Elaine in Melbourne

I realised just last week that I’ve been in Melbourne for almost 3 months (aka a quarter of a year), but yet when I tried putting down in words about how I’ve grown – such as specific learning points or revelations in my journey with God, I realised I can’t pinpoint them (although there were many) because I haven’t set aside time to reflect on my life on a regular basis. Suddenly I felt “Oh my gosh – what have I done with the last 3 months? Have I let precious moments of my life just slip through my fingers? There were so many wonderful & not-so-wonderful-but-definitely-meaningful moments! What have I done with them?” Surely, this was an object lesson in what Pastor Seng Lee has emphasised many a time – “an unexamined life is not worth living” (quote from Socrates), and I received it in humility.

Since I did not come to Melbourne to simply squander a year of my life away, I resolved therefore to set aside time to just pray and ask God to help me reflect and consolidate what I’ve experienced and learned thus far. This is not easy to me, despite the fact that I’ve much more time to do so than in Singapore because, as I’ve mentioned above, I haven’t been in the practice of reflection, and many a time, I was distracted by emails, phone calls, hunger pangs, etc. Thank God for grace, as I finally got my reflections done, over a period of 5 days(!!), and it was so much more than I expected. Even as I prayed, worshipped, reflected and wrote over several separate sessions in my journal, the Lord spoke to my heart about several issues and gave me a few verses that would be key anchor points for the period I am away from home.

It’s no coincidence that some of the verses God brought to my mind was referred to over 2 consecutive days (yesterday and today) when I was in Richmond Assembly of God (yes, I’ve chosen to settle in this church over the rest) attending a course entitled ‘Worship 101’ and a prophetic night of worship for those serving in the church’s Creative Ministry (which includes the worship team, where I am now serving as a member of the choir) respectively. These verses are Isaiah 54:2-3 and John 15:1-17 and I thank God for the affirmation of His Word and the encouragement this brought to my heart.