Gladness...

Last evening, SLing, SYuen and myself went over to a friend's house nearby for a barbecue dinner to celebrate the homecoming of our friend's daughter from London, UK. There was good spread of BBQ chicken wings, sambal chicken, fried mee and fried bee hoon plus BBQ tau kees. Dinner started much earlier than I had expected and after a quick clean up, I was having quite a spread of food. I was careful not to gorged myself too much on the food while sharing a good conversation was equally important. 

Later, we were joined by another couple who were our good friends too and the entire evening was lightened up. During one of the sharing of this friend's daughter experience in London, she shared about staying in a house with 10 different individuals in the house and how she managed to get along well with them. These are Malaysian students doing their respective courses in London. Incidentally, she mentioned that her housemates were Christians and how they like to have meals together, have CG fellowship and also getting along fine with this friend's daughter of ours. She further told us how she would go for CG fellowships, sing praise and worship songs but most important of all, how her housemates would pray for her whenever she would tell them of her problems in studies or with general stressful life as it was. When she explained it to us, SLing and I looked at each other and we smiled because we were so proud of her Christian housemates who had truly shown our friend's daughter what it meant to be a true Christian. The couple who came later to the dinner purposely asked if these Christian boys and girls had  "influenced" her to become a Christian and so on. Though it shocked me and SLing knowing such utterance from a couple we call friend, we never knew the wife was kinda insistence that my friend's daughter would not be influenced by these Christian boys and girls. What happened next was unexpected as my friend's daughter spoke that these Christian boys and girls really treated her well and they really took care of her while never once hinted or asked her to be a Christian. They just shared their consistent responsible life, shared their food, prayed for the food and prayed for my friend's daughter and just be a friend to her. I was so proud of these boys and girls. There is just too much wrong perception and distortion of what being Christian is all about when all is needed is just being who we really are in Christ. SLing and I were really blessed by what her friends had done. It just goes to prove my point further that sometimes, our lives are the only Bible some see in us and that we should always not pretend to be who we are not but just portray what God has done for our lives and share His goodness. That's all that matters! Simple good heart, good manners, humility and most important of all, love genuinely.

In my heart, I just thanked the Lord for the parents of these young men and women who had impacted the life of my friend's daughter. No matter how small that sharing of their lives, the seed of goodness had been sowed and life will be transformed. Funnily, when our friend's daughter shared her experience about these young men and women, she lighted up so much and you could see the joy in her immediately. Truly her life had been touched by these young lives.

That night as we walked towards our home, we can't help but smile that somewhere somehow lives are touched even as we slumbered in our beds at this side of the continent. Somehow, when young people do the things they do to propel God's will upon the lives of others, you can't help but marvel at their hearts. So, thank you , young people out there who would sometimes put many to shame with your perseverance and boldness. May God further empower the young people and raised them up at the fore front of the battle ahead. So bless indeed!