Wooed By A King!

Singlehood is fun. I work as long as I want to, hang out with any of my friends anytime, indulge in as many church activities as I please and generally get to run my own life without having to worry about sensitivity to a partner's needs, emotions or time. Being a spinster also means lesser family responsibilities, greater priority allocation to God and His work and a larger expression of the childlike spirit in me. Meaning, I can go out and sail paper boats in rain puddles all day long if I wanted to, without bringing down fire-breathing in-laws on my head!

But singlehood also has its downside. I, the single person, am the one that eyes couples holding hands at the beach, uncomfortably conscious of my own unheld appendages which seem unusually in the way at times like these.....I'm the solo driver raising an unapproving eyebrow when couples (apparently) in love, zip past me laughing and speeding, down the East Coast Road......I'm the bacholerette in the corner of the icecream shop looking for a barf bag 'cos I can't stand the sicky sweet PDA exhibited by the cosy couple nearby.....I'm the cringing spinster that's wishing the earth would open and swallow me up when a host of well-meaning aunties corner me me at weddings thrusting bachelor bio-datas in my face....And last but not least, I'm the single traveller lugging her own baggage through airports and railway stations while demure wives have their husbands do it for them! Honestly, sometimes singlehood is not all its cracked up to be!

But really, it's not like nice guys grow on trees! Plus, marriage is too big a commitment to be entered into as if I were buying a lottery ticket! I'd rather wait and let God finish his painting on the canvas that is my life. Ergo at most times, I find myself desperately pleading with God, to atleast put the desire for singlehood in my heart if His carefully set plans for my future, are aeons away from fruition. And God being God, has responded in the most amazing ways.

On one of those cranky, frustrating evenings when all the world seems like it's in love and you're the only sad sop flitting around aimlessly with a thundercloud permanently fixed over your head, I threw this at God: "Look Lord, I'm single 'cos you're taking your own sweet time sending me my Adam. I'm fine with that, but then my feelings, emotions and desires become your responsibility! I've honoured your will for me....now I trust you to honour the desires you yourself fashioned in me. Not that I desire much, but could you please send me flowers some time? I would like that so much.....". This was my prayer. A silly one maybe, but it makes sense you know if you've been single as long as I have! The next day, I met an old friend who promptly handed me a lovely long-stemmed yellow Gerbera! I don't have to tell you I was thrown!

But being human (and a suspicious one at that), I needed to be convinced this wasn't some weird coincidence. So I pitched with God one more time. This time I wanted a teddybear (What? Almost every girl gets one from her boyfriend doesn't she?) to be delivered to me, lock, stock and barrel by the following Sunday. Come Saturday night, all was quiet and I told myself that the gerbera was a fluke. Early on Sunday morning, my parents woke me up with a "Happy daughter's day!", a kiss on my cheek and a plastic bag thrust into my groggy face. I don't think any of you reading this needs to ask what it contained!!! My parents are loving people, but not spontaneous or impractical gift-givers and the last time they gave me a doll, I was five! And 'Daughter's Day?' That's a first! But people, in the face of all odds, I actually got what I'd wanted! A Minnie Mouse doll is not exactly a teddy bear, but (I've never looked gift horses in the mouth!) this was nevertheless a doll, just like I'd asked and bang on time too!

By now there's probably an unbelieving open-mouthed gaze or a knowing indulgent smile on your face....depending on whether or not you've experienced these for yourself. But here's the best part yet. Even before I could get over the pleasantly awed realisation of having been courted by the king of the universe, I received a text message from a friend that read: "Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds (Matthew 7:8)". How apt. The Lord certainly enjoys crowning His deeds with appropriate words doesn't He?

So reader, when was the last time you asked God for something and actually believed you'd receive it? When was the last time you did? While I believe God has a soft corner for all us singles who stay rooted in His word, praying His will be done in our lives, His gracious and loving giving is not limited to this small clique. To everyone who truly believes, however trivial or inconsequential the need, (if it will bring joy and not pain for you in the long run), the Lord is quick to sanction it. Try and you'll see I speak truely.

And to all you singles out there still waiting for God's appointed to make his/her appearance over the empty horizon....chillax ok? Your promised one is on the way and will be here soon. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy having your hand held and heart touched by the love of your life - the Emperor Himself. Open your eyes to the love letters He sends you in every dawn and dusk and your ears to his love song, sung to you so passionately in every human voice and birdsong. Submit to His 'agape' love and trust Him to fulfil all your needs, even the smallest ones. Allow Him to fill your life with Himself and completely sweep you off your feet in divine romance. Yield yourself to Him that He may show you what real love is all about. For our heavenly suitor said, "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies." (Hosea 2:19)

Me...I'm thinking of asking for chocolates next!

Who am I?

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt,
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done,
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading ,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind,
Still You hear me when I'm calling Lord,
You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am,
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin,
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again,
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling Lord,
You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am,
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Whom shall I fear, Whom shall I fear,
'Cause I am Yours, I am Yours.

I was listening to this beautiful song by 'Casting Crowns' as I worked at office and couldn't help immediately posting this article. My heart brims over with love for this God who is so terribly powerful, so awesomely holy and so perfectly beautiful....and who will still stoop down to love me in all my stained sinfulness and incorrigibly flawed imperfections.

In Him I find my identity....I am His, completely undeserving, but by His amazing Grace forever His. For from the minute He died on the cross, none is able to separate me from the love of Christ!

Casting Crowns has said it all so beautifully, what more can I say? Just this.....with a full and willing heart, I love you Lord.

Stayin' in Love....

When I was about 4 years old, my daddy came home with a gift. To a spoilt only kid, much loved and pampered, gifts were a dime a dozen. But that night was special. With many cootchey cooey noises I was introduced to a new friend, a teddybear! I remember Teddy so well.....a bright orange rubber bear with big black and white eyes and a spotted blue bib. My baby eyes widened as I reached out and grabbed this wonderful new thing I had been given. Then for the next 5 years almost, Teddy lived life by my side.


He was in the bath, in the barber's shop, in bed, in the garden, in the playground, on top of trees and pretty much everywhere else I went. I think mummy only stopped me from dragging him to school by hiding him everyday when I left! And when I got back, no prizes for guessing who I looked for first and who I ended up cuddling last, at night. I loved Teddy and my love showed visibly along his ragged ears where I'd teethed my baby teeth on him. It showed in his one white eye that my ballpen had missed. It showed in the orange spots scratched out in his once all-blue bib. Naah....nobody who saw Teddy could have denied he'd been loved with all the love an 8-year old could give.

Today, teddy lies somewhere in a dusty loft. He doesn't share my bed or travel everywhere with me. So what's the big deal you say? People outgrow these things...we'd be more surprised if you'd held onto him as a 30-year old you say! True enough. Why would you be surprised? Everybody knows it. Love wears thin with time doesn't it?

The attachment you felt for that first bicycle, that rush of adrenalin when you glimpsed your first love, that swagger you adopted when you got your first job, that tender feeling of love and passion when you first got married......they all evaporate over time. Time, the great healer is also the great desensitiser. And human memories are too short to remember that once-great rush of feeling as newer and newer affections vie greedily for your attention everyday! How true then this is, with our relationship with the Lord too.


When we first taste of His Holy Spirit and experience the liberating power of being washed in His blood, the love, passion and loyalty that swell up in us, keep us floating into heights of intimacy with Him, such as which no other tongue can describe. Every voice is His, every incident a message from Him. Every sense is tuned into Him and every nerve of your body longs to be used, to do His will. Every emotion is heightened for His sake and every thought, word and deed is breathed with eyes and heart turned heavenward.


But as hours turn to days and days to weeks, months and years, the ardour cools. God's not so exciting anymore. Sure He's there and you still love Him. But He's no longer the love of your life and the delight of your heart. Other things take precendence....life shifts focus away from Him and like Teddy, the Lord too soon becomes a vague memory.


The church in Ephesus was guilty of forgetting their first love for the Lord (Rev. 2) and God expresses His disappointment in a very lucid manner. Unless they learn to love Him as before, He vows to wipe them off the face of the map. Needless to say Ephesus turned a deaf ear, for the once mighty church-town no longer exists today.


Take note reader. If you once loved the Lord with all your heart, and if with time you have forgotten the sweet taste of His love, no need to fear. Simply return to the fountains of living waters through the communion of His holy Word. The Lord is unchanging, He loves you still. And He longs for you to find that forgotten teddy bear again.

This thing called ‘Love’……

Human beings are a plethora of emotions…..happiness, sorrow, anger, peacefulness, jealousy, frustration, ecstasy, hate, love and many more….and everyone feels most of these sometime or the other. But the one emotion that has for ages hogged the limelight on the world’s stage is ‘Love’……

What is this ‘Love’? A little girl experiences it while skipping along in the park - an ice-cream cone in one hand and her dad’s protective hand in the other. A little boy feels it when his puppy yawns, rolls over and licks him on the nose. A teenager goes through it when he reads a mushy love note that his crush left in his locker. A mother understands it when her baby’s tiny fist closes over her little finger. A young couple acknowledge it when they look into each other eyes at the altar and say “I do” and old couples know it when they look back at a life of togetherness and memories on their 60th wedding anniversary…..

What is this ‘Love’? How can it apply to so many different people, mean so many different things and yet be the same thing? Is love a feeling, an emotion only? Or is it something more? In my opinion, love is more than just a feeling. It is a commitment. Feelings change…they pass. Commitments are forever. When you make up your mind to ‘love’ someone, you’re essentially making a commitment to care about that person regardless of what they do, where they go or who they become. Easier said than done. If all of us could do this, there would be so much less heartache in the world.

It must be borne in mind that people, being inherently imperfect, WILL let you down, hurt you, abandon you, forget you, and sometimes even turn against you. Nevertheless, true love still loves. I Corinthians 13 says “Love is patient, kind, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love is slow to anger and keeps no grudges, hates evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres”. From a human viewpoint, these qualities may be visible in your love relationship with others now and then. But to consistently love this way seems impossible. Correction: Difficult indeed but not impossible.

Our Lord Himself is our role model here. Despite the many ways we turn away or turn against Him, He remains the faithful lover, the Hound of Heaven that chases us to the farthest corners of the earth in order to win us back. Frankly, we ought to be flattered. I mean, the Creator of the Universe actually sets apart time from his packed schedule of running the place to chase you!!! How amazing can this be? Thrilled? Delighted? Great! Now think….if God who has absolutely no need for human company can love us so much, how much more must we, who depend on relationships for emotional survival, love each other? Chew on it……..

Gonna 'Bug' Ya Today!

Isaiah Ch:40 says "The Lord sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers"....Grasshoppers! Imagine that.....this is one verse that always struck me as terribly funny and intensely serious at the same time. I am as inconsequential as a grasshopper? On light summer days I remember sprawling on the grass of my garden, idly watching dragonflies, grasshoppers, ants and other little critters busily running, jumping and generally hurrying around on some pre-set busy schedule. I wondered wherever they could be going in such a hurry, but that was that. Not being an entomologist, I rarely gave them a second glance.....and now the Word of God likens me to one of these teensy things I could have stepped on if I'd wanted to!! Amazing!

So this is how I look to Almighty God from His throne in heaven? An inconsequential bug that runs around aimlessly, trying to achieve purposeless things, win meaningless victories, chases money, fame and fortune to no eternal end and finally one day, drops dead? Humbling thought! So I'm not really as wonderful as I or the world make me out to be? I'm just as important as a bug? Very Humbling! And nothing I do that doesn't have God at the centre of it matters? Food for thought huh?

If truth be told, we're not that inconsequential, atleast not to God. In our swollen-up self-important states of mind, it's easy to think that it's natural for God to love us. I mean, we're wonderful aren't we? We're beautiful, rich, successful, talented, popular...why wouldn't God love us? I've got news for you people...Hang on to your seats, but the truth is, God doesn't HAVE to love us....how many grasshoppers in your garden do YOU love???? And yet, God SO loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son....that's the amazing part!

He looks down at us grasshoppers, shakes his head in wonder at our misplaced priorities, weeps over the sinfulness, hate and violence that runs rampant among us, reaches out to rescue, redeem and repair our fallen hearts and through it all, continues to madly love us with an unquenchable passion. There's nothing we could have done or can do now to buy such priceless love....the single unchallenged beauty of Christ is that His love comes free...........yes, even to grasshoppers!