2017: A New Journey and A New Hope

It has definitely been a while since my last post, but I thought I'd start the new year right.

2016 was a blast. In retrospect, it was a year with many changes: I finished my national service earlier in March, worked at an MNC for 4 months, had some downtime, started school and finished my first semester. 

When I look back, the year really flew by quickly, but the experiences are still fresh in my memory. I remember getting called in to the commander's office on my ORD day because of a letter that I had written to him regarding my observations on the state of things in the unit. (Sadly, nothing much has changed, according to my juniors) I remember the months of work I had, and the challenges of working life that I managed to glimpse. I remember my university orientation experience and the culture shock that I received when I first stepped foot in NUS. I remember struggling to find my identity during my first semester, as well as how I had momentarily lost myself in the treacherous currents of school work in the first half.

More importantly, I remember God's grace and His hand in all of these experiences. I remember how He helped me cope with the sudden loneliness I had experienced when I started working. I remember how He sustained me through my work and even in revealing the futility of my work obsession - I needed Him, and then it was clear to me (perhaps not entirely) how I ought to live my life, especially as a student.

In the last days of the year, I attended NUS VCF AnnTiC Camp (Varsity Christian Fellowship Annual Teach-in Camp) and I'm really glad I took those 6 days to study the word and listen to the sermons with a large bunch of people whom I barely knew. To my pleasant surprise, I saw old faces and reconnect with them, finding new dynamics to our old friendships. I made new friends. got to know more people better and really caught a glimpse of what the whole CF community is actually like. I'd prefer to refrain from romanticizing the whole experience but it was undoubtedly breathtaking and awe-inspiring. The sharing from my group was intimate and personal, the sermons were insightful, the workshops were informative and everyone was simply warm and hospitable. Best of all, I experienced God firsthand - fueling the passion in me to revisit my faith and live my life boldly as a disciple of Christ, giving up my life (as I know it) and no less.

The transition into 2017 was not particularly exciting (considering that I was quite exhausted from the camp) but I did have my church's Young Adults Retreat to attend and for 3 days, we relaxed, had fun and were engaged in fruitful discussions on sexual wholeness and purity. Again, I experienced God's hand in my life firsthand here, and managed to let go of the pain and bitterness I had held on to for 2 years from a certain past and simply just commit it all to Jesus. God is indeed great (if you know me personally, I wouldn't mind sharing my story with you if you asked) and I have no doubt in my mind that He has called me to walk closely with Him with a renewed faith this year.

Although it is characteristic of my pieces to be lengthy, I have to admit that I have left out much in this post. Perhaps what's remaining isn't that important for the time being, but I guess the bottom-line is that God is faithful and gracious - and I am determined to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Where I may stumble, I pray for His forgiveness and His grace; and where I overcome obstacles, I hope to give thanks to His faithfulness and sing His praise.

2017: A year of God's presence. What more can I ask for?

Cheers,

Matt