A Place of Transformation… God in our times of rest

When I fractured my right clavicle (collar bone) and the 3rd and 4th ribs during a cycling incident in January, I was given hospitalisation leave for two months.

During my recuperation, I kept asking myself how could I have fallen so badly? I wasn’t a novice and I wasn’t cycling fast. But I have no impression how the incident happened! I ended up getting angry with myself for such a folly. It was very inconvenient nursing fractured bones. However, as I reflected on the incident, I realised that God was very merciful and faithful to me in preserving my life. I fell on the road, according to the policemen who attended to me; and some kind souls who carried me to the grass verge. But there were no vehicles behind me. If there were, my injuries would have been much worse. One other thing that I found out towards the end of my leave was that during this whole period of rest, my atrial fibrillation was kept at bay. What a relief!

During this time of leave, I was rested but also felt restless. How can I fill 10 hours daily meaningfully?

There were physical activities that I wanted to do but couldn’t. I could read office emails but typing replies was laborious. I spent most of my time reading and realised that fellowship with God is a discipline. The mind and the body being accustomed to work and other activities were often distracted and wanted to do something else. The telephone calls and visitations from colleague were very much welcome as it brings me back to something very familiar – work! But as I worked out a daily routine, finding God through my reading became a pleasure.

God also gave me an opportunity through this rest period to catch a glimpse of what retirement would look like as I would be retiring in a year or so. I am therefore grateful for this experience and am very mindful to plan for my retirement.

God’s protection, providence and presence in this episode of my life reminded me of the story of Joseph which is covered in more depth than the creation story or the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It doesn’t mean that Joseph’s life is more important but it does mean for us to take note of what God wants us to see – that God is interested and sovereign in his life. And from my experience, I can attest that God is most definitely interested and sovereign in our lives –  Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

By Shi Pau Soon, Elder (YCKC Bulletin 14 April 2019)