Of tears and fears

Its been sobering, visiting a cancer-stricken terminally-ill brother in law in Ipoh, attending a funeral wake for one of my kindy children's mom (who passed on after a cancer relapse), hearing via email of Choo Khang's demise, and just last Sat being told that one of those homeless street vagabonds i used to counsel had also passed away.... So much of the stink of death around.
Bottom line, we never know do we, when its gonna strike any one of us. But as the saying goes, in life there are only 2 sure things - death and taxes.

I got to musing how we should be preparing for both diligently, even if we hate it, coz there's no running away from them. My husband used to prepare my tax returns; now for the past 7 yrs, come every march, i gotta dig out all those records and do it myself. I used to hate it; being unfamiliar with all the columns of figures; but it gets easier with each year's practise.

I have also prepared for my death; from my will to the songs i want sung at my wake, down to my last words to the kids. They already know wat i dont want - long faces, sad tunes, mournful eulogies. I want a party to celebrate the life i lived on earth before death and the life eternal i will be living after death in heaven with my God. Becoz i know for sure the second i breathe my last on this earth, i will be in the loving arms of Jesus, my Savior in my permanent home, right in heaven. What blessed assurance this knowledge gives me!

I remember how fearful i was about losing my husband to death before knowing Jesus; not just for him but for myself, wondering where's our final destination when death strikes ?? I feared because i didn't 'know' death. That's human nature; we all fear things we don't know.
And I remember the tears i shed at his wake. Yes, there were tears but by then, 2 years of experiencing the power of God's love, grace and mercy in my life, there was no more fear; becoz my husband knew the same Jesus i knew, i was sure of where he had gone, sure that we would be meeting again when death comes to me. Whats there to fear when my God has conquered death forever?! Death couldn't hold my Jesus; it can't hold me; for indeed anyone, everyone who calls on His name shall not perish but have eternal life. That's God's guarantee sealed by the blood of Jesus which flowed from the cross of Calvary. In the certainty of death, is the certainty of life everlasting - what an amazing promise... only an amazing God can give, and prove by the One who loved us so much He died for all, that all should live.

Yes, there will always be tears when earthly life comes to an end, but there need not be fears that death or hell (wat other alternatives are there?!) is the end; thank God, Jesus holds out the key to a new beginning, a new life where there is no more pain, sorrow or tears. I tell my kids the only tears i want shed at my funeral to be tears of joy - becoz then i would finally be home with my God, my Lord to live a fantastic life some more - Now that's a hope to live and die for!

Ulu Mulu

I m just back from the wild wild east... of M'sia, Mululand to be exact. It's either you will love it or hate it. For me i fell in love...tho not exactly at first sight... the love affair started only upon resting my achy feet after walking 1.5 km in the hot hot afternoon sun, dragging our luggage from a really bare airport to Mulu park HQ, where we had booked in for a 4 day 3 nite stay... all gung-ho adventurers trying to be heroes, mah (the truth is we too kiamsiap to fork out wat was to us a rather unreasonable fee of $5 per pax for a 5 min ride !!) ... wat an adventure it was... first was culture-shock - all you see is all you get, and all you see is green green forest forest everywhere your eyes roam. No kedai runchit , no kampung, no.. nothing, not even maggi mee (except those sold at the 1 and only cafe which is like $5 per instant cup!) The nearest ATM is a 1/2 hr flight back to Miri! Guests who opt for the cheaper accommodation are practically locked in as from 9 pm, coz the quarters are situated right inside the park cafe which closes at that time!

So if you are the type who will die w/out karaoke, chlorinated swimming pool, gym, spa and the full works of a so-called 'must-have civilized' vacation, you will hate Mulu. (Of coz if you have the $$ to splash, there is the fancy Royal Mulu Resort which houses all these 'obligatory' stuff for city slicks!) But if you are like us, with an Indiana Jones heart, who dont mind touching stinky bat guano, (thats poo, for the uninitiated, not that we had much choice abt the matter; it was either touch it for grip or fall off the rocks!) , getting shoes all wet splashing thru small-time but still raging rivers, gingerly walking on a 2 km suspension bridge 20 m above ground amongst tree tops, (praying the ropes wont break when you are right in the centre and there's a yawning river down below you) holed up in caves so dark you cant see your fingers in front of your face, dipping into icy cold clear fresh waters ... if you are the type who just wanna gape at God's fantastic handiwork in trees, flowers, bats, worms, ants, things i dont even know the names of.... you will love Mulu... for this is truly wat Eden must have been like in the beginning.

And btw, yes, they actually have a Garden of Eden named for a beautifoool spot, they even have Adam and Eve's showers! And oh the caves, the caves... wat works of art they are!! There is only 1 word to describe what we saw, did and experienced during our short stay there - AWESOME. These few pix dont even begin to do justice to the wonders of Mulu, you gotta see it to know wat i m raving abt... for wat we saw represented but the littlest fraction of wat Mulu is all abt - we only got into 3 of the 'easy' caves (meaning for duh duh tourists who have absolutely zero experience of caving, like us jakuns from the big city!!) Was it dirty? Well, whaddya expect lah? This is mountain territory; if you are squeamish abt sweat, mud, creepy crawlies, afraid of the dark, heights, shadows, man, take it from me - this is the best place to confront and conquer your fears!
We were so so blessed... God gave us such fine weather every day/nite that we had something on, even tho the weather is apparently pretty unpredictable with flash floods in the forests known to happen. And when we flew back into Miri, we were so favoured by a local pastor's daughter who drove us around for a quickie tour of the town before our flight home. And bonus : hey, no flight delays!

So i m already planning to retire in Miri - its got sun, sea, sand, beach, and mountains all in one, plus lots and lots of opportunities to do God's work amongst the interior regions populated by many who don't know the love of Christ..... wat more can one ask for?!