WOOED BY GOD
By Lee Lee Wah
The third incident happened about 10 years ago. My stomach was very painful and I felt extremely cold; it was as if I was walking up a snowy mountain. The pain was still tolerable but the extreme cold that enveloped me was unbearable. My daughter drove me to Changi General Hospital A&E and they found I had a fever of 42 degrees. I had acute appendicitis and was immediately operated on. Still, I did not turn to God, yet God remained so patient, merciful and loving to me.
I finally accepted Christ after decades of resistance. I had always believed there was a God but I did not know where to find Him. This, despite being educated in a mission school for 10 years, where I learnt how to pray and sing hymns to the Lord. My late mother was a Taoist but she never imposed her religion on me. When I was in my teens, I was put off by a street evangelist who called me a sinner without explaining why. Although this caused me to harbour a grudge against Christians, I still allowed a neighbour, whom I didn’t know well, to bring my daughter to Sunday school. My neighbour said a van would pick my child up and send her back each Sunday. I initially thought going to church would be good for my six-yearold daughter until my late grandmother-in-law cautioned me of the dangers involved.
But God has his ways of reaching me. In the 1990s, I taught Bible Knowledge to Secondary three and four students from various schools in Katong. I enjoyed reading the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with them but it was superficial reading. I did not understand the true meaning of the WORD.
Many Christian colleagues also tried to convert me but to no avail. I always replied that God had not called me yet. My daughter, Pearlyn, was baptised in her twenties and invited me to her church. I went three times but was not comfortable with their way of worship. On one occasion, I even raised my hand during the altar call but was too shy to go up on stage. On reflection, I think God miraculously saved my life three times when I was at the threshold of death. The first instance was when I was five years old. I was so ill that my mother called the sinseh ma in the wee hours of the night. I heard the sinseh ma saying “if only she can make it through the night”. The second incident happened when I was 50 years old. I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and was in ICU for five days. I am thankful my friend drove me straight to hospital that day.
Lee Wah and daughter Pearlyn
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