Friday, January 26, 2007

The God of Favouritism?

I hear so often of other people's lives, vociferously declaring of the successes and blessings they have received. A Cambridge education, a big house, healthy parents, happy family, wealth in an abundant supply, international career opportunities, favour from bosses and colleagues, good looks, hot girls / guys as their girlfriends / boyfriends ..... and the list goes on...

Sounds familiar? Definitely! When I was a child, I read about my favourite Bible character King David, the man after God's heart...He was blessed with everything - wealth, health, skills, looks, wisdom, safety, victory and even a throne and the entire country was his! As much as I admire him, I also struggled with the thought that God really favored him over many other people in the world. This has led me to think, will God favor some other Christians more than me? Will He love them more than me and endow upon them rich gifts and blessings?

If another Christian gets his heart's desires and things are all working out for him....does that mean that this person loves God more than I do, hence received more blessings? At the threshold of this thought, I instantly felt insecure and got myself into a web of more confusing questions. Thankfully, Pastor Wong came to the rescue. Here are the few things that entirely clear my doubts and misconceptions and things I have learnt:

1) God gives good things to all His children according to His infinite wisdom.
That means if He thinks going to that dream company of yours is going to make you proud and that you might drift away from Him and ultimately harm you, He will definitely not give it to you even though that seems like a blessing to you.

2) God's love is not measured based on how much we love Him or how godly we are or how much time we have been committed to His ministries.
He loves us uncondtionally, and remember He first loved us. Blessings is not measured by how much you love God or how many good things you have done.

3) Not having all those good things or your dreams doesn't always mean you are not blessed.
Pain can be a blessing, hardships can be one too if God uses it to shape who He wants you to be. God doesn't bless people based on what we would define as blessings.

and the last thing I learned...

4) Sometimes having all those good things may not always mean that the person is blessed.
We are only looking at things from the surface and even if he is blessed, that's a good thing. All the more we should rejoice with him instead of dwelling in some shallow jealousy.

Looking back, I know I am blessed in so many ways. Instead of wallowing in the pool of jealousy, I am learning to be grateful each day for the little, humble and simple things in life. I know very well that my Master takes good care of me.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Platonic Friendships vs. Romantic Relationships

Platonic - free from sensual desire, esp. in a relationship between two persons of the opposite sex.

(platonic. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved January 24, 2007, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/platonic )

Is there such a thing as platonic relationship? A friendship between a male and a female so strong but there is no romantic love / feeling, chemistry or infatuation involved? Or do you believe there is a chemistry between these two persons? Or do you believe that this friendship will develop into love and a romantic relationship later on?

If it exists, can it co-exist between two persons who have their respective love relationship? Can our minds and hearts be so clear to distinguish romantic love and friendship that we will not cheat on our spouses?

All these strings of questions often run through my head. I wonder if anyone has ever had a platonic relationship and has been remaining so for many years.

I have a male friend whom I am extremely close to and we can talk about anything under the sun. We are friends for so many years now and we have definitely developed a mutual admiration and respect for another. We often speak so fondly and proudly of each other's achivements to our friends. There is no doubt we know each other's weaknesses and strengths and sometimes even before I say a thing, my 'platonic' friend knew exactly what I wanted. That is how well he knows me. When we are together, friends will say we looked like a couple in love....simply because we connect so well.

Not surprisingly, friends and family constantly warn me of losing a possible 'romantic' relationship should I grip steadfastly onto this 'platonic' friendship. I never allowed those warnings to restrain this friendship from flourishing until recently, those warnings seem real and true...

Yes, they may be right that I might have lost a possible relationship with the guy of my dreams because of this platonic relationship, especially if both boys are buddies. If that is so, I have no regrets. It's all about trusting each other and if trust is not one of the fundamental elements to a romantic and lasting relationship, then I suppose no such romantic relationship can last and the guy / girl is simply not worth it.

I do not possess the answers to all the above questions mentioned earlier. The future is vast open with possibilities. A platonic relationship might develop into a romantic one or not. I wouldn't know. Either way, I will not allow it to develop, if I am already in a relationship with someone else. That's very clear within me.

I am thankful for this friend and am certainly happy to be in this friendship. To pay a price and to forego a friendship of which it took so long, so many years, so many phone calls and so much effort to develop, I will definitely think twice to forego it and I hope never to have to make that sort of decision of only choosing one....

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Avec "Il Divo"

Life is always so unpredictable.....no....I am always so unpredictable. I used not to admire boy bands at all. I used to think ... that they are just a bunch of lucky guys who somehow can sing a note or two and get themselves walking in the hall of fame because of their pretty faces. To me, there was nothing to admire in them - no musical talent, no sweet voices. As usual, I am unpredictable. I went all the way to Singapore to catch the Il Divo, a so-called boyband. I must say, I do not regret a bit, although there were some glitches in the performance, it was nevertheless a splendid performance and definitely very soothing to the ear. The orchestra and a 4-piece band together with the Il Divo powerful voices just swept me off my feet. The drummer was soo good that after the performance, I intend to add the talent in playing drums as my no. 6-criteria in my Top 5 must-haves for my life partner. Thanks to Sarah for accompanying me there and it's so unpredictable that I will have this chance with you to see il divo live concert and it's so unpredictable that music can bond us together.
Singapore was great! Thanks to Aunty Bernice for her good hospitality and great conversations and to Sarah's cousins and aunt for a great time as well as to my cousin for the short meet-up and lunch!

To all those who are still considering whether you should be listening to il divo, try them. Good music and great singers and they might be singing one of your favourite pop songs too..... in an operatic way.

At Orchard Road


Posers

Embarrassing ourselves


I will only do this once in a lifetime


With Sarah's cousins

Sarah and I at the Singapore National Stadium

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Welcoming Avec Moi

Being an IT-illiterate, I found myself lagging behind my friends by a few cycles of centuries. They have all progressed to a sophisticated level of blogging and I have just started Avec Moi. I used to think blogging is an activity for professional time-wasters, who want to add more junk to the internet community (as if we have not had enough of those junks) , but after much cajoling from an active blogger who constantly assures me she will be my ardent reader, I finally gave in. I am not sure, if this will be of good use to anyone a century from now, or it will be burnt, discarded away before it reaches a century old or be simply left in a corner of this internet world to rot away, but I've decided to start blogging, nevertheless, to feel what it's like (and to be in the trend) but also with a hope that it will be able to touch and help a life or two out there.

So here it is ... I present to you -- Avec Moi, simply means With Me in French. Especially dedicated to friends and family who have been with me through thick and thin and for those who are far away, Avec Moi is one window to peep into my life and be With Me.....