Glimpses of God in Our Lives

Dear Diary,

It is strange that when I casually watched the movie “Exorcist: The Beginning” on television last night, it seemed to speak to me on the need to hold onto one’s faith in the midst of doubt. In that movie, a former Dutch Catholic priest Fr Merrin lost his faith after he could not explain the absence of God in the midst of the suffering during the Holocaust. He became an archaeologist and was employed to find relics in Kenya. Fortunately or unfortunately for him, there was Evil present in a buried Byzantine church which was built on top of a pagan temple. As he came to realise the demonic presence in that African village, he turned back to his Christian faith and priestly vocation, ultimately exorcising the demon which claimed the lives of many including the female doctor Sarah (who played with tarot cards) and a Vatican priest who was ambushed while he was exorcising the wrong person. I mean… that was just a movie but it reminded me about a story in the bible where Jesus cast out demon from a boy. At one instance, Jesus told the child’s father that everything is possible to the one who has faith (Mark 9:23). The father then replied with that famous words, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Not too long ago, letters and journals of the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta showed that she had a crisis of faith for decades! She experienced what St John of the Cross, a mystic, once described as “dark night” which a person feels completely abandoned by God and can even lead ardent believers to doubt God’s existence. Famous saints like St Therese of Lisieux also felt that way but she held on to the Faith even though she felt it so hard to believe. My conclusion is we can learn that a Christian faith is not just about emotions but grit and perseverance as Saint Paul reminds us (Hebrews 12:1).

Okay, anyway… I gave a breakfast talk to some colorectal surgeons in a particular hospital yesterday morning and it was a great success! Thank God because there were so many hiccups along the way that I wondered if it would just flop big time, haha… My pharmacy education background came to the rescue again as the surgeons posted questions on efficacy in end-stage renal failure patients, instances of false positive and even on Helicobacter Helmanii… Could confidently answer them all. =) The past week had been pretty enjoyable and short too! ;-) Thursday and Friday were days I spent attending an “Emotional Intelligence” workshop at the NUS extension centre in Park Mall. We had a pretty engaging trainer and I thought I learnt quite a bit from that seminar. Of course, the feeling of been able to walk around Dhoby Ghaut area on a weekday during working hours in sandals… well, that feeling is unmatched! Hee… Oh yes, the $9.50-nett set lunch at Café Cartel is good, especially their picata fish. There was one funny joke when the trainer advised someone that walking in parks is good for the mood and that one should do it once or twice a week. The fella replied that he walks in the park everyday.
“That’s good,” The trainer replied, “Which park do you walk in everyday? MacRitchie? East Coast Park?”
“Oh… it’s the carpark.” He replied. * Faint*

On Monday (13 Oct), my gasoline warning sign came on while I was departing from my office for SGH. I thought I could find a petrol kiosk along the way but I was wrong! When I reached the hospital, I did some work there and decided to make a detour along the way back to office so that I could pump some petrol. That petrol kiosk along Anson Road was no longer there! I was shocked and for the next 10 minutes or so, I was praying hard that my car would not run out of petrol! To make it worse, I lost my way a little as I was desperately searching for any petrol kiosk. Eventually, I reached back to office and went online to search for the nearest petrol kiosk. Thank God there is one nearby and even though it was just a few hundred metres away, I prayed that my car would not stall! After all, I had driven about 10km since that red “Low Petrol” indicator sign came on. I made it anyway. Thank God! ;-) I will now remember to always check my petrol gauge as often as possible after this incident. It was a memorably scary drive!

On Tuesday (14 Oct) at about 8am, my record was broken. I honked my car horn for the first time since I got my driving licence in mid 2002. Keeping that record had been good in regulating my impulse. ;-) Kinda disappointed that it ended eventually but there was also some feeling of relief. I can now honked when I feel like it, hahaha… =P In that evening, I attended a Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS-organised) “Contract Law” seminar conducted by lawyer, Rebecca Chew. It was a good revision of the fundamentals which I learnt as a university student when I took the module “Legal Environment for Business”. Saw a couple of ex-classmates (all males) there and some university juniors. It was a good time to get updates on their lives, haha… Caught up with a friend over some drinks (non-alcoholic for me) at the Majestic Bar at Bukit Pasoh road (near Outram). The ambience there was really awesome for a little chat and catch-up. =) Definitely, will be back there someday.

Wednesday (15 Oct) was bad… I drove like almost 90km the whole day. Covered too many places and had a headache after that. I hardly get headaches in my life and I can’t believe that driving for prolonged periods can give me one, hmmm… Okay, that’s about all the updates and thoughts I have for now… Take care and have a great week ahead! ;-) Thank God for the upcoming public holiday next Monday (27 Oct), haha… at least I get more rest after yet another army call-up this coming Friday.

God Bless,

Andrew