Being busy is a badge of honour for many of us. Perhaps we think it means we’re efficient, productive, hardworking. Doing overtime is the norm, leaving on time is still frowned upon on some level, and taking time off can be unheard off.
I was no different.
I was a complete mess. The husband was yet at another meeting, so I was stuck with two young children and a baby at witching hour.
When my son accidentally tipped his entire bowl of rice all over the floor—I completely lost it.
It all started when, as part of my Urban Studies course in the seminary, we interviewed organisations working with foreign domestic workers, migrant workers, and others. Hearing all the stories about unfair treatment, abuse, depression, and other struggles kept me awake at night.
My husband and I make it a point to always kiss each other goodbye before we go our separate ways. At the front door, when he leaves for work and I’m holding a crying baby in one arm and a clingy toddler in the other—no matter what the circumstance—we kiss each other goodbye.
Being a mum to a toddler and a baby means you rarely have any time for yourself, much less for devotions, sermons, Christian literature, and the like. Or so I thought.
When we first found out that our son had ventricle septal defect (VSD), we did not think much of it. Many children are born with holes in their heart, and many of these close over time. But by the third week, it was evident something was not right with our son, N.
It’s that season of the year again. My church calls it the “evangelism season”. My Pastor tells us to rise up in evangelistic fervor, saying that it’s the best time to invite friends and family to church.
It was the night of our first planning meeting for our wedding. All of us involved in the preparation were all buzzing with ideas and enthusiasm, right until the pastor turned to me and asked, “Who would be walking you down the aisle?”
We live in a society of instantaneous information, fast-food, and the automated everything. There is little choice but to become tech-savvy, productive, as well as highly efficient. The downside for a generation like ours is that even a five-minute wait may be unbearable.