Mum’s baptism
恩典之路 IF NOT FOR HIS GRACE by Ng Hwee Ming
During this time, I kept telling her not to think about going to heaven and that she would be fine, given the advancements in medical science. I even I grew up exposed to church-going, beginning with told her the unbiblical thing that ‘God only helps those who help themselves’ and she could overcome Sunday School as a child to attending Bible study in secondary school, but I stopped in junior college. My any difficulty with determination. In truth, I was concerned the church would lessen her determination excuse was that I was too busy. The real reason was to fight her illness. that I was disturbed by the imperfections in Church; such as the politics and strained relationships. I also Mum completed chemotherapy at the end of had reservations about the Bible’s teaching. More October. Everything seemed to be under control and importantly, I felt I was a good person and did not need God. For the next two decades, life was relatively the doctor even said she had over 90% chance of full smooth-sailing for me and I continued to stay away. recovery. But just before her scheduled mastectomy, a PET scan revealed the cancer had spread to her brain. In March 2018, my mother was diagnosed with Even with radiotherapy, she only had a year left to stage three breast cancer. From our research and live, at most two. I was shocked. The probability of her the oncologist’s experience, if Mum could withstand chemotherapy, she had a 80% chance of recovery and cancer spreading to the brain was very slim due to the blood / brain barrier. Furthermore, Mum was a good of living past five years. Mum was very worried and kept praying for healing because she wanted to spend Christian. I could not bring myself to tell her the truth. I simply told her she had a brain tumor which required more time with her two grandchildren. However, she radiotherapy. I asked her if there was anything she also prayed that if God wanted her to go home to wanted to do or any place she wanted to go to - perhaps heaven, she would accept it and hoped there would our hometown where our great grandparents had come not be prolonged suffering for herself and her loved ones. She shared her illness with the sisters in church. from? Or visit Jerusalem, a place she had not seen? 2019 was a difficult year for me but also one filled with grace.
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