A story of grace I: The car accident

Slightly over six months ago, I went to Korea for my first-ever work trip. It was a media fam (“familiarisation”) trip, where I had to host a group of local and regional media and influencers for a press conference of a Korean beauty show. Because my main client contact in Singapore had another event that clashed on the same dates, someone from their PR agency had to take care of things in Seoul instead. And that turned out to be me.

I wasn’t too ~senior~ enough to be jaded for such trips, but senior enough for the client and my manager/director to trust me to lead this project.

Oh well.

I wasn’t terribly excited about it since it’s a 3D2N working trip where I had to mingle and make small talk, but it was a new destination nonetheless and I could finally experience the hype that surrounded this country… Plus what if I bumped into some of my favourite K-entertainers?

(Side note: I saw Kim Jong Kook “live” last week and his skin is flawless! I repeat, F L A W L E S S.)

I successfully booked a Hitch the day before my departure. In went the suitcase into the boot of the car before the driver picked up another passenger, and off we headed to the airport. It was a smooth journey, until we were somewhere on the PIE around Paya Lebar where the car I was in, took a hit both on its bonnet and on its boot.

Nasty.

I honestly saw my life flash past when I thought I was going to die of a car crash. I hadn’t said farewell to my family yet and I certainly haven’t married the person I knew was waiting to send me off at the airport. I remember praying, God, I don’t want to see You yet, so please don’t take me away.

When the taxi collided with my Hitch, I thought that was it, this shit is going to overturn and I am going to die and the SCDF are going to have to extricate me with their jaws of life – whatever – I am going to pass out and I am this close to seeing Jesus.

As a passenger sitting at the backseat, I thanked God that I was wearing a seat belt and thanked Him again when I realised the car wasn’t going to overturn. Jesus never felt so real in my life before.

(IG Story of the aftermath and my urgent PSA. Please wear your seatbelts, kids.)

I got out of the car, took out my suitcase and stood at the side of the expressway. We were standing on the fast lane and there were cars zooming past us. It must have been a sight to behold: humans standing on the first lane with suitcases waiting to cross the four-lane expressway and then another two more side-lanes to a pavement.

With the help of a random insurance agent who got out of her own car after witnessing the accident and two stranded humans (i.e., me + the other passenger on the Hitch),  she led us safely across the expressway and the side-lanes before helping us flag another cab. Truly God-sent as I wouldn’t have survived crossing the PIE had I been alone.

Although still reeling in from the shock, I finally made it to the airport in one piece. I scurried to get my WiFi routers from the counter only to be told by the receptionist that I had keyed in the wrong dates during reservation, and she wasn’t sure if there were any spare routers for my use in Korea.

Shit.

While trying to keep a cool head, I hurriedly told them to check if there were any spares and in the meantime, worked out a contingency plan. As the receptionist left to check, I broke down in exasperation after a long evening of drama. This trip wasn’t off to a good start, I thought.

My then-friend-turned-boyfriend (hahahaha) prayed for me, proclaiming God’s goodness and protection over me. It’s true – if it hadn’t been for His protection, I wouldn’t have been at the airport. I wiped my tears, walked around Terminal 3 to pass time, made a detour back to the counter, where the receptionist presented the WiFi routers that I needed. I met my influencer and local media, passed them their boarding passes, per diems, etc., and it was all smooth.

Or so, I thought… Until the Red Umbrella made its grand appearance in the heart of Hongdae. That’s a story for another day.

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Whatever influence Christians used to have, much like a parasite trying to reconnect to its host for fear of dying, many Christians are thrashing about trying to create waves and convince people they are relevant within our culture. But sadly, instead of men and women looking like Jesus we sure have a lot of talking heads. We sure have a healthy dose of condemnation in our ranks. We love being “right” instead of the hard task of humility.

Most interesting take on modern Christianity I’ve read in a while; see more here.

After all, what is the point in talking the walk when you can’t even walk the talk?

 

S a r a h

Hebrew: Princess

It’s been six months since I went into the waters.

In choosing my baptismal name, the story of Sarah struck me the most. Tormented by her inability at child-bearing, Sarah (then Sarai) resorted to asking her husband (then Abram) to impregnate their housemaid, Hagar. Later, after Hagar’s child was born, she threw both mother and son out of the household.

Sounds brutal, carnal and despicably immoral. Which woman would ask her husband to knock up their maid and then subsequently abandon mother and son?

And yet God must have seen something in Sarah – as imperfect as she was – to establish a covenant with her and her husband Abraham. Subsequently she was blessed with a son, Isaac, who would beget Jacob, then Joseph, then the list goes on.

¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Hebrews 11:11-12 (NIV)

Therefore, let Sarah be an eternal reminder of how God always has a way of fixing the broken, and then using them powerfully to create long-lasting consequences that can be achieved only by an act of faith.

***

Tomorrow, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, may it be a solemn reminder to how vast and victorious our God is, to be able to raise the dead from the grave. In the same way, it is this power that rescues us, cleanses us, and frees us from our sins.

³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:3-4 (NIV)

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Lazy lens for the lazy person.

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“Don’t be so focused on what God has taken from you that you can’t see or believe that God will do something through you.”

Bandung

This post has been in my drafts for………. 6 months. #tb to the days where Zims insisted the deer park wouldn’t be as cold as Mt Bromo, and yet we were still wrapped in our thick winter clothes, keeping our tummies full with leftover packets of Indomie and charred marshmallows, all huddled around the warm campfire.

We have all come a long way :’)

P/s: Netflix’s The Crown is a d d i c t i v e.

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Feels like deja vu all over again. Sunday – filled with dread for the upcoming week.

😦

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d struggle this bad. It’s the start of my 4th month and while I’d like to think I’ve gotten better at some things, I still continue making mistakes, some of which could have been avoided had I had, you know, more foresight. Hurhur. On most days I try not to beat myself up too much because I am still relatively new to the job but at the same time I do not have the luxury of time and patience to indulge myself in such allowances.

I also know that God has designed me in accordance with His perfect plans; any paths that He has set me upon – He has gone before me, no matter how treacherous the route, and He will walk with me.

…….. Yet every Sunday/Monday I struggle with thoughts of dread, with thoughts of why God, why am I struggling even though I know You are with me. It’s like I lose all my faith once the week starts, and then gradually regain it as the week progresses. Then it drops again.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Here’s a cry for help: I know He’s with me, yet I struggle to believe it.

Ironically, it’s in times of struggle I see God moving the most; only by His grace He has moulded me into someone who’s more resilient, who’s able to discern the blessings – no matter how tiny – in her life, and who harbours hope that all of these is for a greater purpose.

It will be a good week.

P/s: My mum has attended not one, but two consecutive Alpha sessions! Didn’t think she’d attend the second session and I only found out when she texted me a selfie of her + the friend who brought her HAHA man I was pleasantly surprised 🙂

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I must admit, the transition from school to work hasn’t been the most smooth-sailing. I have made many more mistakes in the past 1.5 months than I ever did during my previous stint in the same company. It got to the point where I broke down in front of my mum over dinner and she reminded me that I had God.

My mother, a non-Christian, reminding me that I had God.

He has provided so abundantly for me, dispensing grace in the form of supportive colleagues, understanding friends, and most importantly of all, in the people who love me. I am blessed! 🙂

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Thinking of writing these verses on nice art paper, frame it up, and place it on my desk as a reminder of His love. Also because my desk is in a MESS. Think: notes strewn everywhere, unsightly plastic bags containing personal items that I’m too lazy to even place in the drawers… Thank God for colleagues who don’t seem to mind… HAHA

Yogyakarta

Miss those carefree days where we cooked Indomie for teatime (and my dropping the seasoning packet into the wok…), dived from a 10m platform, attempted white water rafting where our guide kept trying to capsize us, bumpy four-wheel drives, watching Harry Potter in our host’s home :>

It feels strange to even think about school now. Was telling MK a few weeks ago how our Udders project felt like 10 years ago when it was only 4 months ago LOL. Good ol’ days.