time is of the essence
just a glimpse of what is to come this week:
tue: dinner with some s13 friends for a surprise mini birthday celebration
wed: meeting with Prof Tan 11am for discussion for planning career festival and BEMS AGM 5-6pm
friday: church prayer meet 8pm
saturday: rita’s 21st picnic 5pm at botanic gardens, val’s 21st 1920s themed party 7pm at chevrons, juli & huifen’s birthday celebration with cg (might be before or after service), xiuhui’s bbq party 7pm. and service 6-8pm (if you notice, they all clash. but the friends who are having birthdays are all my very dear friends from sec sch days)
sunday: ivy’s water baptism 3-6pm, jeekai and kim’s 21st bday celeb dinner 6pm
plus tons of school work overdue and project part deadlines this week, ministry work and meeting up with people and there’s another midterm test coming up next week.
okay, maybe the point is not complaining about all the events coming up. and there’s no use in feeling stressed and anxious because it wouldn’t help. i need to manage my time better and know my priorities. and sometimes, it’s inevitable that we will need to sacrifice some things over others, as much as we wouldn’t want to. we are limited afterall, we cannot divide ourselves into many selves (though i wish i could sometimes!). and we are called to be good stewards of our resources, and that includes our time at hand. how have we been maximising our available time? all those little pockets of time (bus rides, leisure browsing on the net for msn chatting, online shopping, checking out blogs…) should be examined to see if we can use our time more effectively.
i’m praying for myself to grow in this area of time management. i really need the grace of God and the wisdom to not only cope, but to excel in all the areas and responsibilities which God has entrusted me with. and i believe that as i trust in Him in all circumstances, relying not on my own understanding, He will sustain me and He will guide me in my every day. if you’re reading this, and if you also have prayer requests regarding managing time, please let me know so i can keep you in prayer as well!
the only certainty
it’s true, uncertainties are everywhere today. just yesterday, Singapore’s economy has just been declared as the first Asian economy to fall into (technical) recession, due to all the storm stirred up by the financial markets in the US and Europe. and because Singapore is so dependent on trade, we just cannot escape the effects when something stirs up at the other end of the world. nobody knows when will this tough ride be over, or whether have we even reached the trough of the dip. the real estate sector will also be affected as well, just as the construction industry growth has declined sharply recently from 19.8 percent to 7.8 percent. and well, this might mean an oversupply of commercial space when the new Marina Bay Financial Centre comes up in 2010 with fewer tenants taking up space or even backing out from their pre-committed lease contracts. and who knows how this would impact our economy further, if such oversupply and underdemand further depress prices of office space in Singapore, which may lead to a downward spiral of our economy. and it was just a few months ago when MM Lee shared so optimistically about Singapore’s future in the next 10 years (never was he so optimistic about Singapore then), and all the talk about making Singapore a financial hub in Asia and welcoming more international companies to set up headquarters here and planning for a population of 6.5 million. i can no longer predict how the economy will be like when i graduate in 2 years.
okay, i may seem to be posting on the forum of my current module ‘Real Estate Market Analysis’, but the truth is, the world is thrown into a time of uncertainty now. the pillars of growth of a country are so unstable - financial, political, defence, health etc. political rivalry in the top governments and uncertainty in leadership succession, rampant terrorism threats and countries (still) at war, and not forgetting melanine-laden milk which now affects the foods we choose to consume. there are so many changes that no longer can we place our confidence and security in the things which we used to consider safe and low-risk. even life insurance would fail us, isn’t that so?
and amidst this uncertainty, how are we handling it? are we seeking other alternatives instead, choosing to invest in other things, like relationships (BGR, friends, family), studies, work, achievements, status, physical appearance, material possessions, etc? surely those alternatives would fail us. the satisfaction derived is only temporal, which leaves us unsatisfied and desiring for more. or are we pretending that everything is okay, like the ostrich which buries its head into the sand, and choosing to ignore what’s important and needs to be addressed? do we just ‘live for the moment’ and tell ourselves that at least we are enjoying ourselves and having fun, and that’s all we care? or do we go into a panic, living everyday in fear, not knowing when our everything will be taken away? how do we confront such issues in the first place?
we need to identify the areas and values in our lives which we have anchored ourselves upon, and examine whether they are worthy of our full investment, worthy of our resources, because these are the determinants by which we live our lives (or maybe, we do not even have an anchor in the first place, choosing to float around as life tosses us wherever it pleases). the only anchor which is worthy would be something that is neverchanging, unfailing, a constant. this anchor would secure us and replace our insecurities and give us peace in the midst of a thunderstorm, because our ship would not drift. afterall, no investor goes into an investment with the objective of making a loss; he seeks to maximize his gains relative to the risks undertaken. minimize our risk by choosing certainty. that is the only wise thing to do.
and i pray that as we reflect upon the areas which we place our confidence in (which may disappoint us time and again), we will come to understand the folly of our decisions to invest in things which are temporal and which will not last. the Bible has already given the answers to what we are searching for, it is for sure that “this world in its present form is passing away (1 Cor 7:31b)”. and God has promised us that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Matt 24:35)”. just as how we are seeing the things of this world pass away, we need a greater certainty all the more because we know that we can no longer depend on ourselves and on what our hands have built. we need to choose to invest in knowing God and trusting in His word, because He speaks through His word and His word will never fail us for eternity. only then will we be able to enjoy life to the fullest, just as Jesus promised that “He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6a)”. i pray that today, we will learn to see God for who He is and to experience the promises He has for us that when we seek Him, we know He is the only certainty in this world of uncertainty and He is more than able to meet our needs, because of His love for us. let Jesus be that anchor in your life because He is worthy of your investment.
