8 Years to Go: 3 Main Lessons

When I saw my details on my age and it is just barely 8 years before I hit the magical number 70. Where will I be in 8 years' time? Time seems to pass so quickly. What have I accomplished in the past 16 months, as if nothing (my strength is spent in vain, says the prophet in Isa 49) except for a few friendships which I shall treasure. What I have learned from wasting almost one and a half years of my life? Three main lessons.

1) Get away from toxic people. If people don't like you or don't believe in you, then get away. Often times ministry is done based on trust, based on unity of leaders and if senior leaders betray you, run away quickly. 

2) Team up with people who support you. Now I want to live the rest of my 8 years in peace, without conflict if possible, so I will surround myself with people who love and support you. Those who don't love or support you, then you can't have much to do with such people, though they may not hate or despise you. I lose no sleep now if a relative or those related by blood do not appreciate or show gratitude. Chinese New Year was a good example. Those I expected to call did not call. Those I expected respect showed disrespect. But yet there are many who showed love and support by showing up. I don't remember having guests twice over in Lunar New Year. 

Even when I was at Likas, once 200 people from my church showed up in my house (church-rented in 2004) and I (my wife) only cooked for the leaders and their families (50 max). Those were the days, and even last CNY, though with much less people, but they who came showed me honour and respect and we had wonderful Christian fellowship. 

Third lesson is do what God wants no matter what other people say or think. I quit early this year because when I judge whether I was doing what I was supposed to be doing with God-given talents, at most I marked myself, 4 out 10. I could not lead, I could not write books, and barely I had taught except in a couple of seminars. So I failed. I do not plan to fail in the next 8 years, if God so grants His servant life, life abundantly in His service.