Grace Points

The perks of today...

1. Waving to a neighbor in the car-park of my flat... coz he graciously reversed his car and made way, so that I could drive my car out of the narrow exit. One thing I like about my block... the Malays, Indians and Chinese are usually nice to one another. There's something sweet and beautiful about unity in diversity. Ultimately, it reflects the nature and pattern of the Triune God...as well as His pattern. For example:

....so God created human beings in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them... (Gen 1:27)
....for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh... (Gen 2:24)
....Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ...Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it... (1 Cor 12:12-27)

The Bible affirms us, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity....For there, the LORD bestows His blessing, even life forevermore." (see Ps 133:1-3)

2. Marveling on how entering the W.C heightens one's urgency to pee (of course, one must have had the urge to pee in the first place - to be entering the bathroom!) - unless it's really too dirty, then the body seems to protest and have the opposite reaction... The sights and smells in our environment do play important roles in stimulating our brain to elicit through the most complex pathways, the most genius involuntary or voluntary responses... Furthermore, it is awesome how a simple action like peeing can serve as an indicator of our body fluid and electrolyte balance, hydration status and even our endocrine function....amongst many other bodily functions.

Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made; masterpieces of an eternal, infinite God.

3. Replying all the emails that have been accumulating in my Gmail inbox for the past 2 weeks or so... *Victory* ...while chatting to Lydia.

Anyway...before I return to my scores-of-assignments...let me share a part of the passage I read today:

'But when anyone turns to the LORD, the veil is taken away. Now the LORD is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the LORD's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the LORD, who is the Spirit.' (2 Cor 2:16-18)

note: the veil = the veil that prevented the people from seeing God's glory in the Old Covenant

For very long, even after I became a Christian, I did not understand what it meant to be 'unveiled' and its implications.

For example, I remained in my eating disorders even though I was one with an 'unveiled face'...because rather than contemplating on God's glory, I obsessed over my imperfections...over and over again...and saw no hope. Because I felt that I needed to do something about my imperfections, I engaged in the vicious cycles of binge and purge, or restricted my food consumption. It was only when I learned to delight in who God is, His magnificence, His goodness, His beauty, His works, His redemption and most of all, His love, I found myself compelled to deny myself and follow Him...

...This was also when I realized that I wanted to stop hurting myself, stop trying to be somebody the world covets, to love my body and take care of myself well, that I can serve Him. That His purposes for my life would be fulfilled. That I would be able to present to my husband and children the gift and benefits of my health. That I would be able to live long enough to see all my passions, talents and gifts produce fruits that would please my Creator.Indeed, Ps 37:4 is correct when it claims, "Take delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart..."

I am being released day by day into life in abundance. It's still a long journey ahead.Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. May this truth keep propelling me forward. Maranatha. This I pray, for those who are still looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.