No Name

How could I say no.... The feeding was over. Another Saturday's work was done. Many of the homeless street crowd who came for the free food had already left. There sat my 'son', staring into the
box which contained the little kitten he had rescued from a road divider.  He had picked it up, washed the dirt off its skinny body, turned a cardboard box into a home by lining it with cloth and paper, even managed to buy a small packet of wet kitty food for it.

He - with his own deformed hands, fresh out of a job, lost his IC and his OKU card - wanted to take care of an animal. What an irony. When I asked him how he was going to manage, he shrugged and said, maybe someone want. Such is hope. My 'son' adopted me many years ago. He was just another 'society reject', a young man with no future, because no one wanted to give him a chance to work. One look at his clawed hands and they would write him off, although those hands were actually very strong and very capable of hard work. So I had simply told him the greatest love-story in the world then, the truth being that even if everyone in the world looked down upon him, even if his own family rejected him, Jesus loves him  and  always will . I had taken those deformed hands in mine, and blessed them. He had decided then to believe  and surprised me by asking if he could be my son, as he wanted to call me his 'Ma.' By the way, he's not a Chinese. I was very touched. How could I say no....

That was years ago. He had disappeared for awhile, as is the norm with these people. But once in a while he would show up, and always he would give me a big hug , call me  'Ma', and tell me he's fine, just busy working. And I would thank God, hug him and pray blessings over him again. Now today, as I look at my 'son', I knew again I couldn't say no. I looked at the mewing kitten in the box.  Actually it was quite a beauty  - white with 3 black spots on its back, and distinctive black ears. But I really didn't need or want another cat in the house.  Maffin, the existing one only knew how to eat and sleep, sleep and eat; it didn't even do what cats are supposed to do - catch rats. But my children didn't mind, in fact they wanted  another cat.  I had said no many times, yet here I was, going back on my own word.

I told my 'street-son' I would take kitty. To my surprise, he started talking to it. And there were tears in his eyes as he said - to a cat - "There, you be good, Ma will take care of you. She give you good home. " Now I had tears in my eyes.  I asked him, what name he wanted for it. He said softly, "God give name." It's been a week now since the cat with no name came to stay. For a small bundle, it's very noisy. And fussy about food. Not to mention it's not litter-trained, so it keeps wallowing in and walking around with poo on its paws .... Now that  I find myself scrubbing smelly poo and urine off the floors, I am regretting saying yes. Maffin the reigning king-cat is sulking and quite upset at the 'intruder'; he's so scared he just avoids the cat with no name and refuses to go anywhere near it. He even prefers to be out in the rain, which is something very unusual for Maffin, because he's an absolute coward when the sky thunders. Well, he will just have to adjust to life with another cat in the house now....Coz my eldest princess just took the cat with no name  to the vet to get it checked out and dewormed. So I figure we are stuck with no-name cat, dirty poo and all.  After all I had been 'charged' to take good care of it; I am supposed to give it a good home.

I imagine that's how it is with Father God in heaven. It struck me how prominently animals feature in the Bible. No cats though, but plenty about lambs, goats, cows, horses, lions, snakes, even birds. As Jesus tells the story, we are His sheep. Apparently sheep are the dumbest of animals. They need a shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clear waters. Otherwise they are apt to do stupid things like wander off from the flock  or fall off a cliff maybe.  I dunno how the cat with no name got lost from its mother and ended up on a road divider,  just a step away from being crushed under moving wheels. But a hero - one human being with clawed hands - plucked it up and out of harm's way. One human being with a soft heart. That made the difference between life and death for this cat with no name.

I can't help comparing and remembering that's what made the difference in my life too. Just like the cat with no name, I didn't even realize I was stuck on the divider between heaven and hell, life and death.  Until a Hero came along and plucked me out of the depths, cleaned me up from all my own dirty poo, and brought me into the everlasting presence of a good good Father. Not a super-hero created out of some comic book, but One who came in the flesh, breathed, died and rose from the grave. How much more super can it get?

This is the God who knows how many hairs are on my head,  I am so precious to Him that He sacrificed the life of His Son for me. Like the good shepherd who cares for his sheep, this One knows and calls me by name.  I don't think anyone can ever grasp or understand the wonder of such knowledge ....  I can't, I can only exclaim with Apostle John, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us....us.... that's me, little me, once lost, now found, once destined for death, now blessed with eternal life. How can I say No to such Love? Why would I - or anyone for that matter - want to say No to such Love?

I have to give the cat with no name a daily bath because it messes itself up with so much dirt. I am sure it's rather traumatic for the creature; I guess that's why instinctively it just lies quietly in my palm as I rub it dry with a towel, and most times it just falls asleep thereafter, right in my hand.   If only  humans could learn to be like that....  after all the endless running around in a messy world, if only we could  just receive the touch of God, let Him clear up the mess His way and hold us in His mighty hand , right close to His very heart; the heart that loves like no other can....for there we shall find rest.

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." - Psalm 62:5-6 

Kyoto 2019

It was expensive, undoubtedly. We were going during peak season, when tourists come in multitudes to gawk at Japan's famed cherry blossoms. But I knew I had to join the gathering which would see some 5000 international participants from about 30 nations coming in one accord to bless Japan.  It was one big family of Christians cutting across denominations and churches just being together to worship, pray for and love one another; which is as it should be, biblically.

But beyond just the spiritual blessings I received in being part of the global family of God, I was much blessed to have some time to be just another tourist in Kyoto.  

We arrived late at night after a 7 hour flight into Kansai Airport, which is built on an island by itself.
Because of the hour, we checked into a nearby hotel just for the night, intending to take the early bus out to Kyoto in the morning. Much to my pleasant surprise,  it turned out to be a very nice place, well worth the RM300 charge per pax. At such a late hour, the reception was manned by 4 people. The man who attended to us
couldn't find my reservation under my passport name, but he patiently ran through his computer, and finally located it under my Christian name. It was my fault for neglecting to mention the fact, but he was ever so nice about it.

The room itself turned out to be much more spacious than I expected. The beds were big and comfortable, with extra pillows. It's the first time I come across a hotel that provides pyjamas, a pair
so neatly laid out in the drawer. It's also the first time I used an electronically-controlled toilet. Call me uncultured, uncivilised, ignorant, whatever, but I think Japanese toilets are such a wonderful piece of technology. The seat is nicely warmed, the cover opens and closes automatically. It flushes itself and the bidet works accurately at the touch of a button. Some of these hi-tech toilets even come with music to boot. Talk about sitting on a throne.

I had my first experience  of Japanese punctuality the next morning when we missed the airport shuttle bus by just 5 minutes. Public transport is very efficient, although sorting out train, bus, and subway lines can be tricky. But it gets easier once you get the hang of it. Tickets are purchased through vending machines, with English options.  Order and orderliness - that's the way things run in this nation. Queues are second nature to every Japanese, and yes, they do know how to line up in toilets - in a line, not simply cutting in to stand at the cubicles, as some Malaysians are wont to do.

The other glaring thing that stands out is how clean everything is. From public toilets to  rivers to roads. Recycle is standard operating procedure everywhere,  outside supermarkets, on the road - and
even in the Kyoto hotel we stayed at, we were expected to separate our room trash into separate bags. They even separate the plastic caps from the bottles.  

Everything is so “miniature” - from bonsai trees to restaurants that seat only single rows. We had occasion to dine at a famous ramen
place. There was no waiter to serve you. Instead you punch your order into a machine, pay and wait in line to get a seat in an individual cubicle. Your food is handed out from behind a bamboo screen. The set-up  really doesn't encourage socializing - you eat by yourself and get out directly after - but the ramen is indeed very good. 

Talking about food, there’s so much variety and everything is so delightfully fresh, albeit expensive.  My first meal was a late nite instant mee snack from the 24 hr convenience store at our first hotel. But even on my limited budget of RM100 for 3 daily meals, the food looked good and tasted great. Their bread is excellent - soft and warm. Ramen comes with so many toppings. I even tried my hand at frying and flipping my own Japanese pizza/omelette - okonomiyaki - on a common hot-pan. We visited the huge Nishiki market, which featured all sorts of food stuff. It was an eye-popping, mouth-watering, stomach-filling gastronomical experience, moving and eating from one end to the other. 

We had come slightly before the start of the cherry blossom season. Even then, there were plenty of sakura's to ooh and ahh over in many places. 5 minutes walk from our hotel, there was an old railway track, which was literally lined with cherry blossom trees. So early each morning, I got to feast my eyes on the beautiful blooms which came in so many shades of pink, white, even orange and browns. I even managed to catch a wedding photo-shoot there, and indeed it's such a romantic spot. 

But it wasn't only the cherry blossoms that captivated - everywhere there were flowers blooming in profusion along road-sides, in front of houses, hotels, restaurants, shops. The colors were so vivid they looked unreal. They were such a delight to my eyes;   I couldn't stop photographing flowers, flowers and more flowers. As it is, I can just imagine how awesomely beautiful it would be at the height of the cherry blossom season, when every flower is in full bloom.

On average the daily temperature was reported to be below 15 degrees, with some days as low as 9. I personally don't like cold, so I came prepared, with my thick shawl, gloves and lined down-jacket borrowed from my daughter. Still, I found the wind bitingly cold, especially at night, after our sessions ended and we had to
walk back to our hotel. My nose and my ears suffered the most. The last 2 days' rain made it worse. At this rate, I don't think I can survive winter in Japan. 

With just about 2  days free time, I gave the famous temples of Kyoto a miss. There are so many around, even in small neighborhoods. Not that I am into temples anyway; I prefer the nature stuff. So it was we made our furthest trip to the bamboo forest up north of Kyoto. It's indeed a sight to behold the giant trees, even though the place was literally crawling with tourists. So many that there were queues waiting in line to cross the traffic lights. And that's the other thing about Japanese - you don't simply walk across the road as you like - you wait for the pedestrian light to turn green. And yes, you can rest assured all vehicles will stop to give you right of way. Unlike in some places you-know-where vehicles and people act as if there are no traffic rules. 

Talking about traffic, there are so many cyclists riding on the pavements. And they are so polite they don't ring their bells; they just whizz past pedestrians. I venture  in such weather where you don't sweat, it must be rather pleasant to cycle around.  The bikes come with
baskets attached to hold things, babies and even dogs. That's the other interesting 'traffic' that's hard to miss - cute, frisky,  little, big and definitely happy dogs being walked about by their owners.  At Nishiki market they even have a dog cafe - where you pay money to play with man's best friends.

The one thing we didn't get to see were the geishas, although we did go to the particular district. Maybe because we went at the wrong time, in the day, whilst these ladies are known only to come out at night. But there were certainly no lack of kimono-clad women around, even though many were really non-Japanese, trying on rented gowns for the day, just for the fun of it.

My last few hours in Kyoto were spent walking around the huge grounds of the ancient 400 years old Nijo castle. This was the place which saw the ending of the feudal Shogunate and the birth of modern Japan under the Meiji  emperors. Significantly a day after my return to Malaysia the newspapers announced the end of the current Heisei and beginning of the new Reiwa era for Japan under a new Emperor who will ascend the throne on May 1. Truly God's timing is perfect.

I now understand why my second daughter who has visited Japan before likes it so much. Outside of the event sessions, I  only spent 2 short days, visiting limited places in Kyoto. Actually if not for the event, I would not have come to (expensive) Japan on my own. So the lesson is I am the one who is blessed - spiritually and non-spiritually in all ways -  when I just follow God's prompting to go wherever, do whatever. Come to think of it, I really should stop counting the costs of following Him, when He never counted the cost of saving me.

 ".....Christ Jesus...who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name" - Philippians 2:6-9 

Foto gallery