Pink Feather from an Angel

Have been walking with a lump in my throat the past few days. Have broken down and wept every now and then. Mike is equally affected. We are not alone. I am very sure that many parents are feeling the same way we feel.

Two young boys were killed in a road accident in Tampines, Singapore. The older brother was riding a bicycle with his younger brother as pillion. He had gone to the younger sibling's school to pick him home after co-curricular classes. They got hit by a cement mixer. Death was instant for one who'd been run over by the vehicle and according to the account of a witness, the other struggled to get up but collapsed and did not move again.

To sidetrack a bit, just to demonstrate that prudence is required even in the virtual world, pictures of their serious injuries were snapped and went viral online. Although I get that people just wanted to sympathise, it was in really bad taste to keep the pics in circulation. The general public consensus was insensitive to the family's feelings. Thankfully, people have more or less stopped the circulation. I did see the pics and I cannot get them out of my head. Not because it was gory or distasteful. More because I feel so, so sad for the parents and family members. I would like to say that as a parent, I empathise but really, how could I know the extent of the pain of the parent? If I as a complete stranger can break down because I can't take the pain of seeing how their lives ended so tragically, I cannot even begin to understand what their parents must be going through.

My son cycles. He has recently become an avid cyclist (with 4 bikes to his name) and has covered the Punggol Park Connector all the way from Yio Chu Kang till Punggol Beach and back (several times). He has ridden on the roads too. You should take a look at how tough his leg muscles are now. He is a very responsible rider; careful to wear his helmet, proper shoes and has safety lights all over his bike and himself (including the back of his helmet!). But I said to him last night, 'Not enough lights! Is there such a thing as a transparent helmet lined completely with lights!? You should wear that!' He suggested jokingly that he should just wear Christmas lights. No, Mummy is not kidding. A few blinking lights ain't gonna stop a daydreaming driver.

I reiterated to him that sometimes, as a driver, I have not-so-alert moments. I've explained to both my kids countless times, that drivers have bad days too. They might be distracted just for that moment and even when the light is in your favour, even when you think the vehicle has seen you, always, always always, err on the side of caution. One can never be too careful. One can never remind a child enough.

My point is not really to elaborate on the tragic deaths of the two young boys. My point is about prayer for our children. There's only so much we can do to try to ensure their safety. As a driver, I see on a daily basis, vehicles who break the rules, who run red lights. I see pedestrians who break the rules and who 'walk' red lights. Is it just me or am I getting the feel that it's become more rampant in recent years than in the past? All I can do is pray for the safety of my kids.

As a Catholic parent, I'm also asking my kids' Guardian Angels to watch over them, to intercede for them. I'm not kidding about this. I definitely believe in Angels. Speaking of Angels, since this is my blog and I'm free (with reasonable restraint) to write what I like.....here goes.....

A few years ago, someone had related to us, a near death experience and a visitation from a 'pink angel'. I don't know why, I've never thought of that story as being ridiculous and I truly believed the story although that person's relative told me to take the story with a pinch of salt. Now, remember the words, 'Pink Angel'. Fast forward to now.

I believe in Angels but I don't know if there are any which are specifically pink! However, a few mornings ago, I'd asked fervently for the angels to do an urgent intercession. That afternoon, as I was working in the office, a pink feather floated down on me. This irritating 'thing' just kept floating around me and not knowing what it was, I tried to sweep it away with my hands. No matter how I tried, it just kept hovering around me. Swept it left, right, up, down but it finally landed on my palm. I realised it was a soft, fluffy PINK feather.

My first reaction was to look up at the ceiling. Nothing. Windows, nothing. My office windows are never opened because the room is fully air-conditioned. I looked up and there was nothing to indicate where the feather could have fallen from. I looked around me and there was nothing pink. No pink stuffed toy. No pink clothing. No pink shawl. No pink bird. Then I knew in my heart that I'd been supernatually given a sign from an angel : )

Call me crazy. But I know it in my heart. In fact, this is the second time I've come across a feather when I was waiting for a sign. So to me, Pink Angels do exist after all : )
Some months back, I had a desire to paint angels (I don't know why) and this pink feather has again revived my interest. I've drawn a couple of drafts but you know me....sometimes, I get so caught up with my daily work, I don't know how to find the time to start painting again. Sigh.

Healing - Little Finger

Forgive me, Lord for even I find it hard to believe. How do I expect my blog readers to believe then? Believe what?

(Was going to post a pic of my little finger and discovered I can't load pics easily to blogger from my PC anymore. Super annoying. Aaaaarrrgggh! I got around it by going to 'html' format and uploading then switching back to 'compose' -- just in case you're facing the same issue)

My humble unmanicured little finger in its back-to-normal state

Anyway, back to this. I've been having pain in the top knuckle of my little finger. For some reason, my left little finger has been sticking out like a sore 'thumb' (only it's not the thumb but the little finger). It's been stiff and 'unbendable'. Because it's been stiff, I've actually jammed the whole finger into solid surfaces (while doing chores) and suffered excruciating pain shooting through the finger. How silly. Don't ask me how it's possible but after having jammed it into something a couple of times, the uppermost knuckle started to swell a little and feel painful. I've been wondering if I've actually fractured it or something (imagine the effect of poking your solid stiff finger into a solid surface at a great force).

After my experience with my fractured toes (where I could do nothing but let it heal naturally), I was sitting at my table this morning, just wondering if it'd take 6-8 weeks or so to heal naturally (if there really is a fracture). I pressed the knuckle again and the pain was excruciating. So I just grasped the whole finger with my other hand and asked Jesus to send His healing.

It was instant. The healing that is. I kid you not. Not even I can believe it. I am quite in awe. Don't get me wrong. I BELIEVE that Jesus CAN heal. Without a doubt, I do believe. I just didn't quite expect it to be instant. No pain, no stiffness immediately after the prayer. It's totally been healed. Thank you, Jesus. Praise God, I am humbled by your love. I know you have sent me a sign.

I do not think it's a coincidence that I received this sign from God today. He knew I needed discernment about something that's been bugging me for a few months now. Also, Mike and I had happened to have a conversation about healing whilst walking from our carpark to our flat last night. Only Mike knows what I needed discernment about. We'd just come back from our Charismatic Prayer Group meeting. Early days yet to say anything. All I can do is wait upon the Lord. It is He who gives me strength where I think I can't possibly have strength! All things are possible through Him. All glory is His! : )

Episcopal Ordination Mass for our Coadjutor Archbishop-elect, Msgr William Goh

FRIDAY 22 FEB 2013
will be a special day. That's the date planned for the Episcopal Ordination Mass for our
Coadjutor Archbishop-elect, Msgr William Goh
(I'm sure more details will be provided via the churches soon).

Mike and I are thrilled that Msgr William Goh is going to be our next Archbishop! This is a great blessing for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Singapore.

In Oct 2012, I wrote a post about Fr. William Goh (then still known as Fr. William Goh) blessing my rosary at the Catholic Spirituality Centre and how special that rosary and pouch were.

(read the short post here)
http://cartoonlagoon.blogspot.sg/2012/10/gifts-of-rosary-and-pouch.html

Well, it's all the more meaningful now. Thank you, God for all blessings, big and small!

Comforted by God's love

I've started 2013 feeling very loved by God. What about you? Is it missing from your life?
It's a wonderful feeling. I'm not sure how I got to this point, but I have. It's been quite a journey (the past few years) and I'm grateful for everything, every event, every moment I've had to experience.
I no longer look for God to work big miracles in my life. I'm just enjoying my days talking and sharing with Him and He me. I'm not spouting my holiness. Far from that. I'm sharing with you how crazy in love I am with God and how His goodness is with me all the time nowadays. To someone else, good things which happen are coincidences. To me, they are blessings from God and I'm reminding myself to keep thanking God for His goodness.

Here's my small Red Bull blessing from God.

Mike and I had taken a break at a rest point along the North-South highway. We were both tired after a fun-filled day. He'd bought 2 bottles of Red Bull and we'd started our homeward drive again. I opened one bottle for him and held it for him between sips (as he was driving). Tiny bottle, so he finished it quickly, I tried to open the other bottle for myself (I need to keep awake too when he drives so I can make sure he stays awake whilst driving!). But tried as I might, I couldn't move the metal bottle cap. It was so easy to open the first, I couldn't understand why this one wouldn't budge. I tried and I tried. I didn't tell Mike because I knew he'd offer to open it for me (and he always does -- open jars for me, that is -- I just love how strong he is! *blush*) and I didn't want him distracted from the driving. So I just kept quiet and wondered how I could pry open the stupid bottle cap. I continued gripping it hard and twisting but it wouldn't budge

I gave up. I whispered, 'Lord, please just supernaturally open this bottle for me'.
I felt Him say, 'Tap 3 times'.
So I did. I tapped the bottle cap thrice (very lightly) with my fingertips.
Low and behold. I just gave it a simple twist with my finger tips. It opened.

Hmmm.... call it a coincidence. Call me crazy. I don't care. I call it God's divine intervention and how He shows His love for me even in the smallest of ways.

Today, I had my medical appointment at the polyclinic for the purpose of monitoring my blood pressure and some other stuff. Said my prayers whilst driving there and called upon the healing hands of Jesus. I placed my trust in Him and knew that He could work miracles for me. If the doc finds my pressure still high, I will be placed on meds (for life, as you may know). I went slightly earlier and made sure to sit and feel relaxed before my appointment time. Of course they were late and I had plenty of time to sit and stare inanely.

However, there was some mix up and I ended up running in and out of the doctor's room to another counter and back to the doctor's room. She then said she'd just take my BP and I was going, 'Of course it's going to be sky high now!' (after all that running about). But guess what? When the Lord heals, the Lord heals. There are no limits except what we place with our human minds. Despite common sense telling me that my BP reading would be inaccurately high because of my physcial anxiety at that moment, it was an OK reading. Thank, God for that! For now, no meds. Praise the Lord! Yippee!! I'm off to a good start for 2013!

Danau Kota 'Uptown' Setapak Night Market

Happy New Year, everyone!

I realised that I had closed 2012 without making any resolutions for the new year. As I move along in life, I realise I have less need to make resolutions. I am already grateful for the life which I have now. Any problems I may have or which may arise along the way, I have no doubt that God will be with me to guide me through it. I do not fear. So really, I have not made any new year resolutions. But truth be told, at the back of my head, is that 'project' which I feel I've been prodded by God to accomplish. So maybe THAT. But for now, no details.


Hubs and I hit the road again after the Christmas celebrations. It meant I had to miss my epic VJC reunion for the 'pioneers' of the JC (1984, 85 and 86 batches) but I'm not too sad because I am in regular contact with a small group of my former '85-86 schoolmates anyway. For the past few years, hubs and I have gone away (just the two of us) just before New Year's Day. It's to relax after the Christmas celebrations. The weather is usually cool, the office isn't as busy because most of our associates are closed anyway and the kids would still be on holiday. Perfect time. But because we prefer to spend New Year's eve with the kids, we don't really have much time away. We'll usually rush back before New Year's eve. It's OK. 2 or 3 nights away alone is good enough for a couple to rejuvenate! All married couples need alone time and it doesn't matter where you are. Escape time is more like it and Mike and I just love taking more short trips over fewer long trips anyway. This time round, we had a hotel stay which included some Balinese spa pampering. I had to be careful about my 'ex-fractured' toes not being massaged but apart from that, it was some much needed pampering. Just nice for me but hubs found it too 'light' for his liking.

Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (food street).

We went to Jalan Alor for dinner one night. Ok lah. So so only. Have tasted better food elsewhere in Malaysia. The highlight for this trip though, was a visit to Danau Kota Uptown.

Danau Kota 'Uptown' Setapak

A sprawling night market (Pasar Malam) in Setapak which opens only at night and until the wee hours of the morning. Actually, it's much like a huge Geylang Serai pasar malam.

Danau Kota 'Uptown' Setapak

Mainly selling clothes and shoes. We tried our best to cover the whole place but I gave up and gave the last two rows a miss. My feet just couldn't take it anymore and that's after swishing down 2 cans of coke too. Me, giving up an opportunity to shop. Yes, it's that huge. It's a huge fenced area with tents, tents and more tents. Give it a miss if it rains because it's in the open. But otherwise, quite a nice place to experience. We didn't know where this place was. Had only heard of it from another cab driver who'd told us that this place 'uptown' was huge, prices were cheaper than town or Chinatown (yes, they are a tad though I wouldn't bother to go all the way there to get a shirt a few dollars less, taking into account the distance it is from KL town itself). Believe or not, there are many 'uptowns' in Malaysia. I only discovered that when I tried to locate this place. Couldn't define which one the cabby had tried to recommend so we decided to ask around instead, describing it as sprawling and opened till the wee hours of the morning. I tried to remember the route there so we can drive there one day but gave up half way. Will need to rely on the GPS but only if the dumb Marbella we own doesn't decide to bring us via a twilight zone route.

A relatively friendly cabby took us there for RM20 (about SGD8 - of course not following the metre lah but considering it was jammed in the Bukit Bintang area when we had spoken to him, it's not too bad). He was a bit worried we wouldn't be able to find a cab back to our hotel in town so he'd given us his name card too. Then he made sure to tell us which side of the road to wait for the cab so it'd be in the direction of the hotel. He reminded me to hold on to my bag (watching out especially for motorcyclists). Coming back, we took a metered cab and really, including the surcharge (yes, there's a midnight charge of I think RM3) the difference was only a few ringgit short of the trip there so we hadn't been ripped off that much earlier. Is it safe? I didn't feel unsafe at all. It's quite crowded. Also, easy to catch a cab in the wee hours of the morning. But of course, as always, my arms and shoulders ached from gripping my handbag too tight.

Why do we keep hopping over to Malaysia? Good exchange rate, lah. Why you think! Also time constraints. Anyway, we prefer travelling around Asia. Just love soaking in the ethnicity of Asian cities : )
Singapore is right smack in the middle of South-East Asian countries. It's so convenient to just book a ticket and go. So fun! We've been to Europe and find European cities a tad less exciting. He and I feel no urge to go anymore for the moment (although the kids would like to). Asia is definitely more vibrant. He and I are the type where we can't sit still during a holiday. There's so much to explore. You just need to know where to look.

Am already staring at the calendar. Can't wait for our next trip! Have a great year ahead!