The Howling of the Wind

It is now 4.36 a.m. I have just been woken up by the strong wind and I suddenly feel very cold. I went to close the bedroom window, and found the curtains blowing out of the windows.! It was quite difficult for me to bring in the curtains as the wind was so strong. When I closed the windows, I heard a strange sound. It sounded like 50 sports cars were racing! When I looked down, I could see scraps of papers and some plastic bags flying around, and some plastic bags were even swept up seven storeys high!

Gosh! I have never seen anything like this before. I could hear the howling of the wind. It sounded like the revving of hundreds of motorbikes, and becoming louder as the bikes sped off. I could see the trees swaying hard in obedience to the force of the wind. It was quite frightening. Maybe I had always been sleeping soundly when the weather turned windy. Suddenly I think of the recent Cyclone Nargis in Myammar which has caused so much destruction and loss to the people.

Now it is starting to rain and thunder. Looking out of my 5th storey windows, and seeing the rain and hearing the thunder, makes me feel very small and helpless. The Creator of this universe is so mighty and awesome, yet man can be so proud of his own ability. Have you not experienced this when you try to share with someone that this universe is created by an omnipresent and all powerful God? The person would brush you aside, declaring that he does not believe in anything but himself. "So long as I do good, and don't harm anyone, it is enough for me," the person would proudly assert. Yet, many of us unbelieving Thomases would cry out, "Oh God! Please help!" when faced with a force greater than us, threatening to envelop us.

It is more difficult for me to believe that this world happens by chance! It is easier for me to believe that the Creator is one excellent mathematician, scientist and artist. He is not satisfied with one specie of fly....it must be over 150,000 species. He is not satisfied with one type of bee but it must be over 28,500 species! He is not satisfied with one yellow flower.....it must be thousands of varieties and my limited mind only know some of them are called roses, chrysanthemums, orchids, carnations, tulips, daisies, hibiscus, dandelions and sunflowers.

Even as I stood by the window, watching the pelting rain and hearing the roar of thunder, my little heart is at peace. In life, I have to accept both sunshine and thunderstorm. What a wonderful and interesting world we live in!

Gan Chau

Happy Mother's Day

 

A lovely flower from my potted plant for every wonderful mother in this world!

My friend, Patricia Chew, had sent me a poem entitled, "Mum's Love". I tried to copy it on the computer, but was unsuccessful. I tried to copy it with a pen, but it was so long that I gave up. Only then did I realise how lazy and impatient I had become in writing manually.! I am now used to typing on the computer and with breakneck speed.!

Hence, I decide to share a story about a great mother instead. There was this lady whom I met when I was visiting my eldest sister. She was then about 65 years old, and living alone because her only son and other step children were living elsewhere. She married a widower with 7 children and subsequently had her own son. It was a real blessing because in the olden days, it was quite hazardous for expecting mothers over 40 years of age. Her son was brilliant and when he grew up, he met and fell in love with a beautiful lady. Alas, his fiancee was quite possessive and did not like the way the elderly lady doted on the son. She wanted the son all to herself.

One day, she wrote him a letter to give him the ultimatum, "Choose me or your mother". I also shared this story with my students. "If you were the son, who would you chose?" So many hands shot into the air. Without any hesitation, a student replied, "Of course, I will choose the mother. There're so many fishes in the ocean, but I can have only one mother!" The rest of the students nodded their heads furiously.

I shared with the students that it would have been wiser for the fiancee to love her future mother-in-law. By loving her husband's mother, she would get even more love and appreciation from her husband, and by giving her love, she would end up receiving even more love and happiness. If she had been in the right frame of mind, she would be grateful to the mother for having given her such a wonderful man as a life partner!

The filial son chose the mother without any hestitation. He probably remembered the many years and sleepless nights his mother had gone through to bring him up. Sad to say, he has remained single to this day. The mother has passed away a few years ago, but this experience has made him fight shy of marriage!

I take my hat off to all the wonderful mothers in this world. I am amazed by mothers' ability to stay cool and calm in the face of adveristy, stress and troubles. Especially mothers with more than 3 children.! I specially admire my niece-in-law, Dea, who takes such great care of her 4 hyper-active and intelligent children.

May God conintue to bless all my readers who are mothers. Let yourselves be pampered and forget about the weighing scale. Eat your fill, and with gusto and dance through the night! That's the way, ha ha ha ha! The hands that rock the cradle rule the world!

Gan Chau

F A M I L Y

A friend, Freddy Cang, sent me a poem which I felt has illustrated the meaning of "family" very well. I hereby publish for my readers.


F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.

He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on! our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,

'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said..

'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'

I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'

He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'

I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'


FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.

But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?


Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

Have you met anyone who reminds you of the above incident? Has any of us been guilty of the above too? It is interesting how some people would put friends and acquaintances in a more important position than their family.

For years, my second sister has complained how her husband would put the church members first. If a member needed help, he would rush to help but brother-in-law was hardly around to help when the wife needed help with the children. It left her quite bitter and cynical, and it was only after some counselling that their relationship improved. In his book, "The Four Dimensions" Pastor Cho Yonggi, the well known Korean pastor, also shared how at one time he was so busy with his church that he hardly had time for his family. It was his mother-in-law who woke him up or he would have lost his family. Is this the reason why someone had said that "Charity begins at home?"

I remember my neighbour's second son. It was interesting to note how fierce and rebellious he was towards his family members; yet he was always so docile and accommodating towards his friends and colleagues. One day I heard him screaming at his poor mother; annoyed, I went over and gave him a piece of my mind. He was momentarily stunned by my show of annoyance. After that he avoided me, but at least I no longer heard him screaming at his parents.

Let us treasure one another within the family circle. Apart from our parents and siblings, let us also not forget that lonely uncle or aunt whose children had gone overseas or whose spouse had passed away. In fact the Bible had reminded us to be particularly compassionate towards widows and widowers.

One of my favourite Confucian quote answers the question of how to attain world peace by stating that a peaceful world depends upon peaceful nations, which depend upon well regulated states within the nations, which depend upon socially conscious and well run families, which depend upon ethical individuals. In other words, world peace begins with the individual and the shaping of his/her character.

Hence, let us all begin with ourselves. Let us be sensitive to the needs of others or in Hokkien, it is described as "zhi tong". Let us also not forget our filial piety towards our parents. When an individual is strong and sensible, he builds a happy family. What families are stable, they build a strong nation. When nations are strong and secure, they help to promote world peace. World peace is what everyone covets but before it can be attained, let us build up the family.

Gan Chau