Reflection on 2002

“You can never step into the same river twice because the water is constantly flowing.”
- David Roth, singer/song writer

The past two years are filled with joy and at times, anguish watching our boys grow from underweight premies to active toddlers. To say the least, David and Ethan are God’s gifts to us, and we constantly remind ourselves how blessed we are to be bestowed such gifts. We also truly believe that your prayers, concern and advice sustained us through the past years, and for that we are very thankful for our fellow journeymen.

We are also mindful that we are stewards accountable to God for our children and endeavor to bring them up in God’s ways. This new phase of our journey is somewhat daunting but as PK has so rightly put it, this is not new ground we are treading on. To this end, the group’s study on parenting these past months have been very enlightening (I am one of those who reads after the discussion!); to learn from each other’s experiences, talk about values and principles, discipline and love.

On the work front, God has also blessed us abundantly. Ruf’s decision to go part time and then to stop work completely has not been easy, but we firmly believe that is the right thing to do now. And the closeness with our boys more than makes up for any financial and economic loss.

God has also been good to me at my workplace. Being the AH for one year was one of the toughest assignments I had to undertake, but with God’s grace and wisdom, the department was able to turn around from being the whipping boy to the best performer in the School/Faculty. Above all, the stint has taught me much about my abilities (and inabilities!), judgment, and most importantly, principles and values that I hold dear.

Although we are in a quiet pond does not meant that the water around us are not somewhat turbulent. The past year has also presented us with many opportunities to appreciate the tough economic environment and realities of life (retrenchment, schooling and education, illness and death). We are humbled by the realization that we are merely passing through this earth and life.

Of late we have developed a conviction to help the less privileged, especially the children. To return a portion of our blessings from God, any portion, no matter how substantial, would be infinitely small compared to what God has blessed us with!

Dec 30 , 2002