I delayed my gratification to write. What am I talking about? I like to write but I don't know whether I should share this because I've always wanted to be humble. Ahem...
Like usual, festive seasons, especially Chinese New Year meant FOOD, and lots of that. We went for meals which cost more than a month of salary for some. I am ever grateful to be the honorable guest and have had the best food which I may not order for life if I were on my own. But while eating, my mind went bizarre with questions.
"Do we really need to eat these? Do we really need to eat at this restaurant? So expensive? So extravagant?"
I felt I'm crazy. I should enjoy each moment. I like being dressed like a princess and honored but I also truly enjoy being me in my plain T-shirt and shorts and eat at the hawker stalls.
After all the blessings that we have received, especially Isaac, after receiving a bag of old toy cars from our friends' son, it's time we talked about GIVING. Earlier on, I had packed a bag of old clothes for the welfare home. We sent them over and visited the mentally retarded children in the centre. It's always in me to let Isaac visit the welfare home because when I was small, my mom took me to the orphanage and I wanted this to be carried on to the next generation and so on.
The lady in charge of the centre took us for a tour and introduced the children to us. There was one child who is born blind and he constantly bit himself. The worker has to tie up his hands and tuck them under his pants to stop him from hurting himself. There were two children with cerebral palsy and they were laid on the beds. The rest of them were "watching" TV. There were a pair of sister and brother which were quite normal looking. In fact, I think they're beautiful. Yet, their parents left them because they have low IQ. It was sad.
The point of the visit is to make this new year not only a time to receive blessings but also a time to give our blessings to others in need.
When we were back at home, Isaac helped to pick out the old toys which he didn't play with anymore and which he was reluctant to let go before this. My nephew asked, "Why stingy?" I said, "Poor people are stingy because we are afraid that after we let go, we won't have anymore left for ourselves. But most of the time, we actually lack nothing because God is good. We need constant reminder to be generous."
And we have Hannah to thank. Recently she likes to listen to a CD which has stories and hymns. There is a story about sharing. Usually we only give to others what we don't want or need. But the actual fact of sharing also means to share even the best of something. It is difficult to do that...but we shall pray.
May God open up our eyes and let us share even what's still good to us.
Happy new year to all!
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