Random Thoughts: Waiting

I really liked the sermon last Sunday, so I've decided to do a short write-up on it. This will be the start of my Random Thoughts posts. If anyone has any random musings they wish to post up here, do drop me an email ;)

So the day before, which was a Saturday, my family and I were making a trip to Malaysia to visit some relatives. To our frustration, we got stuck at the immigration custom for a solid 4 hours. The waiting nearly killed us and brought out the worst in us. All in all, it was a terrible experience.

As Fr. Thomas Curran pointed out, most of us dislike waiting, basically because it renders us helpless. When we find ourselves having to wait, it's usually because we have done all we could and no longer have control over the situation. We wait because there's nothing else we can do; we are powerless to affect the outcome any further.

When we put God into the equation, waiting becomes a test of faith. Our attitudes towards waiting show in the way we pray. One would think that God, in all His power, would hear your request if you asked Him just once. Yet very often we pray repeatedly, asking again and again for the same thing, detailing when, how and what we want of God.

There's nothing wrong with asking God for things. In fact, it's a healthy form of prayer. But, as we have figured out in Lent, God is not a fairygod mother. He is not some magician who answers to our every whim. He is love, nothing more, and nothing less. Love functions in a way that logic cannot, and God knows us in a way that nobody else does. He understands our wants, but He also sees our needs, which we often overlook, and provides. All He asks of us is a bit of patience, and a bit of faith.

The worst thing about waiting is thinking. When there's nothing else we can do, and our prayers have been said, often we start to worry. We start contemplating the outcome, and we start building up expectations. We formulate the perfect fantasy setting where everything comes out perfectly, and wonder how terrible life would be if things did not play out that way. As we do this, we start leaving God out of the equation. Why? Because we no longer allow God to answer our prayers His way and in His own time. We start to have preconceptions on how our prayers should be answered, how our problems should be fixed, and ultimately, how God should act.

What we should do is ask God for the best possible outcome, whatever that might be. God will definitely answer our prayers; it's just a matter of when and how. We should do well to remember that it is a blessing to wait, because by waiting, we are atesting to our faith--and we are atesting to God's awesome love.

Rosary Home Visit: Michael

A trip to Michael's home marked the end of the month of May, as well as the Rosary Home Visits. And what an ending it was! Thank you Michael and your family for your hospitality, for the food, your awesome balcony and your willingness to let us destroy your house. It was quality time well-spent, indeed!

And much thanks to the other three households for inviting us over for prayer and fellowship. God's presence in our lives has been made more apparent this month through your generosity and hospitality. =)

Roasry Home Visit: Nicholas

Our third Rosary Home Visit was to a much newer member's place at Florida. We had an awesome time at Nicholas' place, and even got to celebrate Unc Sam's and Suzette's birthdays! There was a generous spread, some Wii games to keep us entertained and, of course, a meaningful session of community prayer through the Holy Rosary. Good food, good fun and good company make our time together seem to pass much quicker, but thank you nonetheless to Nicholas and his wonderfully obliging family!

Photo courtesy of Brian

Rosary Home Visit: Beatrice See

Our second Rosary Home Visit brought us to the home of Beatrice See. Our golden-haired choir member greeted us with much hospitality, wonderful food, and a healthy dose of Lego Rock Band! In addition, 2 of our new Immersion kids, Priscillia and Sean, joined us for a night of prayer and fellowship. We all had a great time.

Many thanks to Beatrice and her parents, especially her lovely mother, for inviting us into their home. Thank you and God bless! =)

Photo courtsey of Brian.

Rosary Home Visit: Anthia & Zachus

Last Saturday, STAC embarked on their first Rosary Home Visit. We found ourselves in the hospitality of Anthia and Zachus, as well as their more-than-gracious parents. Thank you for inviting us into your home to pray and share a wonderful meal together! The food was great, and the company was even better. Cheers!

Photograph courtesy of Brian.

Rosary Home Visit

Hi all. We will be having our firstever Rosary Home Visit at Anthia's & Zachus' place this coming Saturday (7/4). Below are all the necessary details:

Meeting Venue: Bus-stop outside Nativity
Meeting Time: 6.50pm sharp
Stuff to Bring: Rosary + FOOD!

As this event will be a mini-potluck as well as a gathering for STAC, it will be awesome if you guys can bring some F&B. For a list of stuff you might wanna consider bringing, please see below:

• Bottled drinks



• Potato chips



• Finger foods (nuggets, finger sandwiches, cocktail sausages etc)



• Sandwiches



• Simple dishes (shepherd's pie, fried rice etc)
  


• Dessert (cookies, brownies, cake, waffles, fruits etc)

Please confirm with me your attendance as well as what food you're gonna bring by this Friday! If you don't, I will assume you won't be joining us, so don't be surprised when you don't see anyone at the bus-stop (especially if you're late!). =P

Happy Easter!

Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Happy Easter everyone!

Celebrations galore as STAC held its firstever Easter gift-exchange after mass today, proving that the spirit of giving is not only alive on an over-commercialised Christmas, but during the most important day on our Christian calendar as well!

But the partying didn't stop there! The choir headed over to BBBs' place for a free flow of waffles! Thank you so much for your kind hospitality and great food, BBBs. We all had a wonderful time!

So happy Easter to all Christians and non-Christians alike. Rejoice, for today death has been conquered by our Lord and Saviour. =)