41st entry - A Timely Message

When I opened my email inbox this morning, I was hardly expecting to receive a timely word of advice from God. Perhaps that's why people say that God works in mysterious ways.

The article was actually a "daily bread" message dated 4 Apr this year. For those not familiar with this term, I am referring to short passages written by Christians to encourage other fellow believers to live Godly lives. The one I subscribed to sends me such messages daily, free-of-charge, via email.

I feel that God was telling me that I should continue to perform to the best of abilities with whatever that He had given me, at my current workplace. Instead of always thinking about leaving and about other jobs and what I could be doing, I feel that God wants me to concentrate on doing my work well. Maybe there is something to learn from my experience now that would be useful to me (or for God to use me to carry out His work) later.

Recently, when I went through 2 successful interviews I thought that it was certain I would be employed at another workplace soon. I was overjoyed at how smoothly the interviews went and I was enthusiastic at my present job because of the prospect of leaving. When I received the unexpected and shocking news later that they were unable to offer me a job, I was devastated. Gone were my hopes of starting anew and leaving my current job.

At the time of writing, I had just gone for an interview and was awaiting results. This time, I will tell myself not to put my happiness in the hope of leaving. Instead, I will perform my tasks as if I was not leaving any time soon. I think my changed attitude will allow me to acquire the knowledge and experience that I was resisting to learn previously. This might come in handy as I embark on new career paths.

--------------

Somewhere else
by Jon Walker


“For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11 NIV)


Community — Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? Maybe it was a job, a town, or a marriage. Maybe it was a stage in life, like singlehood, or a state in life, like a disability. It’s very possible that as you read this, you’re wishing you were somewhere else – anywhere else – living a different life, but you know it’s not likely that anything is going to change any time soon.


God has a word for you. It’s the same word he gave a group of people when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d folded their arms and said, “We’re going to wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”


Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity.”


To use a modern cliché, God was saying, “Bloom where you’re planted.”


Don’t invest your energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest your energy in the people around you. The Christian martyr Jim Eliot expressed it this way: “Wherever you are, be all there.” Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Christ requires that we be fully present in the present.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it “this worldliness,” and said, “It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to live by faith.” This focus allows you to see that your life is centered in God and not the place you live or work, not the person you’re married to – or not married to – not how you feel or how you look.


Investing in the people around you is exactly how you find life. Jeremiah even told the exiles that God had arranged for them to be in exile. So it was God’s plan all along to push them to the edge of their existence, so they would end up centered solely on God.


You may feel like you’re in exile too, but God is still working in your life; and his message to you is: Dig in and fully embrace the life around you.


So What?


· Center your life in God, not in your circumstances. God is constant; your circumstances are temporary. Ask God, “What do you want me to learn or to do in these present circumstances.”


· Change me, God – Instead of asking God to change your circumstances, ask him to change you in the circumstances.


· Practice being in the present – Today, whenever you find your mind drifting to another place, bring it back to the present, and ask God to help you stay in the present.


· Determine to be a good steward of what you have, instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Make the most of what God has given you.


© 2007 Jon Walker.


--------------------------------

40th entry - a perfect weekend getaway

On 14 Jul, S and I had a wonderful weekend getaway at Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel at Havelock Road, which is along the Singapore River. We were given a high floor Superior Plus room, which had a great view of the Singapore River as well as the city centre, a large marble bathroom with separate shower and bath, and a nice king-size bed. Cost? Nothing.

No, we didnt win any lucky draw. Neither did we know anyone in the hotel to get the free stay. It was all because of a feedback form.

S and I booked a weekend getaway package deal with the hotel in June to celebrate our anniversary and also spend time together. We booked the Superior Room package for SGD180+++ with breakfast for 2. At the end of the stay, we felt that the bathroom was giving a bad sewage smell and although we asked for a bathtub we got a shower, and instead of the river view we got the city view.

Disappointed, we wrote our feedback in the hotel's usual form. Not long afterwards, the Manager called us to find out more about the lapse in service. I wrote quite a lengthy email detailing the problems we faced. To convince us that the hotel was sincere in improving their service, the Manager decided to invite us back to the hotel for a complimentary night stay.

I had never encountered such excellent service recovery here in Singapore - in fact, ever, in my life! Because of this manager and the hotel's excellent service attitude, S told me that we should return in future for another stay using the ABN-AMRO bank discount voucher.

The cherry on top of the cake was that at 8.15pm we could see from our hotel room window the magnificent fireworks display from the National Day Celebration Rehearsal at the Marina Bayfront. Hugging each other tightly in the hotel's comfortable complimentary bathrobes, we kissed and made love under the fireworks... It was the most perfect weekend getaway we ever had!

Back in Time

The story continues with my search for meaning in life... please try not to yawn.

I think I have been searching all this while for something, or to do something, which would make me feel that my life is meaningful. Why? Doing so will make me happy. Or so I thought.

If life is about the search for meaning, then perhaps mine was about the search for happiness. To me, life is meaningless if I can't be happy while being alive. What's the point of living if I am unhappy? The question is: what makes me happy?

I think that its important to be happy about your work. It seems that not many people in this world are. They are usually in a job for the money, to earn a living to support themselves and their family. As for me, if I am unhappy with my work, I cant dedicate 101 percent of my effort into the job. And if I do not commit myself fully into the work, I will not be happy.

Recently, I realised that I am unhappy with my career. Honestly, I have never been 100 percent happy with my job. Maybe its all about give and take - you can't have your cake and eat it. People tell me that there is no such thing as being "100 percent happy" with your job because every job has its ups and downs.

If I cannot have 100 percent happiness, then I would like to seek greater happiness. That's why I have applied for new jobs. My most recent application was for a teaching post in the civil service. My parents were against it but S was all for it.

I went for the interview a few days after my NS training started. I didn't have high hopes of succeeding but I think I have a fair chance of being selected for the training. Among the documents they required was my university scroll, which I had brought to the army camp to be faxed to the teacher recruitment officers. Somehow I had forgotten to bring it home, and when I found it missing from the table where I had left it the previous day, I nearly died.

Frankly, I never realised that the scroll was of any importance to me until I thought I was never going to see it again. My mum commented over the weekend as I was packing the scroll into my bag that I should keep it safely because I worked hard for almost 4 years to get that piece of paper. However, in high-tech Singapore, I never needed to use the certificate to prove my qualifications. My current employer never asked me to produce the certificate when I applied for the job.

At the point when the guys told me that none of them recalled seeing the folder containing my scroll, my heart sank. As the saying goes, its only when you lose something that you begin to miss it. Perhaps many of us have the tendency to take things for granted and do not cherish what we have until we don't see it again.

Fortunately, I managed to find the scroll in the breadbin of one of the office cubicles. Let's hope my search for the "ideal" job will also result in a happy ending as well. ;-)

Hello, I'm Back!!!

It feels GREAT to be back, after a LOOOOONG break from Blogging. I wondered if any of you reading this missed me (hahahahahhaa..........)

So many things have happened lately that I felt I should record them down. Plus my memory is starting to fail. Yesterday, I accidentally drowned my mobile phone in the laundry wash because I forgot to take it out of my shirt pocket. I felt so sorry for it when I fished it out of the wash, dripping wet and sputtering its last electronic breath, and attempted in vain to resuscitate it by draining out the soapy water from its lifeless body.

Yup, the gradual and insidious onset of memory lapse could be a sign of aging creeping up steadily upon me. Actually this horrific process could have started when I was a baby. I often forgot to breathe, until much later when I realised that other people breath automatically. The only things automatic for me was getting hunger pangs and farting.

I have been called back for National Service training for the second time in my life after I ORD from the army in 1997. At the time of writing I had already served my first week, and was serving my second. When I stepped into the reporting office this morning, I froze: shit, what happened to all the files on the table?! Within seconds, one of the more helpful NSF (active servicemen) informed me that the Commanding Officer suddenly issued an order for Stand-By-Office yesterday. That means that within a few minutes, the office must be transformed artificially and unrealistically clean for inspection. My folder containing my university scroll was missing from my table.

Why did my university scroll even ended up in the army camp? The story has to start with my search for meaning in life...

Sorry folks, my co-serviceman needs to use the only Internet PC in the office. Until next time ......