Everything that I would like to say, will be in your present tomorrow! SORRY EAVESDROPPAS but the stuff i'm going to say to serene is for her eyes only. haha.
So Serene if you're reading this, I just want you to know you're the most awesome girl (apart from family) that's ever entered my life. You have brought me great joy and it's going to be painful to be apart from you when I enter the army in 3 days time.
2008 has been crazy year for me, and i daresay it's my most memorable year thus far. From being an RA at Denton Hall, to graduating from university, 2008 has been most profoundly joyous and downright sad all at the same time.
Leaving the US to head back to Singapore for army has been a bittersweet experience. The best friends that I have ever made in my life remain in the US and not a day goes by that I do not think about them. Sometimes the most random things during my day here in Singapore cause me to reminisce the good/bad times I've spent with them (Eden, Alex, Will to name a few).
Entering back to Singapore has been a whirlwind of changes for me. Reuniting with my cousins alex and asriel has been nothing but sweeetness. We're tight like brothers and I know that even when there's all this crap going on with other people and their relationships, we'll always be there to help each other. One thing that really spoke to me about our bond was during Alex's birthday celebration yesterday. My whole life I've been really close with Asriel and still am, however I find as we grow older and video games tend to take up less and less of our life, I find myself slowly drifting apart from Asriel. We are slowly leading different lives, and hang out with different people. But yesterday, it really warmed my heart to see Asriel show up for Alex's birthday, and be willing to spend the entire day hanging out with us despite having to commute from Temasek Poly all the way to Orchard. We had a blast pigging out on some MASSIVE steamboat at Bugis, then after that playing LAN from 11pm till 3am in the morning. I'll be sure to save that day in my memory to bring with me into the army.
The reason why 2008 has been the best year of my life can be summed up in two words, "Serene Siau". Getting to know her and spending time with her in serving the youth ministry has been an absolute joy for me. I never expected to fall for a girl this bad and this soon after returning from the US, but hey life is full of surprises and i'm just amazed at how God orchestrated my relationship with Serene. His timing is flawless. I love how I can talk to her about anything and everything, and how goofy she is when i'm with her. SO DUMB.
It still hasn't hit me that i'm entering the army in 4 days. I guess being on holiday since May 21 has caused me to grow numb to it.
Recently i've been getting back to watching sermons by the Pastor that has most influenced me during my time in the US, and that is John Piper. These two videos have brought me hope and have spurred me on to pray more.
My how time flies. I cannot believe Christmas is in 4 days.
As of now, I'm currently at my Uncle Jack's place for the Sin Family Christmas Dinner Celebration. This is what i've been missing for four and half years in America. We had a feast, then sat around the couch and sang Christmas carols, my ah gong led some songs in Chinese which I could hardly understand and ended up singing "La LA LA LA LA" for most of the song. We had some awesome blueberry and chocolate brownie ice cream (serene i know you're jealous!) and right now everyone's just chilling in the living area.
As I reflect about what Christmas is about. I'm reminded that aside from Jesus Christ, Christmas is about family. It's about being with the ones you and love and the ones that love you. I often call my mom's side of the family the "infertile" side because Daphne and myself have always been the only kids at family dinners until recently, where my mom's youngest sister gave birth to my baby cousin. She's absolutely adorable and I love her very much. She serves as a reminder to me about how awesome life is, and how blissful it was to be a kid. She's ridiculously cute and always laughs at my antics. I fear that sometimes she's laughing at me rather than with me because of how stupid I look when I try to make her laugh. My uncles and aunties are THE most caring and loving people in the world. They're always so encouraging and willing to sacrifice for the family and for me. They have shown me what it's like to live life for others. It is a rare sight to see selfishness in the Sin family, with the exception of myself. They humble me at every family dinner and I am so proud to call them my relatives.
I would write more but it's time to go home.
The most awesome girl in my life is currently in JB attending a wedding function and I miss her very much. She is continually on my mind, and is the reason for my joy these past few months.
First and foremost, I would like to say a heartfelt HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad who turned 51 years old on December 12 To my dad (who is one of the few people that read my blog): I could not have asked for a better dad. You have taught me and most importantly showed me what it is like to put others before yourself, and what it means to sacrifice for the ones you love. Most people I observe aren't too keen on spending time with their dads, but for me, I love spending time with you and talking to you. You're always supportive, honest, you try your best to speak the truth in love, and I know that you always want what's best for me. Thank you Dad.
Ok, now on to the juicy stuff. So today I had a talk with Serene's parents outside a random prata shop at Bukit Panjang about what's been going on with Serene and myself. The talk lasted for a bout 2 hours i think. They wanted to find out about what I liked about Serene, where I saw this relationship going, giving me advice, guidance, and their thoughts on us, etc etc. I felt extremely blessed to have Joel Siau sit in during the talk and also telling us how he felt about it. He has this gift of being able to discern a person's character after only spending a short time with him/her and it was so comforting to hear his thoughts on me and Serene. I've known Joel since primary school days and I know how protective he is about his family, and talking to him these past few days has left me in awe of how much he has grown to be a man of God. It's impossible for me to recap everything that was said because I haven't had time to sort everything out in my mind just yet. But all I know is that I was really nervous when Serene received an sms from her dad saying he wanted to meet the both of us to talk about us. When I left that Prata shop this afternoon, I just felt this overwhelming sense of peace in my heart. I've been asking God for a while for confirmation whether Serene is really the right one for me because I knew that she was in my heart all this while, but I didn't want to just rely on what I felt because of how caught up I was in my affection for her. It was so comforting for me to hear of how supportive Joel and Serene's parents were about our relationship. God heard my cry! All glory, honor and praise be to Him!
Me and Serene both believe that our relationship should be a testimony to other's about how precious God is in both our lives. And one of the ways which we feel that happens is by being transparent about our relationship, especially to other people.
We have decided to wait for the right time before being in an official dating relationship. Out of respect for my parents and for Serene, we have decided tentatively to wait till Serene's 18th birthday before officially dating because I do believe that being 16, she still has a lot more growing and maturing to do. Ultimately we feel that God will show us when the time is right and I will wait for Serene because love is patient.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. - 1 Corinthians 13
I was extremely challenged by what Joel and Serene's parents said today. They warned me that the danger of being in a relationship is that your significant other can sometimes take precedence over your relationship with God. I need to make sure that my relationship with God always comes before Serene and that he is the center of the relationship between me and Serene. Going into the army will suck because it is almost agonizing to be apart from Serene, but I know that it is the much needed space that Serene needs to grow as a person and also in her walk with God. Right now I just can't stop thanking God for bringing Serene into my life and I know at some point she'll be reading this, so Serene I'm going to show you these next few years and more what I mean when I say, I love you.
that very day we went on a food tasting expedition across singapore ... update on that coming soon.
