Saturday, July 26, 2008
Stayed at home today. It was a good rest from this long week. I just like it when I spend my saturday lazing around at home. Took some time to catch a movie with my parents in their room. The movie is called "Away From Her". It was a really good show and it touched me deeply.
This show revolves around a very simple yet realistic plot. It is about an old couple that have been married for 50 years. Their relationship have always been very loving and they were just like the model couple for all to follow. However, the wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and she started losing memories. She started to lose memories of her husband. Slowly, they transited from lovers to strangers. It was a painful process filled with endless emotions that can never be described. 50 years of romantic love just faded away, yet at the same time, it surfaced a different kind of love from the husband towards his wife. I was touched.
It made me realise what I wanted in my future relationship. Really, love isn't just about now. It is about tomorrow, about steadfast loyalty. I feel for the husband when I saw how his wife that he loved so much slowly just forgot about who he is. Are we able to love our other half when they love us no more? It is a challenge, a test of faithfulness and the foundation of the love. I guess love isn't just about romance that is so overly depicted in movies nowadays. It is about stamina, the stamina of one's relationship, how long it can last life's journey.
Relationship is serious and not something to be flippant about. It is a serious committment from both parties, to be there for each other, in health or in wealth, for better or for worse. I guess God will prepare that special someone that will walk with me through life's tough journey, and I will walk with her too, till the end of our time......Till then, we'll meet someday.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
On Tuesday, I did the usual at 12pm whereby I ate lunch at my camp's cookhouse.
It was a delicious and satisfying meal, though I couldn't remember what I ate for that particular lunch. I then proceeded to empty my tray and plate in the washing area. As I was making my way to the wash basin, I saw a bird on a table, eating the remnants of food that was left on it.
A bird? What so special about it? As I was moving closer to it, it started to panicked. By nature, any bird should fly away but this bird didn't, or should I say it couldn't do so fast enough. To my horror, I saw the feet of the bird. It has no claws at all! It was just two little stumps jutting out of its body. It looked to me more like sticks than feet. The bird was all alone and it was staring at me with fear. After a while, it manages to slide off the table and flew away.
I was astound for a moment. I was thinking, what kind of bird was that! It looked weird and out of the norm. I then looked around me and I saw many other birds congregating, but the poor little bird 'stood' there all alone, isolated at one little corner. Why was the bird all alone? Was it because of its feet or the absence of them?
It hit me hard as I saw that sight. Somehow, I related it back to what I see around me every day. It seems to me that this world has a way of treating things that are different. We see how humans treat humans with physical disabilities. Whenever we see a person with cleft lips or distorted facial features, what comes into our minds? Sadly, for many of us, the first thought is always, " Eww, what a weirdo." We find it uncomfortable and we tend to avoid association with these people. How often do we offer our help to the blind when they are boarding a train? It seems to me more often than not, help was called for before it can be offered. Seldom do we see it the other way round. Is it always part of our natural instinct that we tend to shun away from people that are different, that are less fortunate as compared to us? What really is the real reason when we help these people? Is it to show to others how helpful and caring we are? Were the acts of kindness really genuine concern towards the unfortunate or were they just a show to glorify oneself? Are we like those birds that congregate around each other?
I find myself guilty of these at times too. On many occasions, I just shun away from a beggar with obviously 2 legs gone. Somehow, as the years go by, this heart of mine have grown cold. "Let him be!" says my heart for the love once present no longer lives within me.
His disciple asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
John 9:2-3
LORD, I come before you with shame, for many times in my life I've stripped myself off the love that you clothed upon me. The mercy and grace you laid upon me was forgotten, resulting in my ignorance and arrogance towards the unfortunate. May you once again light up the passion within me, so that I may be filled with the great power of your love. Let me be the work of God, the work of God that will be displayed in their lives...
Forgive us LORD for our selfishness......
Sunday, July 13, 2008
This week have been another hectic week. I feel so drained...
I guess I have to hold it there. Patience is the key. A few more months and it will be over. I need to hold it there. God, give me the wisdom to walk through this stage of my life. Thank you for opening up my eyes and seeing so much that is lacking in me.
And the week starts all over again.