Papa God Is Into Details

I have moved into my own flat for slightly more than half a year. It is in a pretty old estate, and the flat is about 21 years old, old enough to gain full adulthood. The outside of the flat (façade) is old looking, with pretty bad selection of paint colours. (I still ponder many times on why the recent upgrading or repainting of old estates takes on such “scary” colour schemes. Sometimes, it is most beautiful and classic to just leave it simple, in one or two, at most three colours, preferably white. It simply makes the whole building looks new and almost modern, timeless.) But I still like old estates, for their convenience and all the amenities, and also for the seemingly larger, spacious unit, I like my own flat very much.

Remembered my previous mention of my neighbour’cat urinating at the public staircase? Or had I mentioned about the constant ponding of water at the landing of the public staircase going to my flat? There are several times I wanted to complain about the above two matters, either writing to town council, HDB or give them a call, hoping they will either ban my neighbour for having a pet or force them to allow their cat to use their own toilet rather than sharing our staircase for that purpose! I am just short of putting a fish with poison at my door step….

As for the ponding of water, I dislike having to jump over the puddle of water, and occasionally having the water getting into my open toes shoes. And at times, I also felt bad about my mom and other senior residents having to face such dangerous staircases. Yet much as I wish to do something about it since the day I moved in, perhaps I was busy, or perhaps I had started to get used to it, that as the days go by, it slowly slipped my mind, lost its priority, with many other more demanding issues fighting for my attention.

Yet my dearest Papa God never fails to amaze me. Just a month ago, when I discovered that my estate is due for repainting, I was delighted, thanking Him for seeing to my little desire. And true enough, the proposed colour scheme for my block is really much better than the previous. (There are many occasions it ended up worse.) And just a few days ago, I was pondering on the water ponding issue at the staircase, as I was waiting for my lift at the lift lobby, on my way to work, I was thinking to myself, why am I trying so hard? Why not just leave it with my Shepherd, and for that brief second, I cast it to the Lord and ask Him for help for the first time for this little issue.

I believed you would not be surprised by what I am going to write next. True enough, just a couple of days ago, there are workers coming to every floor of my block, creating textures on the staircases and corridors, preparing for re-screeding of all the public spaces! I was touched, not so much by the event, but by the faithfulness of my Papa God, in seeing to the little desires of my heart, taking care of even such small incidents as this. Isn’t He the busiest Being in this universe? And yet He always has time for me. If it matters to me, it is not insignificant to Him, it also matters much to Him, as I slowly figure out.

It reminds me of the snow flakes, how every single one of them is different and yet perfectly patterned and sculpted, for the pleasure of His priced possession, us, to enjoy. It reminds me of the beautiful flowers He has created, for His beloved ones to smell, find rest and admire.

Yes, I am still waiting for the miracle to the cat incident, yet perhaps while waiting for it to happen, I am becoming more patient. But you know what? All these tiny episodes in life really make me ponder in wonder, awe, and in love, how much I must have meant to Him! It also creates a little “fear” and stir in my life these days, “fearing” that I forgot to let Him take charge, even down to the smallest details. For nothing seems to prosper through my puny effort, yet when I put them into His hands, I am always assured that they are well taken care of. Lord, always remind me not to take things into my own hands…. Only You Lord! And you too, cast all that trouble you into His hands, they are never too small, and He sure has more than enough time for you!

Sidetrack: I had a most interesting dream a few days ago. I dreamt that I was at Niagaras Falls, in Canada. This as a holiday place was never my agenda, yet come to think of it, the dream was so real, so beautiful, that I even saw the rainbow in the midst. I am longing for my sabbatical leave, and I can feel it drawing closer…. Thank you my Shepherd!