Remembering...

Come February 2006, i would have been in Melbourne for 8 YEARS now! 8 long years of my life...that's 1/3 of my existence. Who would have thought that this place would grow so much on me when I first stepped into the country...So much has changed since that first day of stepping into the country...Can't help but be in a nostalgic mood...it is after all close to the end of the year. Was digging up old photos and cards and going through the pages of journalS of my life...reading of entries that really made me laugh at myself and remembering the tough times that moulded me as a person...There have been so many moments and highlights and most of all, PEOPLE, who have made up pieces of puzzle in my life...my life wouldn't be the same without everyone that God brought into my life.

A brother in Christ told me today...walking with God doesn't mean that we don't make mistakes. And boy, do we! Sometimes, without even knowing it. But do we live in regret? Just because we made a boo-boo, does that mean that it no longer applies?...That "ALL things work for the good of those who love him." That is the grace of God upon our life...We're never meant to be perfect, and we NEVER will be. But where we fall short, Jesus Himself has become our Cornerstone, our support, our rock and our strength. He helps us to go through even mistakes that we could regret for the rest of our life, with our heads up and hope in Him still...because He is our everlasting Father...whose faithfulness never ceases, and Whose love endures FOREVER! Forever, means forever! Every moment of our life, every breath we take, God's love will carry us through it...God's love will surround our life. Take heart! God has overcome the world! Should we let the world now overcome us again? No?! No way! We're not going back!

Was watching "The Biggest Loser" the other night with my sis...it's a reality show where they find a group of overly obesed men and women (my sister had to fill me in cause this was only my 2nd time watching it) and put them into sort of a fitness-type camp with strict diet and lots and lots of exercise (including 2 instructors that kept pushing them)...And the outcome? AMAZING! 10 out of 10 of them were transformed! And it did not just end at the 'camp'. When each of the contestant went home, many were still pretty overweight. But an instant change of lifestyle and diet and learning to love themself saw all shrink at least half their size...The sheer determination to give themselves a 2nd chance in life to be the person they would love to be...fit, healthy and happy. Interesting thing that i observed was when the 3 finalists went back to their natural environment, suddenly, without the instructor shouting down at them and a fixed diet of healthy food, they found it hard to adjust. They became distant from friends because it was hard for them to understand what they were going through...At certain points, they shunned their friends because they felt they had to determine to fight the battle away from temptations, because others did not understand...Reminded me a little of myself...How? Dunno.. hehe! But the thing was these people had experienced such a dramatic change in life that they have determined never ever to go back again...Are we on that level of life change with Christ? That we have tasted how good it is and know His way so well and rejoice so much in it that we don't want to go back...it is when tough times come and things seem uncertain, then we pine to go back to our old comforts...Can we? Should we? By no means, Jesus has called us to be onward looking people...not backwards at all.

Comments

[Jasmine]

AMEN!!!! We are already overcomers and conquerors even before we do anything coz Christ came! That's why we ought to live like one (although I know HOW HARD it is to! HEHE!)... Learning every day yeah? Let's press on and continue to claim on the fact that Jesus did come to give us this life that we are now living... The life we're living for Him! :)