Hey guys!

Just wanted to share two recent incidents - the first is a testimony, and the second is what God taught me through an interesting encounter. Funnily enough, they both have got to do with buses :)

(also posted on my livejournal)

1. The Answered Prayer, on 153

Last Thursday, I was rushing from Toa Payoh to Kovan for a dental appointment scheduled for 7.45pm. I was definitely not going to make it on time! At 7.45pm, I was still at the bus stop waiting for 153, and there was an awful jam. My mum said she'd meet me at the dentist's so I really needed to let her know I'd be late, but earlier on my phone batt had died on me. I was stuck and very scared, because my mum had specifically warned me not to be late.

As I sat at the bus stop I contemplated asking to borrow a stranger's phone but everyone else at the bus stop was Old and looked like the kind of people who'd be wary of a kid running away with their phone. Desperately, I mentally repeated "Please God, let someone from RG come to the bus stop, and soon!"

I got on 153 at nearly 8pm, phoneless, uncontactable and very worried. But as we neared the next stop, I looked out of the window and guess who I saw waiting at there? It was Lydia & Margie, my two GB squad seniors (who live nowhere near there)! And more amazingly, THEY GOT ON 153!!! I was so shocked yet relieved that the moment they were in earshot I kind of gushed "oh my goodness margie & lydia you are the answer to my prayer!" to their stunned looks, haha. Apparently they were only on 153 because they'd gone to the wrong place for their GB meeting, thinking it was at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian when it was at GB HQ in Kovan. They might have ponned it because they were an hour late, but they didn't in the end, which allowed my miracle :)

I don't want to think about what would have happened (or what kind of scolding I would have gotten from my worried mum) if I hadn't managed to call my her with Margie's phone. I only got to the dentist more than half an hour after my scheduled time! I am so thankful that God provided me with the phone when I really needed it :)


2. I Missed 93 (But Learnt Something)

This morning, I needed to get to church by 8am to help facilitate Baptism & Membership Class. Unfortunately I left house late, at 7.30am, and when I walked out to the main road I saw the 93 I had to take approaching!

Now, here's the part that's a bit hard to explain. Between where the 93 was and the bus stop, there's a traffic light it might have to stop at. Between me & that same bus stop, there are TWO roads to cross. When the traffic light stops 93, I get to cross the first road. When the traffic light for 93 turns green, I get to cross my 2nd road, racing 93 to the bus stop.

The light for the bus was red when I spotted it, so in my head I decided that since I had a chance, I WOULD GET THE BUS, no matter what it took. I fully believed it was doable - the traffic lights were in my favour, and I've done the same thing successfully before! Very determinedly, I ran across the first road as fast as I could.

But just before I crossed the 2nd road, I began to doubt that I'd make it. I was racing against a bus, and I had a longer distance! It would be really embarrassing if the driver + passengers all saw me running like a siao zhar bor and then I end up missing the bus... These thoughts took over, and I decided to give up my ambitious bus-catching Mission.

So when the light turned green for both me & the 93, I walked. Yet I pictured where I'd be at each moment if I'd chosen to run and tracked my "progress" mentally. Well, if I'd run, I would have caught the bus. I realised it was possible halfway across the road, but by then it was too late to start! The bus even stopped for a really long time, and I got to the bus stop just a few seconds after it left, and I'd walked.

Needless to say, I was disappointed with myself for giving up so easily (and for such stupid reasons - being embarrassed about running for a bus?!) The next bus wouldn't get me there in time so I ended up cabbing. But, I learnt a couple of important lessons!

When the heart is set on a goal and convinced that it's possible, don't waver or give up, no matter the circumstances. I started out believing I could do it, but halfway through began doubting & telling myself it was impossible. And I allowed the silly fear of what people might think to stop me from completing my mission! I'm reminded of what Hebrews 12:1 tells us to do - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Chiong all the way. I realised halfway that it was STILL possible to catch the bus, but by then my walking had cost me too much ground to possibly catch up with it! Perhaps that's the way it is with our lives too. Often we go all out at the start of a 'mission' because we're on fire, then halfway through we lose steam; we slacken and give up on running the race. When we finally wake up and get back into it, we have lost precious ground which cannot be made up for. By not continuously chionging all the way from the get-go (the point where we set our hearts to pursue something), we might just miss out on the full measure of what could actually be accomplished.

These three words succintly sum it all up - No Turning Back.

Labels: Testimonies