Vicissim
Ah the vicissitudes of life. I feel especially strongly today because I had two real interactions with two real people today.
As I sat in the car, I couldn't help but feel the revival of this man. This young man, bright future ahead of him, barely in his 30s. But this same young man, brought up by his grandmother with an busy mother, has a past during which drugs wreaked havoc. I don't know his story, but I know he's a changed man. My parents were chatting with him about what he wants to do in the future, cos he asked them to be his referees to enrol himself into a small Bible college that charges low fees for those who can't afford a full tertiary education. What a change.
I went for drum class today, with a man from the same organisation as this previous guy. His wife had just given birth to a baby of 4kg! He rushed down from the hospital cos the church had paid for him to take those drum lessons, and was rushing back straight after that. I bet his heart was pounding. What few of us know, is that he has another child whom he has not seen for 15years, and an ex-wife who walked out on him because he had gotten himself hooked onto drugs while pubbing with some corporate colleagues. This guy speaks perfect English too, not your Hokkien beng kind. What some of us do know, is that for 7 years he was dating his current wife (then girlfriend) even though he was still hooked on the dope. Yet each time he ran out for substance, his girlfriend would search the whole of Singapore for him and bring him home. She believed in him. Finally, touched by her love, he enrolled himself into a rehab agency and has never looked back since.
And then there is the one who has tattoos all over him, but also 2 bouncy boys. Some have heard how the last time he came out of the drug rehab centre and tried to go home, his family had decided they didn't want him anymore. He slept at the HDB block wire room that night, and in desperation he cried out: 'Lao Tian Ye, jiu wo!' Perhaps He did. And perhaps the Lord of the Heavens did guide him that night to this rehab centre, where he was transformed by the love of God.
Then there is the one who's going to get married this year, and found a beautiful wife to walk the journey of life with him. Wait, i forgot to say, he can't walk. That's because he fell from 15 stories while he was high on drugs, broke 7 bones including his spine, but survived. Sinking into depression, he plucked up the courage to live on. Someone bought him a motorbike that can be driven by the disabled, and today he travels the prisons telling his story. He's also a bassist and guitarist in our band.
And who can forget the one who started on heroin at the tender age of 9 cos his father left some of it at home. He spent the next 20 years of his life in and out of prison and rehab. Today he sings songs for God, playing his guitar, singing his heart out in his Hokkien tongue. He has released albums that tell us of his past, and will be holding a charity concert soon.
Wow. There are many things that the world can throw at us, but we need to learn to be firm as a rock and never let those things shake us out of the hand of God.
I'm trying to learn that day by day.
As I sat in the car, I couldn't help but feel the revival of this man. This young man, bright future ahead of him, barely in his 30s. But this same young man, brought up by his grandmother with an busy mother, has a past during which drugs wreaked havoc. I don't know his story, but I know he's a changed man. My parents were chatting with him about what he wants to do in the future, cos he asked them to be his referees to enrol himself into a small Bible college that charges low fees for those who can't afford a full tertiary education. What a change.
I went for drum class today, with a man from the same organisation as this previous guy. His wife had just given birth to a baby of 4kg! He rushed down from the hospital cos the church had paid for him to take those drum lessons, and was rushing back straight after that. I bet his heart was pounding. What few of us know, is that he has another child whom he has not seen for 15years, and an ex-wife who walked out on him because he had gotten himself hooked onto drugs while pubbing with some corporate colleagues. This guy speaks perfect English too, not your Hokkien beng kind. What some of us do know, is that for 7 years he was dating his current wife (then girlfriend) even though he was still hooked on the dope. Yet each time he ran out for substance, his girlfriend would search the whole of Singapore for him and bring him home. She believed in him. Finally, touched by her love, he enrolled himself into a rehab agency and has never looked back since.
And then there is the one who has tattoos all over him, but also 2 bouncy boys. Some have heard how the last time he came out of the drug rehab centre and tried to go home, his family had decided they didn't want him anymore. He slept at the HDB block wire room that night, and in desperation he cried out: 'Lao Tian Ye, jiu wo!' Perhaps He did. And perhaps the Lord of the Heavens did guide him that night to this rehab centre, where he was transformed by the love of God.
Then there is the one who's going to get married this year, and found a beautiful wife to walk the journey of life with him. Wait, i forgot to say, he can't walk. That's because he fell from 15 stories while he was high on drugs, broke 7 bones including his spine, but survived. Sinking into depression, he plucked up the courage to live on. Someone bought him a motorbike that can be driven by the disabled, and today he travels the prisons telling his story. He's also a bassist and guitarist in our band.
And who can forget the one who started on heroin at the tender age of 9 cos his father left some of it at home. He spent the next 20 years of his life in and out of prison and rehab. Today he sings songs for God, playing his guitar, singing his heart out in his Hokkien tongue. He has released albums that tell us of his past, and will be holding a charity concert soon.
Wow. There are many things that the world can throw at us, but we need to learn to be firm as a rock and never let those things shake us out of the hand of God.
I'm trying to learn that day by day.
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