Persevering In Mind And In Spirit

Hullo all you lovely people of our Lord! How's it going with you?!

Today i had the privilege of being at the Food and Hotal Asia Fair at the Singapore Expo (thanks to my cousin Raphael) and oh man, there was such a superabundance of delicacies to taste!

Ah ha... and I have ta bao some for you too...! ;)

Then, what really caught my attention was the ice-sculpting competition where each ice-sculptor was given one hour to sculpt, in freestyle, an ice sculpture to be judged after one hour of sculpting.

Crash!

At the 50th minute, it was really heart-breaking to see one participant's eagle (sculpted from ice) fall to the ground under the pull of gravity because it was balanced much too precariously on a single hinge on the base. It was meant to be two eagles soaring from the base of the ice, but only one remained after this unfortunate crash. His exquisitely-crafted eagle sculpture, in my opinion, would have won the contest.

However, because it collapsed, it could not be judged on its orginal artistic display intentions and standard it was meant to flaunt.

Immediately my tua pek (Luke Chua), reminded me that 'it is the same with achievements - nobody cares about your efforts of the process. The only thing that matters is the end result, right or not, Wilfred?'

And to me, it is the same in my spiritual journey, just as how Constance shared in her poem, our own ice sculptures will also break and fall halfway through the ice-carving process - trudging the valleys are important as we descend from the 'glorious mountain tops', for growth, self-reflection and reality checks. And similarly, in my fallen human nature, i am predisposed to temptations and sin, often falling short of the imitation of Christ.

However, just like the ice-sculptor who showed little or zero outward signs of discouragement after his eagle smashed into smithereens, but maintained his composure and simply proceeded with carving the other aspects of his ice, the challenge has always been for me to acknowledge my fallen self and seek the Lord's forgiveness - not harping on my sins but rejoicing in the salvation which Jesus has earned for me, all the while desperately and conscientiously putting in more and more efforts to be more and more Christ-like in mind and in spirit!

As rhino 5 aptly reminded me, 'despair is the one tool the devil uses too well. In all things, we must always rely on the Blood of the Lamb.'

Lord Jesus, you are my Saviour and King!

I will rejoice and be glad!

-rhino 69-