Sunday, January 04, 2009
goodbye 2008, hello 2009
i know i'm a bit late, but still....
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!
so yes, took my first leave on friday, 2 jan... (it wasn't my choice), and basically, that left me with a LONG weekend... it's like, wednesday was half day, then thursday was public holiday, friday on leave, saturday and sunday.... WOW... it felt good.... really. haha.
so yah, another year has gone by just like that. AGAIN.
looking back into 2008, i had my ups and downs, physically, emotionally and spiritually (don't we all do?)
physically & emotionally...
1) was really happy when i finally completed my FINAL YEAR PROJECT... it was like a huge burden off my back! like, finally!!! i mean, i enjoy doing what i do, and honestly, i wasn't exactly pleased with the result of my experiments, but what can i say? the grading system was kinda biased, so yah, we knew we won't get an A or what, so we kinda completed it with a "what the heck" attitude. and yah, we got the same grade as the first FYP, which we spent so much effort and were under-graded for....
2) so at the end of school, we were waiting for graduation.... but of course, our module grades came out first, and i must say, i was really upset with myself. for one of the modules which everybody (friends and facilitator too) all agreed that i would ace it with my high flying grades, i had to screw up the last test and got a B+ in the end, instead of an A. really disappointing. but after a while, manage to swallow the fact...
3) then it was a very mixed feeling on my graduation day... i was happy that i finally graduated, but then again, i was totally not happy with my overall GPA. i felt that i could have and SHOULD have done better... and well, i thank God that i wasn't so lonely at the graduation, cos at first, neither of my parents planned to go... but my dad made it in the end... and bestfriend, i didn't forget about you too... it really made me smile from ear to ear to know that you actually planned to crash my graduation ceremony, all for me, all the way from you-know-where... what a great surprise it was... and even though you couldn't make it in the end, just spending time with you after my graduation was just priceless.
4) then again, i crashed when things between my bestfriend and i went bad... to me, it seemed like an arguement via email and a cold treatment via any other means of communication. and well, it hurt so much that i decided to just cover up the patch and get myself lost in the busyness of life and pretend that nothing happened. honestly, it was one of the worst pits of 2008.
5) church camp!!! X-trodinary... it was great... blessed to go for the camp and even more blessed through serving in the camp... brought me back to old times, and i'm so so glad that i was given the chance to serve...
6) well, there was a period of break for me where i was just aimlessly doing nothing. and before you know it, i enlisted... it was something i didn't feel good about, and it sucked every drop of joy within me. i really didn't like the training life in there. it was tough, and i would be on the phone every night with my jie, complaining about everything. (sidetrack: i really really wanna thank God for giving me a jie who would just listen to my rants continuously, night after night after night. jie, you've made an extraordinaryly HUGE impact in my life... i don't know if you know how much you mean to me, and i thank God for you) so yah, this period of time, i crashed yet into the worst pit once again...
7) ok, i feel lazy to write anymore about 2008... and anyway, we shouldn't look back too much too... hahahaha. so yeah, moving on to some spiritual ups and downs, summed up, then i'll continue with the rest of the post....
Spiritually...
1) alpha track - spiritual hike cos it was like as though there was nothing else to distract me from God. No school, no work (or rather, chose not to work when my boss called me. haha), friends had their busy lives, so it's not like i have much friends to go out with, so yah, devoting all my time to learn more about God and to discover myself more, which i did as well.
2) MIT - it was a NEW thing for me, totally, since it was my first MIT trip. For those who don't know me that well, you'll think that i'm quite out-going and so on, but actually, i'm an introvert. And i really had to rely on God to SALT in this new place i've never been to, to talk to people whom you have totally no clue about their lifestyle. and daily, i had to draw close to God and ask Him for the courage and boldness day after day after day.
3) Xtrodinary - i enjoyed serving so much. in fact, the sharing (not the main one) spoke to me too... God just reminded me of my childhood days and for that moment, i was just lost in God's presence. it was just so amazing...
so far, it's like, everything's doing good, until....
4) NS - being physically drained, i really neglected God's word, my own negative thoughts just overwhelmed me. everyday, it was just a short prayer, more than never, requesting for something, seldom giving thanks. made me so selfish and i lost focus.
5) IGNYTE camp - God spoke to me to reassure me of certain things, but foolish and lazy and ever-so-procrastinating me didn't write it down (or maybe i just simply forgot to) and yah, i forgot it. thank God that during TAWG times in the morning, i pen down all my thoughts, so at least those are safely kept. haha.
and that more or less sums up 2008
for 2009, new things are out there for me, and already, i was really caught by surprise by a few different things... i shan't say them all, but i'll say one of them.... None of my SBs of 2008 are in the same cell as me. they're all in the other 2 AF cells. and that itself, can be quite scary... oh well, it's getting late...
2009, here i come...
but before that, i'll pray (and type it here so that i can always refer back to it)
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the many things You've done in my life and the many wonderful things You've given to me in 2008. Thank You for seeing me through the tough times, the times when i seem to be distracted by everything else and especially the times when i neglected You. Thank You for Your love and Your grace which has seen me through.
And Lord, even as i step into this new year, i claim Your promise of a life of abundance, but first, Lord, teach me what it means to love You once again. Let me just fall in love with You and draw ever-so-close to You, Lord. And also let me be, O Lord, a vessel of Your love to the people around me, whoever they are, however they are. Help me see them through Your eyes and help me love them as You would.
Guide me, Lord, in this year ahead. It is a year filled with many uncertainties for me, but Lord God, i place my trust in You, knowing that You are the El Shaddai and my Jehovah Jireh; knowing too that Your word will be a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Lead me, guide me and may i, Lord, never wander off on my own.
I commit this year, two thousand and nine, into Your hands, and i pray all these in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
# posted by babyflyaway// @ 11:17 PM 
