It was a recipe sure to fail. Whaddya expect if you have been warned its the rainy season and you still proceed to go anyway? And you excuse it by getting everyone to pray God will do a miracle to somehow turn the season in your favor, just becoz He loves you so much?! Duh, who was i trying to kid, man? Why should God do a miracle just to please me?! Ha ha, well, anyway that was how I justified my ill-timed holiday. Plus i had the nerve to claim God wanted me to go seek His face far from the madding crowd. Truth was i was just plain fed-up and tired of work, and wanted an excuse to get away from it all. I know, i know, actually i didn't need any excuse, i could just go. But somehow must get God involved mah...doesnt it sound so much more 'spiritual' to say "I am seeking God's face" than a plain, "I want to just do nothing"?! .... Ahh, the foibles of the human heart; how we disguise our desires with a veneer of holiness, daring God to bless our own 'things'... and that's how i ended up in Sg Lembing, even tho Dec wasnt a good time to go view the famous Rainbow Waterfall and Panorama Hill sunrise. How could I even get the idea that the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth would actually suspend the laws of nature which He had set aeons ago for kutchi-kutchi me - looking back I can only say I must have been delirious from over-work! I can just hear Him chuckling... "Child, thy name is Audacious Presumption!"
If you were to spend 8 hrs driving 500 km for the intended purpose of catching the sun rise and a rainbow over a waterfall, and you didn't get to see any of it, that's called a disaster holiday. But ah, how gracious is my God, that He didn't turn the seasons around, notwithstanding the fervent well-meaning prayers of family and frens that God would actually stop the rain so my plans would work out. Nope, instead He turned me around - to appreciate a totally different kind of holiday - a holiday that went all wrong but turned out all right...
In the beginning, I was very confident that He would grant me at least fair weather becoz the day i set out from KL was fine, and my local contact in Sg Lembing also confirmed it was fine there, after a rainy spell the past week. And like all humans so quick to pounce on anything that could support an essentially wacky (read bad) decision, I praised the Lord and patted myself on the back for my 'faith'. So I was in very good mood driving leisurely along the Karak h'way right thru to Kuantan and turn off to Sg Lembing village. Did you ever open eyes to notice the scenery along the h'ways? Its pretty amazing, all the varied hues and shapes of green on earth and greys, whites and blues up in the sky....that's how much i enjoyed the 250 km drive to this small town outside Kuantan.
Sg Lembing apparently was the M'sian El-Dorado of the past, holding its own as the largest richest tin mine in those days. It retains its old world cowboy-town outlook, there's just 1 main street, all the shops/houses are ancient, locals zip around on m/bikes w/out helmets and balance umbrellas in 1 hand when it rains (obviously safety isnt a top priority with these folks). The only petrol station operates from a mechanic shop which sells it by the bottle (I learnt too late i should have filled the tank before coming into town!) There is plenty of cheap accommodation, everyone seems to run a home-stay business - i was booked into a decent bungalow with 3 rooms, all fitted with double and bunk beds, fully aircon, attached bathroom with heater, spacious living room with TV and even kitchen available for group vacation. i had the whole place all to myself the first nite i arrived - so nice and quiet. (The next nite a group of 5 youths checked in, which led me to wonder why on earth would 3 gals and 2 guys wanna squeeze into 1 room, but well, none of my business... anyway they could bring the house down for all i cared, since i would be leaving the very next day).
I wasn't prepared for the 'ghost-town' when i first arrived... esp worried about food, coz i definitely didn't fancy maggi mee in my room, but thankfully the caretaker invited me to hop onto her bike and showed me the food court a short walk down. It was only 6 pm, yet all were already closed except 1 stall, which proved more than sufficient for my stomach, for the lady cook dished up a tasty meal of local tomato mee together with a good dose of very chatty conversation. I had an early nite, anticipating the climb up Panorama Hill to catch the sun rise.
So it was that at 5 am, armed with a torch lite, I was trudging up the steps - I had expected a stiff climb, but i didnt quite expect it would take some 700 narrow steps uphill all the way in the dark. Unfit as i was, there were many times I stopped and simply dropped flat on my back, feeling like i would die 100 times over, my heart was literally exploding out of my chest. I daren't even look up becoz i dreaded how many more steps were still stretched out and up ahead. And it was whilst lying flat out, staring at the moon above, gasping for breath, that I was reminded, how much worse Jesus must have suffered going up all the way to Calvary Hill to hang on a cross for me. I dunno whether it was sweat or tears that were wetting my cheeks as i struggled along, step by step, minute by minute, half a heart wanting to turn back down, but the other half wanting to complete the journey....
And then, i heard voices floating from below, which meant there were others climbing up as well; and kiasu that I was, that drove me to the final spurt of strength to conquer the seemingly never-ending staircase to heaven. I couldn't help thinking tho, drat, there goes all the peace i was looking forward to... 1 hr later, finally i hit the peak, only to be followed a short while after by a very noisy family of kids and adults all chattering away...geez, how on earth am i supposed to 'meet with God' like this?! And hey man, there was no chance of even catching the sun rise, becoz the whole hill was covered in clouds and mist.
But what was an obstacle turned out such a blessing for me - the 1st sign that God was setting me up for something different... The family was so disappointed there would be no glorious sun-rise they trooped off downhill after barely 5 mins - leaving me all by myself. One of them was so nice to approach me to descend with them, becoz he warned me the rain would be coming and it could get dangerous, I simply smiled and answered, 'its just a hill, what can be so dangerous?' So there, i got my wish to be all alone. No, there was no glorious sun-rise, but for the 1st time in my life, i could appreciate how beautiful clouds and mist can be. The wispy whirly twirly stuff was so thick it enveloped me all around. And i wondered is this how it must have been for the 3 disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus?? Everything around became kind-of blurred but I could see thru and know I was still standing on solid ground. And the praises came as i watched the heavens move around me in shades of white and grey, fingers stretching out over the hills , touching the valley below, and curling up into never-ending infinity beyond.... i will never look at clouds the same way again, and on top of that hill, i opened not just my heart, but my mouth to worship the Creator of heaven and earth. I came to catch a sun-rise, instead God caught me up in His cloud. If you have never literally danced on a mountain top or heard your own voice carried by the wind, you should.... for 2 hrs I simply worshipped thru the rain. It was cold, I was shivering but it hardly mattered, becoz He was there with me. What a comfort to know the unshakeable presence of a God who envelops you in His embrace, when life's cold winds blow around you and clouds of fear come creeping in. I didnt need the sun-rise after all; I just needed to be reminded of the awesome God who holds the entire universe in His hands. How many times we lose sight of God just becoz we get caught up in the 'mists' of problems, concerns and issues of everyday life...
By the time the rain stopped, I was ready to descend - to more mundane affairs of the stomach, and more than ready to fill it up with the yummy local yong tau fu mee - better by far than our KL Ampang yong tau fu. Then it was time to hit the road, a walk-about and first stop at the only official place worth visiting - the museum. The weather however started to act up again, but this actually allowed me to rest my feet awhile and curl up with a book i had brought along. When it eased up, i was back on the road, in search of Sg Lembing's other tourist attraction - the suspension bridges across the river. Little did i know God had set me an appointment with an old lady operating a run-down sundry shop at the other end of the bridge. That's how unimaginable His ways are; to send me a complete stranger all the way from KL to remind her how much Jesus loves her, as her own widowed daughter, just like me, had been asking her so many times to just believe. This wasn't the only special appointment God set up for me - over dinner that nite, i was back at the noodle lady's shop where again the rain got me stuck, and so she and her daughter got to hear of the precious love of Christ that's waiting for them to respond. And i was reminded of God's over-riding Word that applies in every circumstance, at every hour (even on vacation) - that He wishes none to perish, and we are to be prepared in season and out of season to give an answer to everyone for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus . If for nothing else than that these 3 people needed to hear the good news of Jesus that I was sent there, I am more than satisfied with this holiday already.
It rained so much the trip scheduled for the next morning to the famous Rainbow Waterfall was cancelled. I was pretty disappointed, it looked like nothing was working out the way I had planned. The tour fella suggested i extend my stay into Sunday so i could sign up for the next trip. I was very tempted; I had come this far, surely God didn't bring me all this way to see mist and rain, maybe, just maybe He will give me the rainbow the next day..... To go back now meant i was left with no sun-rise, no rainbow, no nothing...what a wash-out holiday - literally. But I resisted, if God didn't wanna show me anything, well, so be it.... Thou shalt not test the Lord thy God...
So I packed my bags, had a good last meal of curry yong tau fu, wished the noodle lady well, and kept asking, God what's the lesson here? But it was only as I was driving home that I finally 'got it'.... How often we make fantastic/good plans to do this, that or the other. We conscientiously pray over it, about it and for it, and we assume (quite erroneously) that God will bless us and make everything work out nicely. And then it doesn't. How many times we search around trying to 'find God' in this, that or the other 'good' thing, activity, place or person (read church, prayer, pastor, ministry, bible) ...and He isn't 'there'. I was trying to chase rainbows and catch sunrises, beautiful things by themselves. But God isn't in the rainbow, He isn't in the sunrise. He is the great I AM. Life may and will disappoint us, but God doesn't; He's got surprises up His sleeve that's too wonderful for us to ever imagine even - He surprised me, right there in the car, as i was driving back all the way i came, the still small voice said , "Lo, I am with you always". Haha, i was laughing and crying at the same time... what a merry-go-round He led me - on top of the hill, thru the rain, to strangers in the weirdest places...back to where He's always been - up close and personal to me, for me. I was looking for God in all the wrong places... as i sat quietly in church the following morning, as a prelude to Christmas, the lesson was confirmed so sweetly in the Word preached....
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel, which means God with us.... Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23
For fotos click here
If you were to spend 8 hrs driving 500 km for the intended purpose of catching the sun rise and a rainbow over a waterfall, and you didn't get to see any of it, that's called a disaster holiday. But ah, how gracious is my God, that He didn't turn the seasons around, notwithstanding the fervent well-meaning prayers of family and frens that God would actually stop the rain so my plans would work out. Nope, instead He turned me around - to appreciate a totally different kind of holiday - a holiday that went all wrong but turned out all right...
In the beginning, I was very confident that He would grant me at least fair weather becoz the day i set out from KL was fine, and my local contact in Sg Lembing also confirmed it was fine there, after a rainy spell the past week. And like all humans so quick to pounce on anything that could support an essentially wacky (read bad) decision, I praised the Lord and patted myself on the back for my 'faith'. So I was in very good mood driving leisurely along the Karak h'way right thru to Kuantan and turn off to Sg Lembing village. Did you ever open eyes to notice the scenery along the h'ways? Its pretty amazing, all the varied hues and shapes of green on earth and greys, whites and blues up in the sky....that's how much i enjoyed the 250 km drive to this small town outside Kuantan.
Sg Lembing apparently was the M'sian El-Dorado of the past, holding its own as the largest richest tin mine in those days. It retains its old world cowboy-town outlook, there's just 1 main street, all the shops/houses are ancient, locals zip around on m/bikes w/out helmets and balance umbrellas in 1 hand when it rains (obviously safety isnt a top priority with these folks). The only petrol station operates from a mechanic shop which sells it by the bottle (I learnt too late i should have filled the tank before coming into town!) There is plenty of cheap accommodation, everyone seems to run a home-stay business - i was booked into a decent bungalow with 3 rooms, all fitted with double and bunk beds, fully aircon, attached bathroom with heater, spacious living room with TV and even kitchen available for group vacation. i had the whole place all to myself the first nite i arrived - so nice and quiet. (The next nite a group of 5 youths checked in, which led me to wonder why on earth would 3 gals and 2 guys wanna squeeze into 1 room, but well, none of my business... anyway they could bring the house down for all i cared, since i would be leaving the very next day).
I wasn't prepared for the 'ghost-town' when i first arrived... esp worried about food, coz i definitely didn't fancy maggi mee in my room, but thankfully the caretaker invited me to hop onto her bike and showed me the food court a short walk down. It was only 6 pm, yet all were already closed except 1 stall, which proved more than sufficient for my stomach, for the lady cook dished up a tasty meal of local tomato mee together with a good dose of very chatty conversation. I had an early nite, anticipating the climb up Panorama Hill to catch the sun rise.
So it was that at 5 am, armed with a torch lite, I was trudging up the steps - I had expected a stiff climb, but i didnt quite expect it would take some 700 narrow steps uphill all the way in the dark. Unfit as i was, there were many times I stopped and simply dropped flat on my back, feeling like i would die 100 times over, my heart was literally exploding out of my chest. I daren't even look up becoz i dreaded how many more steps were still stretched out and up ahead. And it was whilst lying flat out, staring at the moon above, gasping for breath, that I was reminded, how much worse Jesus must have suffered going up all the way to Calvary Hill to hang on a cross for me. I dunno whether it was sweat or tears that were wetting my cheeks as i struggled along, step by step, minute by minute, half a heart wanting to turn back down, but the other half wanting to complete the journey....
And then, i heard voices floating from below, which meant there were others climbing up as well; and kiasu that I was, that drove me to the final spurt of strength to conquer the seemingly never-ending staircase to heaven. I couldn't help thinking tho, drat, there goes all the peace i was looking forward to... 1 hr later, finally i hit the peak, only to be followed a short while after by a very noisy family of kids and adults all chattering away...geez, how on earth am i supposed to 'meet with God' like this?! And hey man, there was no chance of even catching the sun rise, becoz the whole hill was covered in clouds and mist.
But what was an obstacle turned out such a blessing for me - the 1st sign that God was setting me up for something different... The family was so disappointed there would be no glorious sun-rise they trooped off downhill after barely 5 mins - leaving me all by myself. One of them was so nice to approach me to descend with them, becoz he warned me the rain would be coming and it could get dangerous, I simply smiled and answered, 'its just a hill, what can be so dangerous?' So there, i got my wish to be all alone. No, there was no glorious sun-rise, but for the 1st time in my life, i could appreciate how beautiful clouds and mist can be. The wispy whirly twirly stuff was so thick it enveloped me all around. And i wondered is this how it must have been for the 3 disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus?? Everything around became kind-of blurred but I could see thru and know I was still standing on solid ground. And the praises came as i watched the heavens move around me in shades of white and grey, fingers stretching out over the hills , touching the valley below, and curling up into never-ending infinity beyond.... i will never look at clouds the same way again, and on top of that hill, i opened not just my heart, but my mouth to worship the Creator of heaven and earth. I came to catch a sun-rise, instead God caught me up in His cloud. If you have never literally danced on a mountain top or heard your own voice carried by the wind, you should.... for 2 hrs I simply worshipped thru the rain. It was cold, I was shivering but it hardly mattered, becoz He was there with me. What a comfort to know the unshakeable presence of a God who envelops you in His embrace, when life's cold winds blow around you and clouds of fear come creeping in. I didnt need the sun-rise after all; I just needed to be reminded of the awesome God who holds the entire universe in His hands. How many times we lose sight of God just becoz we get caught up in the 'mists' of problems, concerns and issues of everyday life...
By the time the rain stopped, I was ready to descend - to more mundane affairs of the stomach, and more than ready to fill it up with the yummy local yong tau fu mee - better by far than our KL Ampang yong tau fu. Then it was time to hit the road, a walk-about and first stop at the only official place worth visiting - the museum. The weather however started to act up again, but this actually allowed me to rest my feet awhile and curl up with a book i had brought along. When it eased up, i was back on the road, in search of Sg Lembing's other tourist attraction - the suspension bridges across the river. Little did i know God had set me an appointment with an old lady operating a run-down sundry shop at the other end of the bridge. That's how unimaginable His ways are; to send me a complete stranger all the way from KL to remind her how much Jesus loves her, as her own widowed daughter, just like me, had been asking her so many times to just believe. This wasn't the only special appointment God set up for me - over dinner that nite, i was back at the noodle lady's shop where again the rain got me stuck, and so she and her daughter got to hear of the precious love of Christ that's waiting for them to respond. And i was reminded of God's over-riding Word that applies in every circumstance, at every hour (even on vacation) - that He wishes none to perish, and we are to be prepared in season and out of season to give an answer to everyone for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus . If for nothing else than that these 3 people needed to hear the good news of Jesus that I was sent there, I am more than satisfied with this holiday already.
It rained so much the trip scheduled for the next morning to the famous Rainbow Waterfall was cancelled. I was pretty disappointed, it looked like nothing was working out the way I had planned. The tour fella suggested i extend my stay into Sunday so i could sign up for the next trip. I was very tempted; I had come this far, surely God didn't bring me all this way to see mist and rain, maybe, just maybe He will give me the rainbow the next day..... To go back now meant i was left with no sun-rise, no rainbow, no nothing...what a wash-out holiday - literally. But I resisted, if God didn't wanna show me anything, well, so be it.... Thou shalt not test the Lord thy God...
So I packed my bags, had a good last meal of curry yong tau fu, wished the noodle lady well, and kept asking, God what's the lesson here? But it was only as I was driving home that I finally 'got it'.... How often we make fantastic/good plans to do this, that or the other. We conscientiously pray over it, about it and for it, and we assume (quite erroneously) that God will bless us and make everything work out nicely. And then it doesn't. How many times we search around trying to 'find God' in this, that or the other 'good' thing, activity, place or person (read church, prayer, pastor, ministry, bible) ...and He isn't 'there'. I was trying to chase rainbows and catch sunrises, beautiful things by themselves. But God isn't in the rainbow, He isn't in the sunrise. He is the great I AM. Life may and will disappoint us, but God doesn't; He's got surprises up His sleeve that's too wonderful for us to ever imagine even - He surprised me, right there in the car, as i was driving back all the way i came, the still small voice said , "Lo, I am with you always". Haha, i was laughing and crying at the same time... what a merry-go-round He led me - on top of the hill, thru the rain, to strangers in the weirdest places...back to where He's always been - up close and personal to me, for me. I was looking for God in all the wrong places... as i sat quietly in church the following morning, as a prelude to Christmas, the lesson was confirmed so sweetly in the Word preached....
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel, which means God with us.... Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23
For fotos click here
1 comment:
WOW! SK...sounds like an adventurous holiday. Thank you for sharing. Hope to catch up with you in Jan 2012.
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