But then at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who have experienced great things happening to them personally in 2013. I know someone who had $10k dropped literally into his lap, and nope, it didn't come from any loving relative's will. How true it is that there are always 2 sides to everything. 2 people spinning the same coin of 2013 can come up with different results; one gets head, the other gets tail.
Me, I try to see beyond. It's what we are commanded to do as a people of God who believe in and look at the eternal, not the temporary and temporal things of what happens (or doesn't happen) to us. That's not to say I am soo super-spiritual and all. Being the mere human I am, I also want only 'good' things to happen in my life, ie things that make me happy, like when I see an increase in the number of people reading some blog article of mine - that gives me a (cheap) thrill for awhile. But as quickly as the numbers run up, give it 1 week, 2 weeks, it's already forgotten. Today's news so quickly become yesterday's history , buried in archives.
I remember when my editor told me the book I wrote some 2 years ago was in its 2nd reprint, (ie 2000 copies out), how my human flesh thrilled instantly. The dreamer that I am, I was all fired up with writing at that time, eager to start on many more books, relishing the thought of seeing my name in print - in real hard copy. But it didn't work out that (my) way; simply because, as I have learnt and accepted, God could very well mean this to be the one and only book I will ever write or get published. I have a sneaky suspicion that's necessary to stop me from growing a big head and thinking I am such a hot-shot writer; I am apt to forget all my talent comes from Him who is the Creator of every single gene in my body. Whatever I 'produce', He's the Director. And so I should just resign myself to the fact that it's really His book and be grateful He can 'throw' it out to 2000 people in the deepest orang asli villages in Malaysia where the need is highest. That puts things into real perspective - it's how great He is, not how great I am.
An article I read reported a survey about popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter; apparently everyone's so hung up on them, because people just love to count how many 'likes' their comments garner or get shared around, or how many 'followers' they have. The latest buzz word which has been officially recognized by the English Oxford Dictionary as word of the year 2013 is 'selfie' - 1 word that says it all about this period of time we live in. A local newspaper termed it as a 'global obsession that reflects a kind of narcissism in our culture' . If we are honest with ourselves, whether its done in innocence, for 'fun', for ourselves or for others, at the heart of every selfie is simply 'self'. I can hear all the protests...Aww, come on, I should let up and get off my moral high-horse - surely there's nothing wrong with taking pix of oneself.
I agree, but what's wrong is what has already been discerned as way back as some 2000 years ago; this sad indictment of mankind comes from the pages of a letter written then, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God"(2 Timothy 3:1-4). In fact Jesus went 1 step further to state that even the elect (ie those who believe God) will be deceived (Matthew 24:24). It happened then, it's still happening, it will continue happening. And it can only get much more worse, not because I am a doomsday prophet but because it's what God says will happen anyway. What we do and how we do in life goes beyond action and happenings, but are representative of the deepest instinctive urges that come from our hearts, which we are not even aware of.
So what on earth is there to look forward to with every new year that rolls around come December 31? That there is an end to come 'after all these things', as the Bible puts it, that even 'heaven and earth will pass away' (Matthew 24:35) when Jesus comes again. So while I am still alive, while there is still time as we know it, I would like to look for the eternal to celebrate as we bid goodbye to another year, ie stuff with a meaning beyond ourselves; the things that matter to God, because He deals in the eternal. Like what happened to my 2 relatives for whom I have been praying since the past 11 years. They don't know that, but God knows and God answered finally. They are amongst those I mentally classify as 'can only be touched by God Himself', because they are totally disinterested in the spiritual. Both are very capable, confident, strong, hard-working, self-assured and decent people.
One is going blind in both eyes, but has always been fiercely independent. At least till last month. I was totally taken aback when over dinner, he announced, I have surrendered to God; all because someone somehow cajoled him into going to church, which turned out a disaster initially because 'those Christians' kept praying over and for him at the altar (typical example of good intentions gone wrong). He left, absolutely disgusted. But despite the messes we Christians may make, God can turn all our mistakes around. Apparently all alone at home, he felt peace - in his eyes, of all places. I dunno how that feels, but he knows, and it's good enuf for him. The other relative tells me she has been made aware of how she always was too busy for spiritual stuff, but now retired and with painful athritis attacking her spine, knees and fingers, she is finally turning to what no human medicine can do for her.
I rejoice over what has happened to these 2 souls, not over their suffering and pain, but about the fact that they now have gotten in touch with the spiritual - the eternal - things of life. And I wonder for the umpteenth time, why is it that often it takes chronic illnesses or major life-crises before some people will 'tune into' God? In fact, even with that, some people still don't want God. Why do we choose to be so obstinate, fearful, doubting etc to refuse the love of God and settle for the love of self and the love of man? Why don't we care what happens after we die? Why ask dumb questions, when the obvious answer, like the Bible already said, is because we are so full of ourselves, we have no place for God to work. Someone once said, God can't put anything into our hands when our fists are clenched (and I add when our minds are closed and our hearts locked).
Heck, I shouldn't wonder; I was the same 11 years ago, believing sincerely I am all that matters; that the world revolves around me and what I own and can achieve and all I have to do is just be a 'good' girl (ie don't hurt people) as much as I can. After counting down 11 years of Dec 31s and still counting, I can only say I would be tragically poor indeed if my life didn't go beyond that limited and rather myopic premise. I would have missed the hope in a living God, grounded in a challenging faith that takes me onward into an adventure of awesome love. With that perspective, what's another 365 days (good or bad) compared to a glorious eternity already prepared for those who believe.... So here's to.... not a happy New Year ... but simply to blessed days now and forever after.....
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end" - Ecclesiastes 3:11
"The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever" - 1 John 2:17.
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