Reality Check

Sometimes I think that God has a funny sense of humour. Just when crunch time hits, my dear mom falls and sprains her right wrist (last Thursday actually). We joked that we have Pikachu at home now, cos there’s a ‘pai kar’ (John) and now a ‘pai chiu’ (Mom). But jokes aside, my mom’s injury really challenged us.

Cos with her injury she can’t drive (though she keeps insisting she can try, against doctor’s orders)… and John, with his injured right leg can’t drive either. My father’s always occupied with work, which leaves just me to do the driving for everything else… sending and fetching John from Changi General Hospital for his second surgery last friday, sending mom to doctor, to pick up groceries, medicine, to shop for things… and in the coming few days because my mom’s going to Jakarta again, to send and fetch her from the airport, to send and fetch John from work and for his medical appointment on Wed, and his hydro-therapy session on Thurs.

Our doctor said my mom was fortunate she didn’t fracture her wrist as many women her age do when they fall the way she did. I’m convinced that God let this accident happen for good reason. 1. It’s a message to tell my mom to REST more and to take better care of herself… my wonderful mother has been putting so many of her own affairs and work aside to care for John and help with my wedding (coordinating invitations and travel plans for 60 overseas relatives is a huge project!). 2. God wanted me to experience what my mother’s life is like. Driving people around, serving them, putting their needs before my own constantly, rushing to do my work in the time that’s left for me at the end of the day… it’s no picnic. I can’t believe my mother’s been doing this my whole life (and longer). She’s amazing.

There are still a lot of things left to plan and do for the wedding, and Zibin and I haven’t had a chance to furnish our new place or get anything else other than the bed, sofa, dining set, stove, fridge, washer and dryer. We joke that when we move in after the wedding we can only sleep and shower… we’ll have to eat all our meals outside (our AMC pots are still in shipment from Canada) and then we can come home, sit on the sofa and stare at the living room wall (cos we have no TV). It is quite funny actually… when we thought of that, we had a really good, long and de-stressing laugh :P

Believe it or not though, I’m still quite calm. Tired, rather stressed, a little panicky when new incidents crop up or when I think of all the things yet undone… but somehow I know we’ll all be alright.

So what if our new place isn’t ready before the wedding? So what if things don’t unfold perfectly on August 4th? Here and now I think it is more important that we are there for the people we love when they need us. That is why even though there doesn’t seem to be enough time for us to do all that we have to do, Zibin and I are determined to make time for our loved ones.

Maybe God is ‘upping the ante’ so that He can give us a finale we can’t yet imagine. Heh heh…

To all our wonderful wedding coordinators, here’s something Zibin and I both wish to say: We know you will do your best to help us ensure that everything runs smoothly on August 4th. We know we have a very, very challenging schedule to keep. We feel that we’re lucky to have such experienced and capable friends helping us. Your assurances and support are deeply appreciated, and we just want to let you know that however August 4th goes, we’ll always remember that we had you guys at our side during ‘battle’. That means more to us than having an absolutely perfect wedding. :)

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Lord, help us to smile with each new cross that comes our way. Each new challenge is but a chance to be tugged a little closer to You. Help us to remember that there is nothing too small nor too big for You to handle, and that You only give us what is truly good for us.

I trust you, Lord. Help me to keep trusting in You, and to have the love and patience to serve my neighbours during this challenging time. Amen.