A Change Is Coming

It's been 2 months away from home since I decided to begin my career in Penang. Before I left, I could still remember my grandma pleading me not to leave. I left anyway.

A great change is coming to my family. I guess these changes can be good, but nonetheless, it is inconvenient.

GRAMDMA IS DOWN WITH STROKE

It was on a Saturday morning that I get this news. It was difficult to swallow, but it didn't take me long to accept what happened. Grandma had always been an active person: Waking up before the sun is up to send my cousins to school, then go to the market for her daily shopping, followed by her coffee chit-chat routine at the coffee shop before heading to my aunt's saloon to help. After her nap, she would head back home to clean the house and prepare dinner for about 15 persons.

All this is about to change. With her partial paralysis, she would lose all ability to perform even the most routine task. That would mean all the different families that she had been holding together through our daily dinner at her house would now be having dinner together less frequently. That would also mean that she has turn from a care-giver to one who needs care. That would also mean that she cannot attend my graduation that she had been dreaming to attend.

This is difficult. She struggles to accept the reality that she is now ill. She denies care and she denies treatment. It makes things even more difficult. It makes me feel even more difficult.

But thanks to all my aunts and uncles, it is easier to cope with the changes. My second aunt, whom I have not seen cooking, started practicing cooking and make a lab rat out of my little cousins (she is currently babysitting my cousins). Even though the family started having separate dinners, Whatsapp kept the house connected. The siblings now work hand-in-hand to hold the house together. The house dynamic now changes.

MY COUSIN IS MOVING TO AUSTRALIA

In search for a better life, my cousin will soon begin her work in Australia. With her leaving KL, that makes the two noisiest kids, now adults, working away from home. I did not see this coming, yet I wasn't surprised. I will miss her, and I am worried, but we are young, and there's so much to expect out there. Her absence will leave a huge void in the family.

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Changes, even though undesirable, it is a timely reminder to me that nothing is eternal on this earth. The only thing that's constant is change. Changes move us away from complacency; changes move us to seek help and ultimately seek Him.

I see these changes as God's loving grace. Just as God exiled the Israelite into Babylon, which reminded them that He is not something to be taken for granted. Such changes were inconvenient to the Israelite, but it was necessary to move them away from complacency which resulted in their obedience and faithfulness.

I guess this is a season to deeper reflection and repentance for myself. It is God's reminder for me to stop and reconsider my way of secret life that does not reflect and glorify Him. It is also God's reminder for me that nothing is permanent, and time is of the essence. I thank Him for His grace, for keeping my grandma from imminent death, which in turn gave me a window to share the gospel with her before it is too late.

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Father, You are great and wonderful. You are gracious and merciful. You are sovereign. Your glory fills the Heaven and Your Name is known in all the nations.

I thank You for Your timely reminder. I thank You for Your never ceasing grace. In times of change, I know that Your love never changes. Therefore, I come before You, I confession, repentance and petition.

Father, please continue to sustain my grandma. If You are willing, please bring healing upon her. Grant her an open heart to know You and experience Your love. Grant me the strength, courage, wisdom as I spent my time with her. Grant me the perfect opportunity and the perfect approach to bring her before You. If You are willing, save her. Father, please grant strength to my family as we walk through such time. Grant us peace and gentleness in deal every matter. Grant us love for one another. Even as I travel back home, grant me journey mercy.

Lord, You are mighty and Your kingdom last forever! In Jesus' Name. Amen.

God's Character, My Encounter.