Birthday gratitude

I will get to celebrate another birthday tomorrow and I look forward to my usual birthday treat of freshly shucked oysters, this time in Sydney. Thanks to P, we are on our first overseas trip since the coronavirus wreaked havoc these last couple of years. It’s been lovely walking around in the sunny and crisp cold of winter, revisiting places we enjoy and visiting new places. I am grateful for all the blessings we have experienced, the beautiful weather, good food and the friendly people we’ve met.

Reflecting on these last months I have to say my biggest learning lesson has to be the invitation to be open to whatever comes, not to be dismayed at unplanned for changes but to move in the flow of events as graciously as I can (I have to admit that can pose a great challenge to me at times as I can cling on to what I want quite stubbornly). I have also learnt to appreciate God’s timing and to allow myself to be open to His promptings and act on them. 

Being able to see things from a more mature and faith-filled perspective has helped me accept unwanted outcomes more readily and to see how I can act in new situations in a way that would do my heavenly Father proud. As a priest commented just this week in his homily, faith gives us vision so that even when tragedy occurs we can better deal with it for we know this is not the be all and end all of things.

Nothing brings this lesson home so much as the scant past weeks where instead of visiting a sick friend, A, and spending time with her, I got to instead attend her wake and funeral. While I am saddened I couldn’t break bread and laugh with her one final time, I am also glad she didn’t suffer more than necessary for I have seen too many times how excruciating the slow descent into death by cancer can be and I am happy she was comfortable and slipped away quickly. I felt privileged just to be there to send her off with a confident prayer that she was with God. A joyous thing indeed. I also got to see the younger A through the eyes of her friends, and to witness how beloved she was by family and her kampung. 

Life will always be filled with surprises, even unpleasant shocks, but the constant decision to surrender to God and to let Him lead, especially in unsought for and undesirable circumstances has helped me tremendously all these months. I can even see the little miracles in what may seem like disasters, and how the Lord has placed His protective hand on me and those whom I love. And I can be grateful for His mercies, both big and small. My biggest takeaway this past year, as in previous years is to pray unceasingly, with every breath, if possible. Prayer is the discipline that enables sharpened vision, effects miracles and spawns gratitude and inner peace. Prayer is the only way I can tell Jesus how much I truly love Him and to let Him increase in me. Prayer is what makes possible all things. 

Thank you, Lord, for your constant guidance and protection in these past 12 months, for all the love you have showered on me through P and all who love me. Thank you for this amazing journey of life, with you waking by my side. I continue to humbly seek the ability to see your face and hear your voice every day. 

Thank you for giving me life, my life. So blessed.