Life is like a drama series – different snippets of joy and sorrow, victories and challenges, gain and loss at different season of life. Each drama series have an ending, and I believe this we can influence for our own lives. We can’t change the events, but we can decide our attitude and actions.
A few events have occurred in my life and people around me that makes me wonder about our priorities in life. I am also in a phase of life where I am in a cross junction, deciding the next step.
The last 2 years, by God’s grace I successfully passed all 3 parts of my postgraduate exams. To a lot of people of my same profession – medicine, this is a great achievement and a significant milestone for our career path. Somehow I did not feel that great joy and happiness that I thought I would. I realised career achievement and success is not important to me.
Few weeks ago, I joined my church group to run a medical camp in a rural village in western Nepal. It opened my eyes to the realities of poverty that third world countries are facing. At the same time, I saw that these people are so simple, their goals of the day is to have adequate food, shelter and health – the essential necessity of life. Whereas for us urban people, our goal is to have a more comfortable, and even maybe a more luxurious lifestyle. And honestly I really struggled to adjust to the living condition there for that limited few days.
Just a few days back, my car was just stolen, and mind you, this occurred in Singapore, not Johor
. I was shocked that this happened to me, but I did not grieve over the car loss as I told myself it is just a car, not a close family member. I was reminded of Matthew 6:19-21, where Jesus urged us to store for ourselves treasures in heaven where it can’t be stolen, and he said ‘For where your treasure is, your heart will be also’. Where is my treasure? What is my priority in life now? What have I been spending most of my time doing?
OCF 50th anniversary convention focus is timely, for me and for you as well, to take stock of our lives – our priorities in life. Restoring vision, renewing hope. We hope to see every OCF alumni recapturing the essence of the life God has called us to live, to have our vision fixed on Him and living our maximum potential in the Kingdom of God on earth, fulfilling His call to discipleship and making disciples.
Obviously my desire is to see all of you in this year’s convention in Malacca, 9-13 December 2009, as I believe God has something in store for everyone who is coming with an open heart to receive His Word. But regardless whether you are able to join the convention, my urge to each of you and even myself, is to really examine our own hearts and ask ourselves, ‘Are we living for God every day?’ I don’t want to get carried away with the less essential demands of life. It is not worth it.
Hui Ling
OCF UniMelb 1999-2004
OCF Convention 2009 Chairperson