This is the story of how God used a chicken suit to teach and humble my family. The story begins a few years ago, when my daughter came back from her PSLE examination, and shared with us that the picture for composition was a guy in a chicken suit - you know, those furry, humid-looking mascot costumes.
My son, who was then in primary four, remarked that he would have have been stumped by how to write a "chicken suit" composition and would certainly have flopped that examination. So over the next couple of years, "chicken suit" became a inside reference for "examination question that is impossible to answer" i.e. "that's just a chicken suit question"!
The years passed, and this year, it was time for my boy's PSLE examinations. We knew he was good at English, Science and especially Maths. But despite all his hard work, his Chinese was still really, Really, REALLY staggeringly poor - so we knew that PSLE results would be a challenge, because a full quarter of the aggregate would likely be a goner.
But there was a way - apply for Direct School Admission (DSA) to secondary school, which is essentially an interview process with the school, and if you get in, your PSLE score doesn't matter. There was a particular school he wanted to get into of course. And we knew that it would be very difficult other than by DSA. Even by DSA, the competition would be fearsome.
So we prayed. He prayed. The day before the school's open house, my wife said to him, let's go to the open house and see if you really want to go there. And let's ask God for a sign if this is really where you are supposed to go. And the boy said, "OK, the sign is, when I go to the school open house, God will send a guy in a chicken suit!" To which our response was, "Don't be ridiculous lah, ask for a sign that can actually happen!" But he had decided. To him, the point of the sign was that it had to be so impossible that no one could mistake it.
And so we went to the school for the open house. The place was packed with anxious kids, and even more anxious parents! The buzz of snatches of conversation, mixed in with the occasional high-pitched shriek of hyperactive children assaulted the ears. Hordes of people milling around, checking out the co-curricular activities and promotional stands that the students had put up, and asking a hundred different questions of the students and teachers.
The wife *suddenly stopping in her tracks*: "Oh my gosh."
Me: "What? What?? Are you ok?"
The wife: It's the chicken.
Me: What? What are you talking about?
The wife: It's. The. Chicken.
She was so pale, she looked like she was going to pass out.
The boy and I turned around, and... I got the chills. It was a guy in a chicken suit. It was the sign he had asked for. We frantically took pictures and followed the ridiculous chicken around the school!
Over the next couple of weeks, God kept sending chickens. And not just chickens, but even more ludicrously and specifically, actual *people in chicken suits*. At one point we started doubting ourselves and doubting God - well, was that really a chicken suit we saw at the school? And then we literally saw this.
You wouldn't believe it unless I showed you the pictures, so here you go. What has a guy in the chicken suit got to do with medical subsidies and insurance?? But earnestly ask God for a sign, and He'll really give you one. For several weeks, that guy in the chicken suit appeared in the papers, on buses, billboards, everywhere!
A couple of weeks later, armed with the assurance of the chicken suits, but nevertheless nervous as a chicken in a fox convention, the boy went for his DSA interview. He had only just met the minimum criteria for the interview, and most of his friends at the interview had far better qualifications. But we hoped. We prayed. He went in, nervous.
... and he came out, dejected. He said, "It didn't really go that well." Trying to keep his spirits up, we reminded him of the sign of the chicken suit that God had answered him with, and he did perk up a bit.
But the bad news did eventually arrive - an email from the school, confirming that he did not receive a confirmed offer, but would be put on the waitlist. Given the overwhelming popularity of this school, the chances were slim. The boy got even more despondent when a whole slew of his classmates got confirmed offers from that school. So we told the boy - hey, do you trust God? He still sent you the chicken suit. Trust in God's promise! He didn't want you to walk through this door, but He can make a miracle - you can still do well in the PSLE! He nodded. A good boy.
Over the next few months, this happy-go-lucky boy studied like a maniac. He put his heart and his soul into Chinese especially, going at it for hours. He practised paper after paper. Eventually the stack of papers became taller than he was! He put all his trust in God's sign, that God could help him overcome, even when the results so far had never gone his way. I was so proud of him.
And so the PSLE examinations arrived. Not an encouraging start, as he'd been sick the whole week and we had sent him to the doctor, who then prescribed him a strong dose of antibiotics and paracetamol. All dosed up on medication, he headed into the first paper - English. It went alright. We relaxed a little as the next day was his strongest subject - Maths! Now was the chance to make up for the Chinese paper in advance.
I remember I was at an external meeting that day, when I got a series of calls from my wife, but I couldn't pick up the phone. When I finally managed to call back, I heard the words no PSLE parent wants to hear.
"He didn't manage to finish the paper".
My blood froze. According to my wife, as he had just completed his antibiotic the night before, he did not take paracetamol that morning, and by the time he got to school, he had a blinding headache, earache, nausea... but he tried his best. But... all that hard work going into the exam - what a waste :(
I went home that evening, depressed, realising that the door that the chicken suit had seemed to point to was now closed. The last route of getting good PSLE results was closed, and getting into his choice school was now impossible.
But I tried to put a brave face on it, so I thought about what I could say to the boy to cheer him up. When I walked into his room, he was fast asleep. But he heard me come in and woke up - he looked ill and exhausted!
From the previous DSA interviews, he had actually obtained another offer from a different school, but one for which he was far more likely to be accepted. So I asked him "What do you think? Should we just exercise that option instead?"
With just a second's hesitation in the face of the impossibility before him, he quietly replied, "No Daddy. I think we should have faith."
It's true what they say - faith strengthens faith. But mine was still weak, so I asked him, "Are you sure?" And he said yes. So I gave him a hug and said, ok, we'll have faith. We'll give up that other offer.
He went through the rest of examinations without incident - Science went fine. Chinese was, well, we knew it wouldn't be good. And then, hooray, it was the post-examination euphoria of chucking all the school papers out, watching TV and playing computer games! But amidst all the relief and the laughter, hanging ominously over our heads were the impending PSLE results...
So the PSLE results were finally released on Thursday. We went with the boy and collected the results. His Maths did not pull up his Chinese. His Chinese affected the overall result and was even worse than what we thought he might get, even after taking into account the circumstances. Not even close to good enough for the school he wanted. Not good enough for school which he had the chance to accept but by now had already chosen to forgo. Regret for giving up that 2nd choice offer rose like bile in my throat. Tears welled up in his eyes. I gave him a big hug and told him I was proud of him and his results - he had really done his very best.
I told him God always knows the best for him - if we trust in Him, and we certainly did exercise faith through this episode in following the signs, there can be no place He sends us that is not the best for us.
We were about to quietly exit the crowd of classmates happily celebrating their results when my wife stopped short again.
"He got in."
"What?"
With quiet amazement, "He got in."
"What are you talking about?"
"The chicken suit. He got in." And my wife showed the second letter she had just opened, which we hadn't bothered to look at after we saw his results slip.
Incredibly, his choice school had decided to make him an offer to enrol after all. I didn't know what to think. After the shock of the PSLE score, this was a shock the other way round. Even the boy was stunned.
You know, it's funny. All the time we were waiting for the results, I still hoped for the miracle that despite the Chinese, despite his being sick, somehow his results would be good enough. Then I could "humble brag" about how my son had overcome his sickness, overcome his Chinese ability, and with God's help, achieved amazing results.
But the Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong... so that no one may boast before him".
Because of the way He fulfilled His promise, I now am left with nothing to brag about, other than, well, God. He made a way. Not me, not hard work, not cleverness. Just the faith of a boy. Faith in a child's foolish request for a sign of a chicken suit from God. Faith when things go wrong. Faith when things go even more wrong after that. Faith when everything seems to have fallen to pieces. Faith even when the bad results are actually published and confirmed. Then, when there's absolutely nothing left of my own plans or effort to hold on to - He comes. So that no one may boast before Him.
Thank God for His overwhelming power, His inexpressible love, and His amazing grace.
I just read my boy's letter to himself, written before the PSLE. It says:
"Future me - if you've done well, congratulations, all your hard work has paid off!
But if your results are not good, it's ok, you've got the chicken suit on your side."
Yup, I'll pick God's chicken suit over mere hard work any day. As we head into this new adventure, the mountains ahead continue to look treacherous, but if we continue to look for God, and continue to exercise the little faith we have, then we'll not only survive, we'll thrive! Sign No. 6 - done.
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