Above all else

I was feeling down about my ankle a few weeks ago, since it hadn't been getting better for quite a while.  I felt especially grumpy about it when we went to HK for a short trip, and my ankle got sore just from a little walking around Ocean Park etc.  On top of my well-worn ankle, when I go away on holiday, my quiet time and prayer life tends to fray as well, because the usual routine gets messed up.  So overall, my mood wasn't the best. Nevertheless, when we stumble, one of the most important things is to dust yourself off and get going again as soon as possible, before the inertia sets in any deeper.  So I did try to get back to my quiet time - but I kept getting derailed by the hundreds of backlogged work mails!  And my ankle was still bothering me.  So suffice to say, my mood wasn't the best. Then one Sunday at church, during worship, I got a strong impression that God was telling me that my ankle was symptomatic of my life.  He told me t...

I was waiting for the lift at my place the other day, and I saw a spider stalking a flying ant.  It was quite fascinating watching the deadly drama play out.  The spider crept up to the flying ant in short little bursts, until it got close enough to strike.  Then with a blinding leap it attempted to capture the ant.  However, the flying ant showed astonishing dexterity by taking off and evading the spider, landing a few inches away.  But the spider was undeterred and crept up on the ant again.  Again and again, the flying ant would evade the spider's lunge, landing a few inches away.  I missed the lift, as you can imagine. Isn't this peculiar?  Why doesn't the flying ant simply fly away?  Why stay within striking distance of the spider?  The law of averages demands that sooner or later, the spider is going to get him.  Seems to me that the flying ant is either terminally stupid or terminally lazy, in not flying away ...

In a conversation with some good friends recently, we happened to talk about what we were doing about our lives at work and at home.  One argument was that it is not the destination or even the result, but the journey that matters.  However, it was also pointed out that the objective of any journey is to travel from point A to point B.  Therefore we need to be clear about the result we are aiming for, in order to get there.  Destination, or result, is therefore essential. Those who know me well know that I am not the most avid conversationalist.  If possible, I like to keep my own thoughts and let them stir in my mind for a while, before deciding what I really think about a particular issue.  So here, after a couple of days, are my thoughts (finally) on the matter. Everyone of us is on a journey.  And it's true that the objective of any journey is to go someplace where we're not.  That's important.  Having said that, it doesn't mea...