Boy, has she changed. From a mom of one, two, then three, she is now a mother of enough children to form her very own netball team. She’s still a full-time mom, still does not have help, but unfortunately seems to have descended into the depths of Christian fundamentalism. She denigrates the choices of mothers who are all the things she’s not – the mothers who work; the mothers who have help; the mothers who once in a while spoil themselves with It bags; the mothers who ask their maids to take the children to the playground so that they can catch some much-needed me-time. In short, every mother who is not her falls short. And let’s not even talk about the mothers who choose to limit the number of children they have through birth control. No, when mothers like me get to the Pearly Gates, we’ll have a lot of accounting to do.

Whatever happened to ^“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” – Matthew 7:1-3.

It’s people like these who give Christianity a bad name.

We needn’t have worried, because God had it all planned out for us! First, He got Zoe’s school sorted out. The well-known church kindergarten near the new house has a space for her, so we don’t have to shop around for another kindergarten. Next, it was Alison’s turn. We applied to three schools within two kilometres of the house, all of which are immensely popular. All three schools told us not to hold our breath because they had a long waiting list, but we thought we would apply anyway. A few days after we submitted the papers, our first school of choice rang to say that they had a place for Alison, but she would have to transfer by the time school reopened after the June holidays which actually works out to be better than our original plan of transferring her only in September, because she will have more time to get used to the school before the second semester exams come around.

With schooling out of the way, it was down to selling our house. We were rather disappointed when the valuation report came back because the figure was very much lower than anticipated – lower, in fact, than another house in the same block which had the same specifications as ours but was in all likelihood not as nicely renovated. The report came on the day that our agent (wonderful guy, let me know if you want his contact number!) had arranged a one-hour open house viewing session. He told us that he could arrange for a revaluation if we wanted, but that there was no guarantee that the valuation would vary much. So K and I decided not to bother with revaluing, because we said that God would not shortchange us on the sale of the house.

The one-hour open house turned out to be a marathon session with more than 20 groups of people coming to see the house – and staying even after they had looked into every last nook and cranny. Some of them made themselves comfortable on our sofa and even our front steps! Five people made offers on the spot, and all were insistent that I decide. But our agent told them that I could not give them an answer immediately because K was out with the kids and would only be back late at night. Eventually, the viewers left (some of them to mill around downstairs) and K and the girls and Emily returned with dinner for everyone.

After the agent was done with his McSpicy burger, it was time to get down to business. One couple who had made an offer had their agent call to say that they would offer us the price we wanted – if we threw our solid teak dining table in. They claimed that I had said I would sell the house to them if they just increased their offer by $10,000. Actually, what I had said was that they could have the table if they paid what we had paid for it, but they had misunderstood. Anyway, they considered it some more and then decided to make an offer at our asking price. We accepted, and they exercised the option to purchase immediately.

The house was sold within a day when other units in our estate that are going for much cheaper and are on higher floors or nearer to the main road are still available after a few months on the market. Everyone was a little taken aback at the speed at which it was sold, but we can only put it down to divine intervention.

Now, we’re down to waiting for our first appointment at HDB to process the sale transaction, and the completion of the purchase of the new house. After that, it’s renovation time. We aim to move by September at the latest, and we’re all looking forward to Christmas in our new home.

We are very happy and extremely thankful that everything has worked out so well. I guess some people might say that we are just lucky, but K and I believe that the Almighty is always in control. Sometimes it’s hard to believe especially when things seem super-complicated, but in all things God works for the good of those who love Him!

Mending Alison's slipper.

Alison bought a cheap and flowery pair of slippers in Phuket, after complaining that her Ipa-Nima sandals were cutting into the space between her big toe and second toe. She adores them. Unfortunately, so does Bryan. He managed to get his paws on the left slipper over the weekend, and had a grand time chewing it. I caught him before he destroyed the slipper completely, but some damage was done, and Alison’s eyes reddened when I told her about it. To appease her, K said he would find a way to mend the slipper and he did, using red duct tape that he made a special trip to the hardware store to buy.

I was touched by the effort that K put in to restore the slipper to usable condition. It wasn’t that difficult to fix, but it was easier for him to just tell Alison to junk the pair and buy a new one next time we are in Phuket. He went to the trouble of mending it simply because Alison loves it and he wants her to be happy. It reminded me of Stuart Townsend’s hymn, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”.

“How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure”

Amazingly, at the time when we needed it most, along came a major local listed company who had heard of K’s reputation for good and fast work. They gave K just one job, but it was the equivalent of one month’s salary. After that, the floodgates opened and things just started snowballing. K could no longer cope with both the admin and creative work. He decided to legitimise things and registered a sole proprietorship. I tried to help him with the invoicing and account management, but was just not cut out for it. Then in stepped C, an old friend who was looking for a change, who practically invited himself to come aboard to help with the admin and finance so that K could concentrate on what he did best.

Five years on, the business is now a private limited company. It is still small with only K, C and a senior art director, but it is financially healthy. I no longer worry about where the month’s money is going to come from, although I do worry about the impact of the downturn on business. We are not rich and we still have some debt, but we are comfortable and can afford nice things for ourselves and the girls. I know that since God has provided for us and opened so many doors during the last five years, He will not forget us now. All that’s needed is just a little bit of faith, and a whole lot of courage to break through the storms to fair weather beyond.

K’s favourite devotional book during this time has been Pastor John Lim’s Praying for Your Job and Business. If you’re starting a new job or business, or just want to commit your endeavours to God, this book is a little gem. You can buy it here.

Faithful God by Shannon Wexelberg
(Verse)
Faithful God, ever true
You are the One that we lean upon
Faithful God, Lord it’s you
You are the One that we look upon

(Bridge)
Everyday Lord Your mercies are new
Everyday Lord we are trusting in You

(Chorus)
Faithful God, You stay the same
You will not change
Your promise is true
Faithful God, we lift up one voice
We’ve made a choice and we put our trust in You
Faithful God

Faithful God – Shannon Wexelberg