A slimy creature fishing for a tip

Dear Lord,

For the first time in my life, I met a very smooth-talking and well-meaning-sounding cab driver whom I did not like. In fact, he reminded me of slime.

I boarded the cab at YWCA around 9.30pm. He asked in a very polite tone:  "Hi Madam, where would you like to go?" When I replied: "Bukit Panjang, Fajar Road", he followed up by explaining very nicely why some cab drivers don't like to pick up passengers heading to places like Bukit Panjang around 9.30pm from town - because they can't get any passengers there and so they waste time driving an empty cab back to town. Then he said: "But, you're the boss and it's the luck of the draw for us, so I go where my customers go." I replied with a "ha ha".

He then moaned about his spate of bad luck at Changi Airport. Of the six passengers he picked up over the past two days, all of them were heading for nearby places like Pasir Ris, Tampines or Siglap. He then explained, very nicely again, to me why some cab drivers would queue up for one to two hours at Changi Airport - because they may get foreign tourists or business travellers who would give them $50 for a trip costing only $25 and say "keep the change".

He also said that sometimes, he will pick up locals who tipped him generously because they were heading for Pasir Ris and wanted to compensate him for his long wait at the taxi queue.

He then mentioned that he was very upset once when he was helping a lady with the luggage, and the lady's elderly mother said: "Let the driver do it, don't hurt your back." He told the elderly lady that taxi drivers were not legally required to help with the passenger's luggage and that under the Workman's Compensation Act, they could be compensated only if they were injured or hurt inside their cabs, and not while they were out of their cabs, and that if he had injured his back carrying their luggage he would not be covered. But he stressed to me that although he was quite angry, he told them in a cool and calm tone.Then he added that a lot of passengers were not aware of the fact that cab drivers were not obligated to help with passengers' luggage.

Following that, he talked about how he would avoid places like Clarke Quay at night because he didn't want to pick up drunks as that would set him back by one to two hours if they puked in his cab and he had to do the cleaning up. He said: "Miss, they usually offer to pay me $20 for the inconvenience but that is not enough to cover the hours and revenue lost when I've to clean my cab."

He also explained, very nicely again, why cab drivers didn't like to pick up a group who were heading to three to four places in a single trip, because they would lose out on the $2.80 starting fares that they would have earned if they had picked up four different passengers on four different trips.

I told him in a similarly nice tone that as a cab driver, he must have seen all sorts of passengers - the good ones and the bad ones, and that he must have very good days and very bad days. And I reiterated to him what he had said earlier: "Yes, it's the luck of the draw."

The journey drew to a stop, and the fare was $15.60. I gave him $17 and it seemed as if he was waiting for me to alight from the cab. I remained seated in the cab, and then he reacted by giving me my change.

Lord, there has to be some lessons somewhere in this for me. Could it be that:

- Some people tell sob stories to derive some benefits they do not deserve?

- Some people who sound polite and nice may not be so and have their own agendas?

- Some people do not believe in a fair day's wages for a fair day's work?

- The Holy Spirit in me is a very discerning judge of character?

Lord, forgive me for being so harsh on this cab driver but I really honestly didn't like him. His superficiality made my hairs stand on their ends at the end of the trip.

The human spirit

I recently dug up a book whose pages had already turned yellow, and started reading it a few days ago. Liked this excerpt:

"But this was the sense, not forgotten either then or later: that precisely because the Lager was a great machine to reduce us to beasts, we must not become beasts; that even in this place one can survive, and therefore one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness; and that to survive we must force ourselves to save at least the skeleton, the scaffolding, the form of civilisation. We are slaves, deprived of every right, exposed to every insult, condemned to certain death, but we still possess one power, and we must defend it with all our strength for it is the last - the power to refuse our consent. So we must certainly wash our faces without soap in dirty water and dry ourselves on our jackets. We must polish our shoes, not because the regulation states it, but for dignity and propriety. We must walk erect, without dragging our feet, not in homage to Prussian discipline but to remain alive, and not to begin to die."

Finding redemption

Isaiah 43

The Redeemer of Israel

 ¹ But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
      And He who formed you, O Israel:

      “ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
      I have called you by your name;
      You are Mine.
       ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
      And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
      When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
      Nor shall the flame scorch you.
       ³ For I am the LORD your God,
      The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; 

 

 

More than words

A thank-you note to God

Dear God,

Thank you for the following good things that happened yesterday:

- I received a phone call from the HR department, notifying me that my company has very graciously paid my cash hospitalisation expenses I incurred in Vietnam when I fractured my ankle. The money will be credited along with my pay next week.

- This more than covered the amount I had committed to giving to a pastor in Berastagi (aid for the recent earthquake victims).

- My work day was smooth. I thank God very much for my understanding colleagues.

- I read the FT and was so tickled by management guru Tom Peters' answer to a question that I took a photo of his printed reply with my handphone. He was asked what was the best thing anyone ever said about him, and he replied: "When I turned in my PhD draft to my adviser, one of his first, if not his first, comments was: “You are among the best I've seen at the use of semicolons.” "

- I had a meaningful lunch, where I was reminded of the need to keep one's mind captive in Jesus Christ.

- I went for a refreshing cellgroup meeting, where God drew me to 1 Corinthians 13 and Isaiah 61.

- I called for a cab after the cellgroup meeting because I knew it would be tough to get one off the street at 10.30pm on a Friday night. While I was still on the phone, a cab stopped right in front of me and an elderly couple alighted. I looked at the cab driver and he beckoned me in. Just when I was already seated, the taxi system registered a nearby booking request. That narrow window of opportunity.

- I returned home and there was a big bowl of chicken soup waiting for me.

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Amen

This is the day that the Lord has made

Today was one of the strangest days of my life, but in a good way. All glory to God.

I took a cab to the office and was doing my quiet time and writing down notes in my prayer journal. Half-way through the ride, the cab-driver suddenly asked me: "Are you from COOS?" I said yes, I was from Church of Our Saviour. He then told me that he and his family worshipped at COOS and that he had seen me before in church services. We chatted until we reached my office, and he then said he wanted to sms a verse plus some words to me. Only the night before, I had messaged a friend about the difficulty I had in giving my hp number to acquaintances, much less total strangers. Obviously, God knew of this.Going back to the cab-driver, he smsed the verse Romans 1:12 three times to me. I checked the verse in my bible the minute I got out of the cab. The verse was "that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine". I read the verse to mean that I was to encourage people in their faith, and as God's encouragement to me to persevere in what I was doing.

When I reached the office, the same friend from the night before e-mailed me her response to some issues I had. I read her e-mail and in my reply to her, I said that I was so thankful that God placed sensible and well-grounded friends around me. Her responses quietened my spirit and settled my heart. And I could focus on my work. Thank you very much for your wise counsel, Tammy.

After work, I rushed to church because I was attending my first corporate prayer session since I fractured my ankle three months ago. The session started at 7.30pm. I stepped into the auditorium and realised that it was very empty. I looked out for my cellgroup leader and on spotting her, I walked towards her and sat down beside her. I asked her why tonight's prayer session was so poorly attended and her reply was: "It's still early and some people haven't turned up yet. Plus, tonight's prayer session is until 11pm." My jaw nearly dropped to the floor because I didn't know that the session was until 11pm and had eaten only a chicken pie for dinner at 5.30pm. And I realised why the ushers were handing out one bottle of mineral water to every person who came for the prayer session. I could almost hear my stomach growling.

The session started with praise and worship and immediately I realised how much I missed corporate prayer sessions. By the second song, I was in tears. This was the song, which moved me very much. I would have knelt down but for my ankle.

THIS IS OUR GOD

Your grace is enough

More than I need

At Your word

I will believe

I wait for You

Draw near again

Let Your Spirit make me new

I will fall at Your feet

I will fall at Your feet

And I will worship You here

Your presence in me

Jesus light the way

By the power of Your word

I am restored

I am redeemed

By Your Spirit I am free

Freely You gave it all for us

Surrendered Your life upon that cross

Great is the love

Poured out for all

This is our God

Lifted on high from death to life

Forever our God is glorified

Servant and King

Rescued the world

This is our God

The session proceeded and some of the verses that were highlighted spoke to me:

Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV)

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Matthew 14:28-31 (ESV)

 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and(A) walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him,  "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Isaiah 43: 1-2 (ESV)

Israel’s Only Savior

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

During one segment of the prayer session, I was sitting next to a couple and my senior pastor told us to pair up or pray in groups of three regarding the physical space for Christian worship in Singapore. The three of us had grouped together earlier to pray and so for this segment, the couple told me to lead the prayer. After I finished praying, the lady excitedly turned to me and said she saw a picture for me - it was of a cheongsam and the shoulder areas were very shiny and bright. She actually drew the picture for me and asked me if the picture meant anything to me. I shrugged my shoulders and said: "Uhm...don't know but I will ask God." A while later, they were about to leave when the lady turned to me and said: "You're Li Li, right? I've seen you before. And with regard to the picture, I think God has a new assignment for you." I could feel the hairs on my arms stand and I could only say: "huh..uhmm?!" With that, she smiled at me and they left.

When the prayer session ended at 11pm, I bumped into someone I knew from a church camp some years back and with whom I had kept in touch. She was hitching a ride from her cellgroup leader and I tagged along because we were going to a coffeeshop near Potong Pasir for supper. When we reached the coffeeshop, she told me to go order my food (dumplings in soup). When I had done so, she rushed to the famous barbequed chicken wing stall. She came back with a broad smile and said that we were extremely fortunate to get the last three chicken wings. We talked about her eight-month-old baby girl and how she was coping with motherhood, among other things.

After we finished our meal, we boarded a cab and I dropped her off at her home in Bishan. When we got into the cab, the driver said his meter was running a little behind time and that $1.40 should have been added to the bill because it was already past midnight. When my friend got off, she reminded me to pay the cab-driver an additional $1.40 at the end of my trip. Her comment led the cab-driver to say that she was a very nice lady. He then asked me whether we had just finished work. I told him that we had attended a church prayer meeting in Margaret Drive and had gone to Potong Pasir to have supper.

He suddenly opened up and asked if he could share his troubles with me. I replied "why not?" He then told me he was having a lot of problems with his wayward son, who had just come out of a reformative training centre in March after two years for being in a gang fight. Since March, his son had not been able to hold down a job and was constantly changing girlfriends and bringing them home. He said he really didn't know how to handle or manage his son, who was only 19, and always ended up scolding him. He talked about a few incidents and by the time I reached my home, he had just only finished what he wanted to tell me.

He then asked me what I thought of his situation but said that he wouldn't mind if I just alighted because I had already reached my destination. He then stopped the meter. I told him that it was okay and spent the next 15 mins to half an hour telling him what I thought in Mandarin, peppered with some English words.

I looked at everything from his son's perspective and told him what I felt the son might have been thinking or feeling about his situation and his family. In the end, the cab-driver looked at me, thanked me and said that my comments had given him some new ideas on how to relate to his son. I paid the fare and got out of the cab with a skip in my step. 

When I reached my home, I decided to write this up and wondered if the rest of my life would be as strange and wonderful as this day had been. I'm waiting on God for an answer, and for the meaning behind the picture of the cheongsam with shiny shoulder areas.

主,祢永遠與我同在

主,祢永遠與我同在

主,祢永遠與我同在

危難臨到我信靠你 深知你必領我渡過
祢你信實為我堅持到最後 當暴風雨向我靠近
有祢同在我不至畏懼 祢是我的牧者我所依靠
每個夜 每一天 我知祢永遠在身邊
主祢永遠與我同在 在祢裡面沒有改變
祢的堅定從昨日到今日一直到永遠
靠祢豐盛應許站立 我的未來在祢手中
堅固磐石全能真神我敬拜祢