13 now listen, you who say, “today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
14 why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. what is your life? you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 instead, you ought to say, “if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-15)
for those of you who paid attention to KD’s sermon few weeks ago or has followed www.allieandjc.blogspot.com faithfully might feel that this would be rather repetitive. however, it’s nearing the close of the year, people usually start to make reflections of how their life’s been for a whole annum and my melancholic side was itching to so the same. these mellow sentiments in my heart, in combination with recent incidents and circumstances inevitably led me back to think about this particular fragment of James. no words can be truer than this.
my sister had a friend, who recently passed away at the tender age of 20, of a rare disease uncommon to young people, lung cancer. she neither smoked nor drunk, she led a healthy lifestyle, and she was someone who was loved by many. but she was taken away in the prime of her youth. i wanted to cry when i read her blog. at one point i almost felt that God is unfair. then these words came back into my head. “why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. what is your life? you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
a mist, our life is. short. and unpredictable. never, ever to be wasted. what have we done so far with our life?
as for me, life has reached an important milestone. i’m no longer a student, drowning in textbooks and lecture notes, but now i am officially eligible to the title Dr Tanoemarga. it still feels odd at times to have a new title attached but this would be what my patients call me next year so i better start getting used to it. enough intermezzos, where were we? oh, life. yeah, life’s been good to me so far. tough, but always good. i’m thankful that i have made it to this point while still keeping the faith and walking God’s path.
this year was, i would have to use the word: unbelievable! now i realize that all the dramas in the movie in fact can happen in real life. i had not expected my life would be turned upside down, inside out, around and around to an unimaginable extent. i was tested again and again, taught some harsh lessons, fell and rose again. and it was a worthwhile journey because everything that has happened shaped me into who i am now, and drew me closer to my JC. i am truly and utterly grateful for JC, who has been right beside me in all my woes as well as my delights. He alone deserves the utmost glorification beyond mere praise.
now, as me and everyone else is ready to turn a new leaf in our own books of life, this is usually the time to make new year resolutions. most will forget theirs after one or two months, some will make attempts to fulfil them, and less actually will succeed in doing so.
i haven’t made my resolutions yet, but i have plans for next year. i fact, i have so many things i wanna do, i can’t even choose which one to do first! however, i’ve learned my lesson, that is in whatever thing i do or i want to do, i will first put it into God’s hand. “if it is the Lord's will, [i] will live and do this or that.” i’ve tried walking without Him, and i failed miserably. once bitten, twice shy, so they say. i’m not that stupid to try again.
on the last eve of this year, instead of celebrating with lotsa bubbly toasts at old and new parties infused with misleading merriments, getting pissed and embarrassing yourselves in front of your friends (and maybe your boss!) for some dirty dancing on the table, plus making these kinds of resolutions…
“i will work harder get promoted next year!”
“i will study hard and get all HDs next year!”
“i will invest and profit heaps next year!”
“i will definitely get a girlfriend next year!”
…save yourselves from the humiliation, spend some time instead with our Lord and pray a little prayer that goes abit like this…
“Lord, i wanna walk my life with You and no matter what life hits me with, i am to surrender to Your will. teach me to say, let Your will be done and not mine. for life is short and i am not gonna waste it for anything that is not gonna bring me another inch closer to eternity. Amen. ”
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