Looking Back
& Looking Forward
When I was young, I often jogged at MacRitchie Reservoir. There I
saw couples ... hand in hand or head to head. My family moved to
Telok Blangah so I jogged up to Mount Faber. Guess what? Yes, I
still saw couples.
I felt lonely. I told the LORD, "I need someone ... a companion
for life." The LORD answered ... eight years later, I married this
sweet young lady.
We had our share of misunderstandings and conflicts. There is
one unforgettable conflict ... I have long forgotten the cause but
my response was shocking. I wanted revenge!
I refused to go into the bedroom. But it was getting late and I
was sleepy. Moreover, what would the other staff workers think. At
that time, we were staying at ministry staff quarters. So I went
into the bedroom but I was determined not to sleep next to her. I
tried the floor but it wasn't comfortable. Finally I slept on the
bed ... my back towards her!
Early the next morning, I decided to go to West Coast and not to
return. I wanted her to worry. The morning was long so I had my
breakfast and walked around the hawker centre. But how many times
can you walk around the hawker centre?
The LORD reminded me that He so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son (John 3:16). The Bible also says, "Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
up for her." (Eph. 5:25). So I bought some roses and went home.
Like to share one of my few attempts at creative writing
entitled “From One to Two” to reflect on what happened.
From One to Two
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Everywhere I turn, I see two
But I could not find one
like me
Though I am made like You,
You are not like me.
You are unique, the only One
You need no one
But I need someone
To have and to hold
It is not good for me to be alone
So You made someone
For me alone
The one I love is the one I hate
The one I cleave is the one I leave
I could not live with her
Nor could I live without her
You gave us Your only One
And You gave me
The only way to have and to hold.
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Yes, the only way to have and to hold is to give of yourself to
the other party ... to love unconditionally ... no strings
attached. It's always good to look back to the days of courtship
and the vows we made on our wedding day.
As I was reading a book, I was struck by the truth in these words:
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Children have a detrimental effect on marital satisfaction which drops substantially with the birth of the first child
and remains low during child-rearing years.
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Once you had your spouse all to yourself but now you have to
share him or her with the children and often you are the loser.
Children scream for attention and they get it while spouses suffer
in silence.
There is never an ideal time to nurture the marriage
relationship. When your children are in preschool, we want to give
them a head start. When they are in primary school, we are
concerned about their school work. When they are in their teens, we
are concerned about peer influence and BGR (boy-girl
relationships).
What will be left of the marriage when the children are grown
and gone (to set up their own homes)? Will there be deeper intimacy
or emptiness? Will we be strangers in the house ... exchanging
glances and wondering ... wondering ... what can we talk about?
It's easy for men to be entangled with work ... the long hours
at the office, the frequent business trips, the recent promotion,
the constant need to upgrade knowledge and skills ... there just
isn't a good time to nurture the marriage relationship. It's also
easy for me to come home from work and bury myself in the
newspapers or be absorbed by the TV. I have to consciously remind
myself to communicate with my wife.
Marriage is not just two persons living together but two persons
sharing a life together in the here and now.
Thought Questions:
- In what ways can you share in the life of your spouse?
- How can your spouse have a part in your life, ministry and work?
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