what are the important areas of his life that he needed to focus on and did not allow every cares of his life to overwhelm him.

Well, praise the Lord for today. :)

  

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121

New Family Member

That is my nephew! The boy whom dad fondly spoke about before he passed away suddenly on 17 December 2012. We lost a very dear family member then but 47 days later, a new member has been added to the Chew family. His name is not confirmed yet.

As an uncle, it was a mixed feeling for me. I am of course very happy when I heard about the delivery but at the same time, I was also sad because I can picture how dad would be there to carry the baby with a big smile on his face.

I spent some time with God in the evening at Gardens by the Bay. I thanked Him for blessing my brother and sister-in-law with this handsome boy. I also prayed that God will guide them as they nurture this child in the ways (good ones, that is) which my parents brought the both of us up. Of course they are not perfect and there were some methods which might not have been appropriate but these can be lessons for my brother to learn and not commit the same mistakes as they did.

I also prayed for mum and grandma as I know they too will have mixed feelings and probably be thinking of dad during this period of celebration.

Well, I know dad is happy for us too where he is now. Even though he may not be with us physically, knowing that he will be celebrating with us is good enough. :)

God has been good to the family since dad's passing and may He continue to bless and keep every one of us as we continue with our lives.

Thanks be to God for this day. Truly He is good and His love endures forever! :)